For Immediate Release

Contact: David Mayhew for Cohn Dutcher Associates

203.453.4275 david@davidmayhew.net

SPRING SEASON OF INDOORS CONCERTS BEGINS MARCH 19
AT CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS

Katonah, NY - Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts announces Caramoor Indoors, its spring concert series, beginning Sunday, March 19, 2006.  The spring schedule features the Caramoor Virtuosi; the only New York area appearance of pianist Krystian Zimerman; Caramoor's 2005-06 Composer-in-Residence, John Musto, with MustoMusic; cabaret singer Klea Blackhurst; the Jupiter String Quartet, Caramoor's 2005-06 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence; and other world-class musicians and ensembles, as well as special Family Programs.

Caramoor Indoors concerts, with the exception of Family Programs, take place in the 200-seat Music Room of the House Museum, the residence of Caramoor's founders, Walter and Lucie Rosen.  It is richly decorated with an extraordinary collection of original Renaissance paintings, sculpture and tapestry, and Asian art. The Music Room is a unique and beautiful setting in which to enjoy music, said Caramoor's Chief Executive and General Director, Michael Barrett.  It is perhaps the most elegant and intimate performance space in the metropolitan area.

Caramoor Classics - March 19, April 9, and April 29

The spring season opens with a Caramoor Classics concert featuring Caramoor Virtuosi. Caramoor Classics concerts are appropriate for families with children 8 years and older and will include comments from the artists about the program.

The Caramoor Virtuosi are Laura Frautschi, violin, Yosuke Kawasaki, violin; Max Mandel, viola; Edward Arron, cello; and Andrew Armstrong, piano.  Their program on Sunday, March 19 at 4:00 pm will feature Haydn's Trio in A-flat Major for Piano and Strings; Beethoven's Trio in E-flat Major for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 3; and Franck's Quintet in F minor for Piano and Strings (1879).

The Jupiter String Quartet, Caramoor's 2005-06 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, perform in the second spring Caramoor Classics concert, Sunday, April 9 at 4:00 pm.  Their program will be Mozart's Quartet in B Major, K. 589; Bartok's Quartet No. 3; and Beethoven's Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3.
 
The final spring Caramoor Classics event will be MustoMusic on Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 pm.  Curated by John Musto, Caramoor's Composer-in-Residence, MustoMusic will feature William Sharp, baritone; the Amelia Trio; and John Musto, piano.  The program, Musto and Mozart, will include Mozart's Sonata in F Major, K. 533/494 and Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello; and Musto's Piano Trio; River Songs for Cello, Baritone, and Piano; and Recuerdo for Baritone and Piano.

Tickets for Caramoor Classics are $25 for an individual event or $63.75 for the Spring Trio, all three performances.

Great Artists in the Music Room - April 2, April 22, and May 13

Three Great Artists in the Music Room concerts, a series of performance by acclaimed artists, are scheduled for the spring.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Krystian Zimerman will make his only New York area appearance of the season on Sunday, April 2, at 5:00 pm.  His program will be announced in March.  Zimerman has been cheered by critics throughout the world, including The Times of London, which wrote Krystian Zimerman's approach to playing the piano has greatness written all over it.  It has intensity, majesty, intimacy, daring and simplicity, and above all insight.  The Boston Globe hailed Zimerman as an excellent and impeccable technician, who boasts a beautiful, pliant sonority...with plenty of firepower that doesn?t feel he has to use all the time.

Windscape with Jeremy Denk on Saturday, April 22 at 8:00 pm.  This dazzling, talented quintet, which combines fresh and innovative programming with illuminating commentary, will be the second spring Great Artists performance.  The program, Genius Meets Genius - Mozart and the Bach Family, features J.C. Bach's Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 11, No. 4; J.S. Bach's Organ Prelude Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier; and Fantasia and Fugue in g minor Great, BWV 542 (arr. Alan R. Kay); as well as Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, K. 452 and Serenade in c minor, K. 406 (arr. Mordechai Rechtman).

The Pacifica Quartet will be the final spring Great Artists event, Saturday, May 13 at 8:00 pm.  Their program will be Mozart's Quartet in C Major, K. 465; Janacek's Quartet No. 2, Intimate Letters; and Beethoven's Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130 with the Grosse Fugue, the original but rarely performed final movement of this Quartet.

Tickets for Great Artists in the Music Room are $40 for an individual event or $68 for the Spring Duet, two Great Artists concerts.  The Krystian Zimerman concert is available only as part of a Spring Duet, single tickets are not available.

