“This year, we celebrate the 125th anniversary of Miller Symphony Hall and I wanted to present something as a fanfare,” says Diane Wittry, Allentown Symphony Orchestra Music Director & Conductor.

Allentown Symphony Orchestra presents “Beethoven’s 5th!,” 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21; 2 p.m. Sept. 22, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown.

“In developing the program, I knew I wanted to do Beethoven’s 5th,” notes Wittry.

“The Alexander Arutiunian ‘Trumpet Concerto in A-flat major’ is so much fun, has flair, style and beautiful melodies.

“Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Libertango’ functions as an encore; it’s fun and light. However, identifying a concert opener was tough so I started searching and discovered composer Emilie Mayer (1812-1883).”

The concert opens with Mayer’s “Overture No. 2 in D major,” composed in 1848. Dubbed the “Female Beethoven” owing to similarities with Beethoven’s compositional style, Mayer’s works were influenced by the Vienna classic style as well as music of German and Italian operas and the “Overture” provides a clear example. The piece begins with a relatively dark and brooding quality, followed by light music similar to works of Johann Strauss and Gioachino Rossini.

The program continues with the “Trumpet Concerto in A-flat major” (1950) by Armenian composer Alexander Arutiunian (1920-2012). The seven-movement work, with featured performance by internationally-acclaimed trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth, incorporates melodies and rhythms of American folk music.

“We don’t generally feature a lot of brass in our concerts, nor are there many female brass players,” says Wittry.

“I heard Tine perform with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Muhlenberg College and here we have a great female role model who is one of the finest brass musicians in the world.”

Tine has championed the trumpet repertoire among audiences on all six continents, meriting the highest critical praise for her soulful, lyrical sound and collaborative approach to music-making.

She is the recipient of numerous awards, including “Newcomer of the Year” at the 2013 Echo Klassik Awards; the 2009 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, and second prize in the 2006 Eurovision Young Musicians Competition.

In 2007, Tine had the rare honor of being the first classical artist to win Newcomer of the Year at the Norwegian Grammy Awards.

In addition to performances with orchestras such as the BBC Scottish Orchestra at the BBC Proms, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Tine tours regularly with her 10-piece, all-female brass ensemble, tenThing, entertaining audiences in Europe, China and the United States.

Tine resides in Oslo, Norway, and maintains an active role in her community as a television and radio presenter. She teaches trumpet at the Norwegian Academy of Music.

The program’s first-half closes with Tine’s performance of “Libertango for Trumpet and Orchestra” (1974) by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992). With this piece, Piazzolla revolutionized the tango by incorporating jazz elements in addition to classical music thus creating the “nuevo tango.”

After intermission, the concert finale is “Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67” (1804-1808) by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Often referred to as the “fate” symphony based on Beethoven’s own description of the four opening notes as “fate knocking at the door,” one may consider Beethoven’s progressive deafness as well as the historical events at the time: the Napoleonic Wars were in progress, political turmoil was prevalent in Austria and Napoleon’s troops occupied Vienna in 1805.

“Four short notes (“da-da-da-daaa”) and we recognize the power of music to communicate … beyond age and ethnicity as well as across time,” says Wittry. “The transcendence of music, even 200 years later, impacts us.”

“Beethoven’s Fifth,” 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21; 2 p.m. Sept. 22, Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown. Free tickets for those age 21 and under. Tickets: box office; 610-432-6715; https://www.millersymphonyhall.org

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com