In March, the Asheville Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will present an evening full of beautiful piano and the romance of the orchestra.

The concert begins with an early work of one of music’s greats, Beethoven. As he lives with us today in an immortal pantheon of great composers, it’s easy to forget that he was also a brilliant pianist in his own right.

Beethoven wrote masterpieces for piano and orchestra as a vehicle for himself, and the Symphony is excited to introduce Israeli pianist Alon Goldstein in his Asheville solo debut. Alon performs the mercurial Piano Concerto No. 2, music that projects the clarity and beauty of the Classical era while pointing towards a heroism in Beethoven’s later style.

The ASO completes their evening with Anton Bruckner’s majestic Symphony No. 4, the “Romantic.” Romantic, in this case, refers to the trend in German literature and arts in the 19th Century where mystery and wonder mingles with tales from the forest. Whether evoking the hunt, stumbling upon an imposing forest castle, or gazing at the moon as it takes nightly flight above the branches, this is symphonic music perfectly-suited to our mountain home in the Blue Ridge.

Tickets for the performance are available through the Symphony office or the US Cellular Center box office, and range in price from $20 to $58. Subscriptions are also available at pro-rated prices, or on a “pick three” basis for $55 to $169.

Significant discounts for students are available. For details, call (828) 254-7046 or visit www.ashevillesymphony.org.

If You Go: Asheville Symphony presents Beethoven and “The Romantic” March 15 at 8 p.m., downtown in the US Cellular Center’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Call (828) 254-7046, or visit www.ashevillesymphony.org.