Cabaret in the Music Room - May 6

One of the most exciting cabaret talents, Klea Blackhurst, will bring her show Everything the Traffic Will Allow - the Songs and Sass of Ethel Merman, to the Music Room on Saturday, May 6, at 8:00 pm.  Klea Blackhurst has been acclaimed by Stephen Holden in The New York Times who wrote:  The humor and ebullience that emanate from Klea Blackhurst in her cabaret tribute to Ethel Merman are qualities that can?t be faked.  And they are among the reasons Ms. Blackhurst?s show...has generated such enthusiastic word-of-mouth.  There isn?t an affected bone in the body of this Utah-born performer.  Peppering her show with very funny anecdotes, she does an affectionate homage, not an imitation.

This special benefit event includes a meet-the-artist champagne and dessert reception following the performance.  Tickets for Cabaret in the Music Room are $200, $125, and $75 (all but $25 is tax deductible) and can be obtained by calling the events line at 914-232-1492, the box office at 914-232-1252, or by email at events@caramoor.org. 
 
Family Music Programs - April 8, April 22, and May 6

Family Music Programs take place in the Diane Moss Education Center, a lively, informal space in one of Caramoor's original Mediterranean-style buildings.  Programs are suitable for children ages three and up and are geared to young attention spans and levels of comprehension.  Most programs run 45 minutes to one hour.

The Jupiter String Quartet, Caramoor's 2005-06 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, will offer the first spring Family Music Program on Saturday, April 8 at 11:30 am and 1:00 pm.  The Quartet, specialists in presenting music to very young audiences, will introduce children to the string family of instruments and demonstrate how four musicians working as a team can create one gorgeous sound.

Youngsters will sing, clap and dance in the aisles to the lively klezmer of Eastern Europe at the Klezmer for Kids program on Saturday, April 22 at 11:30 am and 1:00 pm.  The program provides a fascinating insight into 19th century life in the Jewish shtetles (villages).

Andes Manta, featuring the vibrant, powerful music of the Andes, will perform on Saturday, May 6 at 11:30 am and 1:00 pm.  The four Lopez brothers make up Andes Manta and play music that is heard from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego.

Tickets for individual Family Music Programs are $15.  The Trio admission, all three spring programs, is $36.  There is also a  special family ticket price of $65 for families of five or more.

ARTISTS

Klea Blackhurst is best known for her acclaimed tribute to Ethel Merman, Everything the Traffic Will Allow, that has been charming audiences and critics alike nationwide since its New York debut in 2001. In the fall of 2004, she turned her passion for musical-theatre history towards the Broadway career of composer Vernon Duke and debuted Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke's Broadway at New York's Café Carlyle and went on to play an extended run at Opia in Manhattan. The show recently played a sold-out engagement at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater.  In the spring of 2005, she made her Carnegie Hall debut starring with Michael Feinstein in an evening devoted to the work of composer, Jule Styne.  Other recent U.S. appearances include the Fifteenth Annual Cabaret Convention at New York's Town Hall; 92nd Street Y Lyrics & Lyricist Series (Cole Porter); Guild Hall in East Hampton; The Oak Room in the fabled Algonquin Hotel; San Francisco's Plush Room; New Jersey Performing Arts Center; and the Chicago Humanities Festival.  
 
Caramoor Virtuosi comprises alumni of the Caramoor Festival's Rising Stars Workshops, a program in which members began the transition from promising students to accomplished artists.  Heard around the world as soloists, concertmasters and orchestral and chamber players, Caramoor Virtuosi has been a presence since 1999 in the Music Room as well as at the Caramoor International Music Festival in the summer.

American pianist Jeremy Denk has established a reputation as one of today's most compelling young artists, with a wide-ranging, challenging repertoire. A 1998 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, he also won the 1997 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, he made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in June 2005 and has appeared as soloist at the Ravinia festival; with the San Francisco Youth Symphony; with the London Philharmonia in Royal Festival Hall; and with the Juilliard Orchestra and Kurt Masur in Avery Fisher Hall - a performance that was nationally broadcast on Performance Today.

The Jupiter String Quartet, Caramoor's 2005-06 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, has been praised by The New York Sun as one of the strongest young string quartets in the country.  The Jupiter String Quartet has received critical acclaim performing all over the world and captured First Prize in the 8th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2004, as well as the Szekely Prize for the best performance of a Beethoven Quartet.  The Quartet's members are Meg Freivogel, Nelson Lee, violins; Liz Freivogel, viola; and Daniel McDonough, cello.

