Program will include hit songs by Coldplay including “Yellow,” “Viva La Vida,” “Clocks,” and “The Scientist” interpolated into the music of Beethoven
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (August 23, 2023) – This fall, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will welcome conductor/composer Steve Hackman to Orchestra Hall for Steve Hackman Presents: Beethoven x Coldplay on October 22.
Would Beethoven have found meaning in the music of Coldplay? In this merging of musical giants, conductor and creator Steve Hackman pairs two composers that deal with universal and humanist themes in their music. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is joined by three spectacular vocalists for a genre-bending performance that creates an anthem for the ages. The music of Beethoven’s famed Eroica Symphony is interwoven with the melodies and lyrics of Coldplay’s greatest hits including “Viva La Vida,” “Yellow,” “The Scientist,” and more.
Please note: Coldplay is not performing at this event and there is no intermission break.
Steve Hackman Presents: Beethoven x Coldplay will take place on Sunday, October 22 at 7 p.m. at Orchestra Hall. Tickets for this performance are on sale now and can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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STEVE HACKMAN PRESENTS: BEETHOVEN X COLDPLAY
Sunday, October 22 at 7 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Steve Hackman, conductor/piano
A merging of musical giants, Steve Hackman Presents: Beethoven x Coldplay pairs two composer/artists that deal with universal and humanist themes in their music, and asks the musical question—would Beethoven have found meaning in the music of Coldplay? That notion, perhaps odd-sounding at first, becomes much more compelling when considering the events surrounding Beethoven’s creation of the Eroica Symphony—an artist desperate to solidify his position as the reigning musical genius in Vienna, but yet still misunderstood and criticized, and a young man in his thirties faced with the reality that he would indeed soon be completely deaf. How, then, would Beethoven have reacted to the Coldplay lyrics “Nobody said it was easy?” or “When you lose something you can’t replace…could it be worse?”
Steve Hackman Presents: Beethoven x Coldplay transforms the Eroica into an oratorio, weaving the melodies and lyrics of Coldplay into the original Beethoven, pairing them together based on content and context. It is the alternate Eroica Beethoven may have created had he known the music of Coldplay at the time. Many of Coldplay’s most well-known songs are interpolated, including “Yellow,” “Viva La Vida,” “Clocks,” and “The Scientist.”
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About Steve Hackman
A multi-hyphenate music powerhouse and visionary producer, Steve Hackman is a daring voice leading the charge among a new generation of classical musicians' intent on redefining the genre. Equally adept in classical and popular styles, his breadth of musical fluency and technique is uncanny—he is at once a composer, conductor, producer, DJ, arranger, songwriter, singer, and pianist. He uses those wide-ranging abilities to create innovative fusions that blur the lines between high and pop art.
The result is evocative works that are both derivative yet wholly original. He synthesizes Brahms and Radiohead, Bartók and Björk, and Beethoven and Coldplay into epic orchestral tone poems; re-imagines Stravinsky and Shostakovich into original orchestral-electronic concept albums; and samples Verdi and Debussy and interpolates them into hip-hop tracks. His performances of these pieces have surprised and thrilled diverse sellout audiences across the country, including with the orchestras of Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Colorado, Phoenix, Nashville, Oregon, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Columbus, Charlotte, Southwest Florida, Alabama, Colorado Music Festival, and the Boston Pops.
In fall of 2021 Hackman composed the 60-minute ballet AT WORK in partnership with Jacob Jonas the Company, premiering the piece in consecutive weekends at Century City Park and the Water Gardens in Los Angeles. It was the culmination of a busy two years of composing: he wrote five original scores for the global film initiative films.dance, teaming up with Hilary Hahn, Dave Koz, Voces 8, and musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra in the process; his music was featured on the American Express campaign Stand For Small, alongside the voice of Lin-Manuel Miranda; and during the summer of 2021 he completed recording of a solo piano album.
Hackman has teamed up with some of the biggest pop superstars of today to add a signature virtuosic and classical dimension to their work. He has collaborated frequently with Doja Cat, performing with her at the 2021 VMA’s in Brooklyn, following orchestrating and arranging strings for her performances at the Billboard Music Awards and iHeart Radio Music Awards. In December 2019, Hackman collaborated with Kanye West, the Sunday Service Choir and Access Opera in their production of the opera Mary. Hackman contributed as composer, conductor, and orchestrator. The opera had public performances at Art Basel in Miami, Laskey Mesa in Calabasas and Lincoln Center in New York City.
About the DSO
The acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. As a community-supported orchestra, generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels drives the continued success and growth of the organization. In January 2020, Italian conductor Jader Bignamini was named the DSO’s next music director to commence with the 2020–2021 season. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while Oscar®-nominated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair.
Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, the DSO offers a performance schedule that features PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of the world’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall celebrated its centennial in 2019–2020. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in seven metro area venues, as well as a robust schedule of eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings.
A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts, which also reaches tens of thousands of children with the Classroom Edition expansion. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to embrace and inspire individuals, families, and communities through unsurpassed musical experiences.