Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts | Festival & Indoor Music

Fall 2009 ~ At the Heart of Brahms
Commonly included in the triumvirate of the 'Three Bs' alongside of Bach and Beethoven, Johannes Brahms has left a creative legacy surpassed by few others. A giant of Romanticism, Brahms was both a traditionalist and an innovator. His work is deeply rooted in Baroque and Classical forms and techniques, yet he boldly ventured forth exploring new harmonic territory. From his earliest compositions to his very last, chamber music was central to his creative life. 'At the Heart of Brahms' celebrates the exquisitely crafted music that we find at the core of his inspired body of work and closest to his heart.

At the Heart of Brahms:
Lecture - Brahms by Those Who Knew Him
Sunday October 25, 2009 at 4:00pm
Will Crutchfield, Director of Bel Canto at Caramoor, lecturer

Will Crutchfield shares his insights into Brahms and his world through exploring the composer’s formative personal relationships.

At the Heart of Brahms:Trio Solisti
Sunday November 1, 2009 at 4:00pm

Trio Solisti: Maria Bachmann, violin; Alexis Pia Gerlach, cello; Jon Klibonoff, piano
Guest Artists: David Jolley, horn; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola

Brahms		Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87
Brahms		Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano in E flat major, Op. 40
Brahms		Quartet for Piano and Strings no 1 in G minor, Op. 25

Much of Brahms' most enduring and powerful chamber music positions the piano at the center of the action. Caramoor favorite-Trio Solisti-with distinguished guest artists delve into this meaty repertoire with the positively enormous second piano trio, the heart-wrenching horn trio, and the composer's most famous piano quartet with 'Gypsy Rondo' and all.

November 7 Rising Stars I
Saturday, 8:00pm ~ Music Room

Mozart String Quintet No. 3 in C Major, K. 515
Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13
Mendelssohn String Quintet No. 2 in B flat Major, Op. 87

November 8 Rising Stars II
Sunday, 4:00pm ~ Music Room

Schubert String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804, Op. 29 (Rosamunde)
Dvorak String Quintet for 2 violins, 2 violas & cello in E flat major, Op. 97 (American)
Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G Major Op. 36

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At the Heart of Brahms: The Sonatas
Saturday November 14, 2009 8:00pm

Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Teng Li, viola; Zuill Bailey, cello; Igor Begelman, clarinet; Rieko Aizawa, Ken Noda, Awadagin Pratt, Amy J. Yang, piano

Brahms Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78 (Regen)
Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Ken Noda, piano
Brahms Viola Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120
Teng Li, viola; Amy Yang, piano
Brahms Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99
Zuill Bailey, cello; Awadagin Pratt, piano
Brahms Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 120
Igor Begelman, clarinet; Rieko Aizawa, piano

Brahms left staples of the repertoire in every compositional genre that he touched; the sonata was no exception. Four sets of renowned performers, four masterful sonatas, four insightful re-creations of Brahms creative and emotional worlds. An evening of music making truly 'At the Heart of Brahms'.

At the Heart of Brahms: Caramoor Virtuosi
Saturday November 21, 2009 at 8:00pm

Caramoor Virtuosi: Lily Francis, Arnaud Sussmann, violins; Nicholas Cords, Mark Holloway violas; Edward Arron, Artistic Director of Caramoor Virtuosi and cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Guest Artists:
Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano; Leslie Tomkins, viola; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Michael Barrett, piano

Brahms		Scherzo in C minor from F-A-E Sonata for Violin and Piano
Brahms		Two Songs for Alto, Viola, and Piano, Op. 91
Brahms		Trio in A minor for Clarinet, Piano, and Cello, Op. 114
Brahms		Quintet in G Major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 111

Bringing the Brahms feast to a close, the Caramoor Virtuosi serve a deliciously mixed program illuminating the depth and breadth of Brahms' chamber music. The sonorities of the clarinet and the viola were closest to Brahms' heart, and the poetry with which he wrote for his favorite instruments is exemplified in the sublime Opus 91 songs, the concentrated warmth of the clarinet trio, and the vivacious G Major viola quintet.

