SPAC 2019 – Part 2: CMS at SPAC

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Six Programs / 23 Works Never Performed by CMS at SPAC / featuring 24 Artists from 9 Countries, 260 years of Repertoire

THE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER (CMS) returns to SPAC (August 4 – 20) with a roster of internationally celebrated artists, taking audiences at the Spa Little Theatre on a musical journey with six programs designed specifically for the SPAC Residency, with 23 works never before been performed by CMS at SPAC. In addition to performances by David Finckel and Wu Han, Co-Artistic Directors of CMS, audiences will experience the return of the Escher Quartet, plus debut appearances by four artists including Chinese violinist Angelo Xiang Yu, British flutist Adam Walker, Bulgarian violinist Bella Hristova and renowned American cellist Keith Robinson.

Wu Han and David Finckel remarked: “We are gratified to continue fulfilling SPAC’s commitment to the world’s finest chamber music repertoire and performances. These programs, designed specifically for this residency, comprise a chamber music listening experience of incomparable depth and diversity. We look forward to reuniting with our devoted SPAC audience and Saratoga Springs community.”

PROGRAMMING: THE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER: AUGUST 4 – 20

All 23 works featured in the 2019 CMS season have never before been performed by CMS at SPAC.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 @ 3PM: Thrills + Chills

Ravel Jeux d’eau for Piano
Fauré Fantasy for Flute and Piano, Op. 79
Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano
Foss Capriccio for Cello and Piano
Britten Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6
Beethoven Trio in D major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost”
Michael Brown, Piano; Bella Hristova, Violin;Angelo Xiang Yu, Violin; Nicholas Canellakis, Cello; Adam Walker, Flute.

French color, American optimism, British wit and German drama combine to kick off the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s season at SPAC. Ravel’s iconic water work, Jeux d’eau, begins a program which includes reflective and dynamic works by Poulenc and Fauré; Lukas Foss’s lively cello and piano Capriccio; Britten’s humorous and bold violin suite; and Beethoven’s Shakespeare-inspired “Ghost” trio, a game-changer in the chamber music landscape.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 6 @ 8PM: Instrumental Array

Bach Concerto in D minor for Keyboard, Strings, and Continuo, BWV 1052
Kodály Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7
Spohr Grand Nonetto in F major for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass, Op. 31
Michael Brown, Piano; Bella Hristova, Violin; Angelo Xiang Yu, Violin; Kerri Ryan, Viola
Nicholas Canellakis, Cello; David Finckel, Cello; Nathaniel West, Double Bass; Adam Walker, Flute; Stephen Taylor, Oboe; Ricardo Morales, Clarinet; Angela Anderson Smith, Bassoon; Jeffrey Lang, Horn.

Three compositions, three undeniable masterpieces. CMS celebrates the virtuosity and genius of the baroque keyboard concerto with JS Bach, Hungarian flair and nationalism with Zoltan Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello, and an inventive collaboration of nine winds and strings in Spohr’s Grand Nonetto, the first work ever to be written for this unusual grouping of instruments.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 11 @ 3PM: Deeply Inspired

Schubert Trio in B-flat major for Violin, Viola, and Cello, D. 581
Mozart Concerto No. 12 in A major for Piano and String Quintet, K. 414
Mendelssohn Trio No. 2 in C minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 66
Juho Pohjonen, Piano; Wu Han, Piano; Chad Hoopes, Violin; Arnaud Sussmann, Violin; Matthew Lipman, Viola; David Finckel, Cello; Keith Robinson, Cello.

Lost to the world too soon, Schubert, Mozart and Mendelssohn gave classical music some of its most profound and compelling works. Deeply Inspired spotlights these iconic composers together in one performance, including an effervescent string trio written when Schubert was only 20 years old and Mendelssohn’s moving Piano Trio No. 2, the last chamber work the composer lived to see published.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13 @ 8PM: International Voices

Burleigh Southland Sketches for Violin and Piano
Adolphe Couple for Cello and Piano
Stravinsky L’Histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale), Trio Version for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano
Falla Selections from Suite populaire espagnole for Violin and Piano
Dohnányi Sextet in C major for Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano, Op. 37
Juho Pohjonen, Piano; Wu Han, Piano; Chad Hoopes, Violin; Arnaud Sussmann, Violin; Matthew Lipman, Viola; David Finckel, Cello; Keith Robinson, Cello; Ricardo Morales, Clarinet; Jeffrey Lang, Horn.

International Voices will take listeners on a journey through North America and Europe in this program of distinct voices that embody both eras and cultures. The evening will feature the picturesque work for violin and piano by Henry Burleigh, the song composer who introduced Dvořák to African-American spirituals; the vibrancy of a modern American composition by CMS’s own Bruce Adolphe; the political turmoil of Russia and Hungary with Stravinsky and Dohnányi; and the passion of Spain in Falla’s work inspired by popular melodies of his native country.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 18 @ 3PM: Vienna to Paris

Beethoven Trio in C minor for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 9, No. 3
Debussy Quartet in G minor for Strings, Op. 10
Brahms Quartet No. 2 in A major for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 26
Wu Han, Piano; Paul Huang, Violin; Paul Neubauer, Viola; David Finckel, Cello; Escher String Quartet: Adam Barnett-Hart, Violin; Danbi Um, Violin; Pierre Lapointe, Viola; Brook Speltz, Cello.

The majestic cities of Vienna and Paris were thriving centers of creative energy in the 18th and 19th centuries, nurturing many great artists. Among those was Beethoven, who wrote a copious amount of works shortly after moving to Vienna in 1792, including his popular Op. 9 string trios. A hundred years later, Debussy’s Paris provided a stunning backdrop for his string quartet, which revealed previously unimagined possibilities for quartet composition. Brahms’s blockbuster piano quartet provides a spectacular finish to the program.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20 @ 8PM: Technical Brilliance

Mozart Quartet in F major for Strings, K. 590, “Prussian”
Saint-Saëns Sonata No. 1 in D minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 75
Dvořák Sextet in A major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Two Cellos, Op. 48
Wu Han, Piano; Paul Huang, Violin; Paul Neubauer, Viola; David Finckel, Cello; Escher String Quartet: Adam Barnett-Hart, Violin; Danbi Um, Violin; Pierre Lapointe, Viola; Brook Speltz, Cello.

Technical Brilliance features three incomparable craftsmen and the performers who bring their works to life on stage. Mozart introduces the evening with his “Prussian” string quartet, a showcase for the cello; Saint-Saëns’s Sonata adds fireworks for the violin, and closing out this program and CMS’s 2019 residency at SPAC is Dvořák’s glowing String Sextet.

TICKETS:
Tickets will be available online at www.spac.org on sale NOW to SPAC members and Thursday, January 29 at 10 a.m. to the general public.
Center Orchestra, Center Balcony: $53.00
Side Orchestra, Side Balcony: $48.00