As String Quartet-in-Residence at Caramoor, the Jupiter String Quartet also participates in Caramoor's Student Strings Program, which provides an opportunity for middle and high school string players to work with professional musicians.  The Quartet visits area schools for Concerts and Conversations and offers a clinic at Caramoor for selected students.  Students and their families also receive discounted tickets or free vouchers to attend the Quartet's Caramoor Classics performance.

Award-winning composer and pianist John Musto is regarded as one of the most versatile musicians before the public today.  Mr. Musto was a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for his orchestral song cycle Dove Sta Amore.  He has also garnered two regional Emmys and two CINE Awards for his scores written for television.  In 2000 he was awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship at Bellagio, Italy.  Mr. Musto has been featured on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center and the Composer Portrait series at Columbia?s Miller Theater.  Mr. Musto?s first operatic work, the comedy Volpone, written with librettist Mark Campbell, premiered at the Wolftrap Opera in March, 2004 under the baton of Caramoor's Michael Barrett. 

John Musto's Composer-in-Residence activities at Caramoor include planning, programming and performing three MustoMusic concerts, the first of which was heard in the autumn of 2005 and the third to be a part of this summer's Caramoor International Music Festival.  In addition, Caramoor has commissioned Mr. Musto to write a string quartet for the Jupiter String Quartet and another work to be announced.  Both of these commissioned pieces will receive World Premiere performances during the 2006 Caramoor International Music Festival.
 
One of today's most dynamic and exciting string quartets, the Pacifica Quartet continues to win the hearts of audiences around the world with its impassioned interpretations and unique musical voice.  Formed in 1994, the Pacifica Quartet quickly achieved international stature when it captured three of chamber music's most important international awards, winning Grand Prize at the 1996 Coleman Chamber Music Competition, top prize at the 1997 Concert Artists Guild Competition, and the 1998 Naumburg Chamber Music Award.  The Pacifica Quartet?s active touring career has taken them to the Edinburgh Festival, venues in Australia, Greece, and Panama and on annual American tours coast-to-coast, including performances at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.  In addition to Caramoor where they were the 2001-2 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, their festival appearances have included Aspen, Santa Fe, Bellingham, Britt, Cape and Islands, and the Vermont Mozart Festival.

Windscape (Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; Randall Ellis, oboe; Alan R. Kay, clarinet; Frank Morelli, bassoon; and David Jolley, horn) was created in 1994 by five of New York's most eminent solo artists.  In programs that combine a dazzling technique with fresh commentary, Windscape evokes vivid cultural landscapes from exciting places and eras.  The group has delighted audiences throughout the U.S. with its dazzling talent, fresh and innovative programs and illuminating commentary.  These five engaging musicians present a wide range of repertoire - from Beethoven to Bernstein - in dynamic and entertaining new ways.

Krystian Zimerman's career as a pianist was launched when he won the Grand Prix at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1975, paving the way for performances in concert halls worldwide.  His American debut came in 1979 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.  He has since toured widely and made many recordings. Since 1996 he has taught piano at the Academy of Music in Basel, Switzerland, the country in which he resides.  Zimerman, who travels with his own Steinway piano is best known for his interpretations of Romantic music, but has performed a wide variety of classical pieces, including contemporary works such as the British premiere of Witold Lutoslawski's Piano Concerto in 1989.  During his 25-year collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon, Mr. Zimerman has made 22 records, for which he has frequently received the most prestigious recording awards.

Tickets

For tickets to all events call the Caramoor Box Office at 914.232.1252 or visit www.caramoor.org.

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, New York.

About Caramoor

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who built the great house and filled it with their treasures. Walter Rosen was the master planner for the Caramoor estate, bringing to reality his dream of creating a place to entertain friends from around the world.  Their musical evenings were the seeds of the International Music Festival of today.  Realizing the pleasure their friends took in the beauty of Caramoor - the house with its art collection; the gardens; and the musical programs on summer evenings - the Rosens established a Foundation to open Caramoor to the public in perpetuity.
 
Caramoor is easy to get to by car or mass transportation. By train, take the Harlem Division of the Metro-North Railroad to Katonah, New York. Taxi service from the station to Caramoor (5 minutes away) is available. By car: Take the Saw Mill River Parkway north to Katonah. Exit at Route 35/Cross River. Turn right, and at the first traffic light make a right turn onto Route 22 south. Travel 1.9 miles to junction of Girdle Ridge Road. Follow the signs to Caramoor. (Detailed directions: 914-232-5035, press 2 or visit www.caramoor.org).