Katonah, NY ~ 08/02/05
| For Immediate Release |
| Contact: Cohn Dutcher Associates |
| Lois Cohn, 917.339.7187, lcohn@cohndutcher.com |
| Dan Dutcher, 917.339.7157, ddutcher@cohndutcher.com |
Katonah, New York - Michael Barrett, Chief Executive and General Director of Caramoor, announced that renowned American composer John Musto has been named Caramoor's composer-in-residence beginning September 2005 and continuing through the 2006 Caramoor International Music Festival.
"Caramoor has a rich tradition of presenting important premieres and new music," said Michael Barrett. "Benjamin Britten's three Parables for Church Performance were given their U.S. premieres here, and composers are invited annually to write new music for Caramoor and interact with the audience. It is not uncommon to have several known composers at a single event at Caramoor. When given the opportunity to have a composer-in-residence for an entire season, I jumped at the chance. Thanks to Susan and Elihu Rose, who share with me a love and admiration for John Musto's compositions and all-around musicianship, we were able to forge a genuine residency that will last an entire year. John's residency will feature two commissioned World Premieres, and showcase his formidable talents as a pianist and programmer. For Caramoor, this is an ideal model. This residency will give John the opportunity to be an advocate for new American music, as well as a proponent for the European masters Bach, Mozart, Schubert, and Galuppi. I believe that it is essential for the concert going community to have frequent contact with living composers, and to hear a spectrum of their work. John is one of our very best composers, and I know our audience will be richly rewarded."
"I am delighted to have an artistic home at Caramoor," says John Musto. "Michael Barrett understands my music completely and I know my music will be beautifully presented. I'm also excited to be involved as a performing pianist. I believe composers should be active performers, and I look forward to playing the music of many European and American masters as well as my own. Of course, none of this would be possible without Susan and Elihu Rose. I applaud their support for living artists and their support of new music."
John Musto's residency will include planning, programming and performing three concerts to be called MustoMusic: a piano and vocal concert in the fall and a chamber music concert in the spring, both in the Music Room of the House Museum. The third will also be chamber music but in the summer as part of the Caramoor International Music Festival. In addition, Caramoor will present several compositions by John Musto throughout his residency. Caramoor has commissioned Mr. Musto to write a string quartet for the Jupiter Quartet, Caramoor's 2005 - 2006 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence, and another work to be announced. Both of these commissioned pieces will receive World Premiere performances during the 2006 Caramoor International Music Festival.
MustoMusic on October 15 at 7:30 pm in Caramoor's Music Room, will include a selection of Sonatas for the Keyboard, by Galluppi, Leonard Bernstein's 13 Anniversaries and Musto's song cycles Dove Sta Amore and Penelope. The latter two will feature soprano Amy Burton with Mr. Musto at the piano.
On Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 pm.in the Caramoor Music Room, MustoMusic will include Musto's Piano Trio, performed by the Amelia Trio, his River Songs with baritone William Sharp and works by Mozart.
During the 2006 Caramoor International Music Festival, MustoMusic will feature his Book of Uncommon Prayer for four singers and piano,as well as his Clarinet Sextet. The Sextet will be performed by the Music From Copland House Ensemble.
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 recently completed his first operatic work, the comedy Volpone, with librettist Mark Campbell. Hailed as a masterpiece by the Washington Post, Volpone was premiered by the Wolftrap Opera in March, 2004 under the baton of conductor Michael Barrett.
Recent commissions have included Carnegie Hall, the Dallas Symphony, Chanticleer, the Metropolitan Museum, the Vail Valley Music Festival and the Marilyn Horne Foundation. In April 2006 he will appear as soloist in his new Piano Concerto, commissioned by the Miller Theater at Columbia University.
John Musto has been a visiting professor at Brooklyn College and is a frequent guest lecturer at the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. As a pianist, Mr. Musto has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Nonesuch The Milken Archive, CRI and EMI, and his compositions have been recorded for Hyperion, Harmonia Mundi, MusicMasters, Innova, Channel Classics, Albany Records and New World Records. He also appears frequently in recital with his wife, soprano Amy Burton.
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Galluppi Selected Sonatas
Musto Dove Sta Amore
Bernstein 13 Anniversaries
Musto Penelope
Artists: Curated by John Musto, Caramoor Composer-in-Residence, Amy Burton, soprano; John Musto piano
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Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Mozart Sonata in F Major K. 533/494
Musto Piano Trio
Musto River Songs for Baritone, Cello, and Piano
Musto Recuerdo for Baritone and Piano
Mozart Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello
Artists: Curated by John Musto, Caramoor Composer-in-Residence, Amelia Piano Trio, William Sharp, baritone, John Musto, piano
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Date/Time: TBD
The Spanish Courtyard, Caramoor
Musto String Quartet, World Premiere to be titled
The World Premiere performance of a string quartet by John Musto will be Volume VII of Caramoor's commissioning project, A String Quartet Library for the 21st Century.
In the 2000 season, the Caramoor Festival initiated the Commissioning Project. Since then, it has commissioned a string quartet each year, to be written for, and premiered by the current ErnstStiefel String Quartet in Residence.
Artists: The Jupiter String Quartet --Caramoor's 2005 - 2006 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence
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Date/Time: TBD
The Spanish Courtyard, Caramoor
Musto Book of Uncommon Prayer for four singers and piano
Musto Clarinet Sextet
Artists: Curated by John Musto, Caramoor Composer-in-Residence, Music From Copland House Ensemble, Michael Boriskin, Director; John Musto, piano; Singers TBA
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John Musto's residency is underwritten by the Susan and Elihu Rose Foundation.
About Caramoor
Caramoor 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.
Getting to Caramoor
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: (West Side Manhattan and New Jersey) 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 online at www.caramoor.org).
Tickets may be ordered by calling the Box Office at 914-232-1252 or online at www.caramoor.org.
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