Next Thursday, December 16th, the music of Beethoven will rock the hearts and heads of a very lucky audience at Holly Hall during a Chamber Concert featuring string quartet and wind quintet, with Jonathan Spivey. The Sarasota Orchestra folks must love Ludwig as much as I do because they’re celebrating the anniversary (240th!) of his birthday precisely on the date he was born.

It promises to be a relaxed soirée — wine tasting and complimentary hors d’oeuvres start at 4:30 p.m.; the concert follows at 5:30, and includes Quartet No. 10, Op. 74, Harp; Quintet for Piano and Winds Op. 16.

In the spirit of the season, readers of this blog can get a fabulous 20% discount from the Orchestra for this concert, just by using the code “mc20” – without the quotation marks and case sensitive – so don’t use caps! That’s a pretty sweet deal — with tickets only $24 to $30 in the first place, take off the 20% and you’re looking at 20-24 bucks to get you into one of the best birthday bashes this month. Go online to purchase or call 941.953.3434.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I’ve got a serious Jones for Beethoven. I think it’s because his music — hundreds of years old — still resonates so profoundly and so perfectly for our current times. I dare, in fact, I triple-dare anyone to listen to Beethoven and not come away feeling emboldened to LIVE not just live.

It really almost doesn’t matter which piece you’re listening to, Beethoven’s music is, yes, intellectually complex, but always emotionally visceral and very real; wringing the heart of any element of self-pity or sentimentality and leaving behind pure emotion.

Beethoven’s music courses through the body like the blood of life itself — filling body and soul with a deeply-felt awareness of the thundering possibilities of life. And whether 29, 45, or 90, we all need that kind soundtrack in our mind … inspiring us to believe, to become, to be more than we think possible.

If you can’t make this December infusion of Beethoven, mark your calendars/buy your tickets now for the March 2011 Masterworks Beethoven event — that will be a can’t miss … and believe me, I won’t!