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The 42nd season of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival begins July 20 as Artistic Director Marc Neikrug and Executive Director Steven Ovitsky bring some of the world’s finest classical performing artists to the heart of Santa Fe, New Mexico for concerts spanning six weeks. The first concert of the season exemplifies the Festival’s tradition of pairing contemporary music with timeless masterworks. Mr. Neikrug, who celebrates his 17th season in his position with the Festival, remarks, "I am happy to continue our commitment to stimulating and innovative programs across five centuries this season."
SUNDAY AND MONDAY SERIES
SCHUBERT & BRAHMS
Described by The New York Times as a "gifted, fast-rising artist," pianist Benjamin Hochman joins Todd Levy, Principal Clarinet of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and The Santa Fe Opera, for British composer Julian Anderson's The Bearded Lady. The work was inspired by the character Baba the Turk from Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Mr. Anderson has served as Composer in Residence to the Cleveland Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia 21 and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. This season he is Wigmore Hall's Composer in Residence. Following prodigious acclaim in almost every genre – orchestral, dance, chamber, ensemble and choral, Mr. Anderson’s first opera received its world premiere with the English National Opera in May of this year to rave reviews. His 2014 String Quartet No. 2, “3oo Weihnachtslieder” (“300 Christmas Songs”), a co-commission between the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society for SummerFest, Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker, and Wigmore Hall, with the support of André Hoffmann, president of the Fondation Hoffmann, a Swiss grant-making foundation, will have its U.S. premiere in August at the Festival.
Making her Festival debut, Wilhelmina Smith, cello, has received critical acclaim for her chamber music and solo performances alike. She collaborated with composer Esa-Pekka Salonen for his cello concerto Mania and gave the U.S. premiere of the composer’s solo cello piece Knock, Breath, Shine. Ms. Smith opens the season alongsideJennifer Frautschi, violin; and Hsin-Yun Huang, viola, with Schubert's String Trio in B-flat Major, D. 581.
Pianist Alessio Bax and Mark Kosower, cello, make their highly anticipated Festival debuts in Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor with William Preucil, violin; and Hsin-Yun Huang, viola. An Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and First Prize winner at the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, Alessio Bax has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras. Principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra, Mark Kosower has received an Avery Fisher Career Grant, a SONY Grant, and has been a top prize winner in both the Rostropovich and Pablo Casals International Cello Competitions.
Sunday, July 20 & Monday, July 21 at 6 pm
St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art
FRANZ SCHUBERT
String Trio in B-flat Major, D. 581 (1817)
Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola;
Wilhelmina Smith, cello
JULIAN ANDERSON
The Bearded Lady (1994)
Todd Levy, clarinet; Benjamin Hochman, piano
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 (1861)
William Preucil, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Mark Kosower, cello; Alessio Bax, piano
Sunday and Monday Series subscription: $396
Single tickets: $55 & $75; Ages 19-35 $15; Ages 6-18 $10
MUSIC AT NOON
JON NAKAMATSU IN RECITAL
Van Cliburn Gold Medalist, pianist Jon Nakamatsu returns to the Festival for an all-Schumann recital program in the ever popular Music at Noon series. Mr. Nakamatsu has performed as a soloist with many leading orchestras including those of Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Vancouver and his extensive recital tours throughout the U.S. and Europe have featured appearances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, among others. Mr. Nakamatsu records exclusively for harmonia mundi usa which has released nine discs to date.
Tuesday, July 22 at 12 pm
St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art
JON NAKAMATSU, PIANO
ROBERT SCHUMANN
“Widmung” (“Dedication”)(1840) (arr. Liszt)
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Papillons, Op. 2 (1831)
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Carnaval, Op. 9 (1834-35)
Music at Noon Series subscription: $242
Single tickets: $20-25; Ages 19-35 $15; Ages 6-18 $10
MUSIC AND WINE GALA
Tuesday, July 22 at 6:00 pm
St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art
La Posada Resort & Spa - reception and dinner at 7:00 pm
The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival will hold its Music & Wine
Gala Tuesday, July 22. This highly anticipated social event includes an exclusive chamber music performance, an exquisite multi-course dinner with wine pairings, and a silent auction of fine wines and one-of-a-kind experiences. The evening begins at the St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art with musicians William Preucil, violin; Mark Kosower, cello; and Jon Nakamatsu, piano. Following the concert, guests will enjoy dinner and the silent auction at the luxurious La Posada Resort and Spa. Proceeds benefit the Festival’s year-round education and outreach programs for children and adults in the greater Santa Fe community.
For additional information regarding the Music & Wine Gala and to purchase tickets, please click here or call (505) 983-2075, ext 111.
