Courtesy imageSFCMF News:
SANTA FE — The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival presents another spectacular lineup in its 46th season, which runs July 15 through Aug. 20.
The Festival’s 40 concerts feature nearly 100 works — including five premieres — performed by the world’s finest classical musicians in beautiful and intimate venues in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Conductor and violinist Alan Gilbert returns to the Festival to serve as Artist-in-Residence for an unprecedented third time.
Spanning the 18th through the 21st centuries, the Festival’s 2018 repertoire includes masterworks by the likes of Mozart, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and Stravinsky; classics of the Baroque era as part of its Bach Plus series; lesser-known gems by Janáček, Lutosławski and Dohnányi; and newly commissioned works by Alexander Goehr, Magnus Lindberg and Max Grafe, who hail from England, Finland and the United States, respectively.
With its wide range of performances, mix of longtime and debuting artists, plus the stunning Southwestern setting, the Festival offers a one-of-a-kind musical experience that, every year, draws dedicated — and delighted — New Mexico, US and international audiences alike.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Alan Gilbert — the visionary former music director of the New York Philharmonic and chief conductor designate of Hamburg’s NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra — serves as the Festival’s Artist-in-Residence for the third time, showcasing his remarkable musicianship and passionate interpretations of masterworks from the classical music repertoire. During his residency, Gilbert appears on three programs. As a violinist, he performs Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1 Aug. 5 and Aug. 6 and J. S. Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe Aug. 11. As a conductor, he leads Schoenberg’s chamber orchestra arrangement of Mahler’s symphonic vocal work Das Lied von der Erde Aug. 13. The performance features Grammy Award–winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, whom The New York Times called “a luminous standout,” and tenor Paul Groves, described as “a lusty and evocative force” by The Plain Dealer and praised for his “appealing stage presence” by New York magazine.
Swiss-born American pianist Gilles Vonsattel makes his Festival debut with two programs. July 24, Vonsattel, whom The New York Times called “immensely talented” and “a polished and wide-ranging player,” gives a solo recital in Santa Fe that includes Schumann’s Fantasie in C Major, Webern’s Variations for Piano and George Benjamin’s Shadowlines. July 25, in Santa Fe, and July 26, in Albuquerque, he performs Dvořák’s “Dumky” Piano Trio with violinist William Preucil and cellist Mark Kosower.
Three acclaimed ensembles make their first-ever appearance at the Festival this summer. Aug. 7, the Danish String Quartet — hailed as “one of the best quartets before the public today” by The Washington Post — performs Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s Ten Preludes for String Quartet and Beethoven’s String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132, in Santa Fe. Aug. 8, in Santa Fe, and Aug. 9, in Albuquerque, they join forces with violinist Soovin Kim and pianist Gloria Chien (in her Festival debut) for Chausson’s Concerto in D Major for Violin, Piano & String Quartet.
The boundary-pushing Zebra Trio gives the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Festival-commissioned String Trio July 15 and July 16. July 18, they perform Mozart’s Flute Quartet in C Major, with flutist Tara Helen O’Connor, and Klein’s String Trio. Their third program, July 19, features Virko Baley’s Orpheus Singing for Oboe & String Quartet, which they perform with oboist Robert Ingliss and violinist L. P. How. In its Festival debut, the New York Philharmonic String Quartet, which formed in January 2017, performs Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in F Minor Aug. 14, and Beethoven’s String Quartet in C Minor and Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2 Aug. 15.
Another highlight of the season is the Festival’s first-ever presentation of two standout works. July 21, audience favorites the Orion String Quartet performs Haydn’s string quartet version of The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross, which Haydn originally wrote as an orchestral piece and later adapted into an oratorio. Aug. 5 and Aug. 6, Lawrence Foster conducts Walton’s music-and-poetry piece Façade: An Entertainment, featuring text by Edith Sitwell recited by Tony Award–winning actor John Rubinstein and soprano Lucy Shelton, the only artist to win the prestigious Walter W. Naumburg Award twice.
As part of its longstanding tradition of championing new music, the Festival premieres commissioned works by world-renowned composers Alexander Goehr and Magnus Lindberg; emerging composer Max Grafe; and Binna Kim and Michael Seltenreich, participants in this year’s Young Composers String Quartet Project, which is overseen by the Festival’s Artistic Director, composer/pianist Marc Neikrug. Grafe participated in the project in 2015.
Musicians making their Festival debuts in 2018 include (in addition to the ones previously mentioned) Ashley Vandiver, violin; Margaret Dyer Harris, viola; Laura Ardan and Amy Zoloto, clarinet; Richard Deane, horn; Christopher Bassett, trombone; Eric Lau, saxophone; Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano and Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord.
Among the many longtime musicians returning to the Festival are Ida Kavafian, violin/viola; Soovin Kim, violin; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Liang Wang, oboe; Anthony McGill, clarinet; Ran Dank, Shai Wosner and Haochen Zhang, piano; Daniel Druckman and Gregory Zuber, percussion; June Han, harp; the Dover Quartet; and the FLUX Quartet.