Caramoor Classics Series: Jasper String Quartet
2009-2010 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence
Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 4:00pm
Music Sample

J Freivogel, violin; Sae Niwa, violin; Sam Quintal, viola; Rachel Henderson, cello

Smetana		Quartet No.1 From my life (1876)
Janacek		Quartet No. 1 Kreutzer Sonata (1923)
Ligeti		Quartet No. 1 Metamorphoses Nocturnes (1953-4)

Following an auspicious 2008 with Grand Prizes at the Plowman Chamber Music and Coleman Competitions, First Prize at Chamber Music Yellow Springs, and the Silver Medal at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, the Jasper String Quartet Caramoor's 2009-2010 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence launches its residency with an exploration of three masterful quartets from Eastern Europe. Smetana's, Janacek's, and Ligeti's quartets, each composed within three distinct periods in the history of Western music, demonstrate the creativity developed outside of the Germanic tradition.

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Spring 2010

Caramoor Classics Series:
Vocal Rising Stars ~ The Sweetest Path
Saturday March 13 at 8:00pm

Distinguished Artists:
Steven Blier, Artistic Director and piano; Michael Barrett, vocal coach and piano

Rising Stars:
Charlotte Dobbs, soprano; Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano; Matthew Peña, tenor; John Brancy, baritone

Songs by: Fauré, Bizet, Ravel, Satie, Poulenc, Debussy, and many more vocal gems.

Following its wonderfully successful inaugural program, Caramoor's Vocal Rising Stars, in collaboration with the New York Festival of Song, continues its vital mentoring program devoted to shaping the next generation of vocal talent with The Sweetest Path: The Evolution of French Art Song. From the fathers of French mélodie to its 20th century innovators, The Sweetest Path traces the development of the most poetic, lush, and luminescent vocal traditions.

Caramoor Classics Series: Jasper String Quartet
2009-2010 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence
Saturday March 20 at 8:00pm

J Freivogel, violin; Sae Niwa, violin; Sam Quintal, viola; Rachel Henderson, cello

Beethoven		Quartet in F Major, Op.18 No.1
Webern		Langsamer Satz
Webern		5 Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5
Beethoven		Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127

The Jasper String Quartet-Caramoor's 2009-2010 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence-continues its residency with an enlightening program that juxtaposes early and late works of two of the most creative composers in the tradition. The Jaspers create a canvas evoking the evolution of musical thought from an early classical Beethoven masterpiece to a monumental late quartet and from a Romantic Webern to the condensed masterpiece of his mature innovations.

Turns of the Centuries: St. Lawrence String Quartet
Saturday April 10 at 8:00pm

Geoff Nuttall, violin; Scott St. John, violin; Lesley Robertson, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello

Haydn		Quartet No. 67 in F Major, Op. 77 No. 2, Hob. III:82 (Lobkowitz) (1799)
Ravel		String Quartet in F Major (1903)
John Adams		String Quartet (2008 - composed for St. Lawrence String Quartet)

Celebrating its 20th anniversary last season, the St. Lawrence Quartet is one the eminent chamber ensembles of our time. Steeped in tradition yet seeking the new, their program comprises three hugely influential works in the quartet literature: Haydn's last complete string quartet, Ravel's stunning and widely performed work from 1903, and the latest quartet, written for the St. Lawrence last year, by one of today's most celebrated composers: John Adams.

Turns of the Centuries: Caramoor Virtuosi
Saturday, April 17 at 8:00pm

Jeewon Park, piano; Jesse Mills, violin; Yura Lee, violin; Max Mandel, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Edward Arron, Artistic Director and cello

Beethoven		Variations in E-flat Major for Piano Trio, Op. 44 (1804)
Webern		Two Pieces for cello and piano (1899)
Webern		Three Little Pieces for cello and piano, opus 11, (1914)
Chen Yi		Sound of The Five for Cello and String Quartet (1998)
Dohnanyi		Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 (1895)

Always elegant, engaged, and insightful, the Caramoor Virtuosi's program paints vivid landscapes of the musical culture and creativity of the turns of the last three centuries. Beethoven's Opus 44 Variations for piano trio foreshadow later innovations and the first turns towards Romanticism. Dohnanyi's lush opus 1 piano quintet straddles the late-Romantic and the breaking apart of tonality, beautifully captured in Webern's sets of miniatures for cello and piano, of the early 20th century. Chen Yi's exhilarating Sound of the Five is a nod to the growing presence and contributions of Chinese and women composers in today's musical culture.