ALBUQUERQUE & THURSDAY SERIES
BEETHOVEN & SHOSTAKOVICH
Music by two of the most prominent living composers today, Brett Dean and Poul Ruders, is paired with Shostakovich and Beethoven for the first set of concerts on the Albuquerque and Thursday Series. Brett Dean, a longtime member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, performs his own viola solo, Skizzen für Siegbert, a work inspired by fellow violist and member of the Berlin Philharmonic, Siegbert Ueberschaer. An enduring friendship began during Mr. Dean’s first rehearsal with the orchestra when Siegbert kindly said, “Just play with me, breathe with me, as if we were playing chamber music.” This work honors Siegbert who passed away in 2011. The Festival co-commission of Mr. Dean’s “And once I played Ophelia” with the Orion String Quartet and soprano Tony Arnold receives its U.S. premiere July 30 in Albuquerque and July 31 in Santa Fe.
Danish composer Poul Ruders’ duet Romances is performed by Benjamin Hochman, piano; and Hsin-Yun Huang, viola. Romances is comprised of six short movements, each telling a story open to individual interpretation.
Throughout the season the Festival focuses on Beethoven’s final compositions within each genre. The composer’s final Piano Quartet, Op. 16, will be performed by Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola;Wilhelmina Smith, cello; and Benjamin Hochman, piano. Shostakovich’s quintessential Piano Trio, Op. 67 provides the finale of the program performed by William Preucil, violin; Mark Kosower, cello; and Alessio Bax, piano.
Wednesday, July 23 at 7:30 pm
Simms Auditorium, Albuquerque Academy
Thursday, July 24 at 6 pm
St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art
POUL RUDERS
Romances (2011)
Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Benjamin Hochman, piano
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 16 (1796)
Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Wilhelmina Smith, cello; Benjamin Hochman, piano
BRETT DEAN
Skizzen für Siegbert (Sketches for Siegbert) (2012)
Brett Dean, viola
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67 (1944)
William Preucil, violin; Mark Kosower, cello; Alessio Bax, piano
Albuquerque Series subscription: $153; Single Tickets: $35 & $45
Thursday Series subscription: $305; Single Tickets:$35 - $70.
Ages 19-35 $15; Ages 6-18 $10
MUSIC AT NOON SERIES
MENDELSSOHN & BRETT DEAN
One of the most internationally performed composers of our generation, Brett Dean began composing in 1988 during his 14-year tenure as a violist in the Berlin Philharmonic. Mr. Dean’s work garners considerable attention and has been championed by conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding and Markus Stenz, among others. Dean’s sextet, “Old Kings in Exile”, for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion, refers to Austrian novelist Arno Geiger’s memoir, which is a detailed and poignant testimony of the serious health challenges faced by the author’s aging father.
Recognized as one of Mendelssohn’s most popular and beloved chamber works, his Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49 is performed by William Preucil, violin; Mark Kosower, cello; and Jon Nakamatsu, piano.
Thursday, July 24 at 12:00 pm
St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art
BRETT DEAN
Sextet, “Old Kings in Exile” (2010)
Bart Feller, flute; Todd Levy, clarinet; James Shields, bass clarinet; Jennifer Frautschi, violin;
Wilhelmina Smith, cello; Benjamin Hochman, piano; David Tolen, percussion
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49 (1839)
William Preucil, violin; Mark Kosower, cello; Jon Nakamatsu, piano
Music at Noon Series subscription: $242
Single tickets: $20-25, Ages 19-35 $15; Ages 6-18 $10
BACH PLUS
BENJAMIN HOCHMAN IN RECITAL
An enduring and popular part of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival is the five-concert “Bach Plus” series featuring works by Johann Sebastian Bach, his contemporaries, and those later inspired by him. The 2014 series opens July 26 with a solo piano recital by Benjamin Hochman pairing Bach’s Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 and Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828 alongside a work by Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola called Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera written in 1952. This work was inspired by Bach’s Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach and the music is composed around the motif B-A-C-H.
Saturday, July 26 at 5 pm
St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art
BENJAMIN HOCHMAN, PIANO
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (1727)
LUIGI DALLAPICCOLA
Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera (1952)
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828 (1726-31)
Bach Plus Series subscription: $200
Single tickets: $35 & 45; Ages 19-35 $15; Ages 6-18 $10
For more information on the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival's concerts and to order tickets, please call 505-982-1890 or visit www.SantaFeChamberMusic.com. The box office is located in the lobby of the New Mexico Museum of Art at 107 West Palace Avenue and is open daily from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.
ABOUT THE SANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Since its inaugural festival in 1973, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival has become one of the world’s preeminent music festivals, guided by a visionary spirit and dedicated to artistic excellence and innovation. Contributing to its magic is the Festival’s unique Santa Fe setting, nestled amid the timeless splendors of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Under the spirited artistic leadership of composer/pianist Marc Neikrug since 1998, the Festival invites scores of distinguished musicians, along with emerging young talent, to participate in its six-week season. The Festival encourages communication among composers, musicians, and audiences through premieres of Festival-commissioned works, the programming of works by living composers, and concerts featuring the composer as performer. Since 1980, the Festival has commissioned more than 60 works from such composers as Aaron Copland, Ned Rorem, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, John Harbison, Gunther Schuller, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Steven Stucky, and Brett Dean, among many others, thereby contributing significantly to contemporary chamber music repertoire.