Orchestra to feature classics

German composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Strauss never had the chance to perform together, but their music will be performed together tonight at the Musical Arts Center.\nThe IU Philharmonic Orchestra will make its first appearance of the semester at 8 p.m. today. The orchestra will be conducted by Paul Biss and the program will feature graduate student Archie Chen on the piano. The music will include two long pieces by two legendary composers, beginning with Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 5" and concluding with "Ein Heldenleben" by Richard Strauss.\nThe Beethoven concerto will feature Chen on the piano. Chen maintains that while the concerto is straightforward enough for a pianist to play, it is challenging in other ways.\n"While the concerto is not technically very challenging for me, it is a challenge from a stylistic standpoint," Chen said. \nThe piece was written during the first decade of the 19th century and consists of three movements. The concerto is commonly called "The Emperor Concerto." \n"The end of the second movement smoothly fuses with the third movement. This phenomenon of combining movements to form a complete, holistic work is something that has been passed down from Beethoven to the romantic composers," said Ross Ewing, a senior majoring in piano performance.\nThe concerto is also known for a rather uncommon structural characteristic.\n"The concerto starts with the piano soloist (also called a cadenza), which is uncommon," Ewing said.\nThe second half of the concert will consist of one of the most famous works by Richard Strauss, "Ein Heldenleben." Strauss wrote this piece in the late 19th century and the music exhibits a style characteristic of romantic composers.\n"Strauss wrote the piece for a huge romantic orchestra in the style of Wagner," Biss said.\nThe piece consists of one lengthy movement instead of being divided into separate movements. While this was a common practice in Strauss' day, it's not as common today. Biss said the music itself is almost like an autobiography.\n"Strauss talks about himself in this piece. He also talks about his wife and his attitude towards unfriendly critics. He also quotes from his previous works in the process," Biss said.\nThe concert consists of music from different periods in Western classical music and promises to be one of great variety.\n"Talking about these two pieces is like trying to compare Rembrandt and Monet," Biss said. "They are completely different from each other"