Rockport Music Summer Events

Thursday, June 9, 7:30 pm: RCMF Opening Night

The Rockport Chamber Music Festival’s opening night will feature pianist David Deveau, cellist Andres Diaz, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, and the Ikarus Chamber Players, performing works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, as well as David Alpher’s new Songs Without Words, commissioned in memory of festival co-founder Lila Deis. 

Friday, June 10, 8 pm: Mozart & Tchaikovsky

Wendy Chen and David Deveau will bring to life Mozart’s energetic and playful Sonata in C for Piano Duet. Andres Diaz will then explore Xi Wang’s evocative Rhapsody for solo cello; piano will be joined by cello and Akiko Meyers on violin for Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor. 

Saturday, June 11, 8 pm: Stefan Jackiw, Violin, and Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Gilles Vonsattel, “An impressiveÂ…and dynamic virtuoso” and favorite at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, with Stefan Jackiw, praised for his “flawless technique, precocious musical understanding, and sweet, singing tone,” will collaborate on works by Brahms, Stravinsky and Strauss; Vonsattel will perform Dallapiccola’s Sonatina Canonica for solo piano. 

Sunday, June 12, 5PM: A Fry Cry – The Self-Conducted Chamber Orchestra

Writes Strings Magazine of A Far Cry, the group has “perfected a lush, sweet sound that is achingly alive and emotional.” Appointed Chamber Orchestra in Residence for 2010 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the young chamber group also tours across the United States and was praised by the Boston Globe for their “high musical standards and unbridled idealism.” 

Thursday, June 16, 8PM: Jupiter String Quartet

The Jupiter String Quartet, described by Allan Kozinn as playing “with lush tone, a fine sense of color and both energy and polish,” will begin their week-long residency in Rockport with two works by Beethoven and Gyorgy Kurtag’s 12 Microludes. The ensemble has appeared many times at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival and is welcomed back for their second year at the Shalin Liu. 

Friday, June 17, 8PM: Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano

The Australian praises Marc-Andre Hamelin, writing that he ranges from “the toweringly powerful to the sweetly magical Â…it was entrancing.” Hamelin will perform solo piano pieces from Haydn’s energetic Piano Sonata in E minor to the work of Franz Liszt and Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. 

Saturday, June 18, 8PM: Jupiter String Quartet, Mark Nuccio, clarinet, and David Deveau, piano

The Jupiter will explore quartets by Bartok and Beethoven. The quartet are accomplished players of these composers, the Richmond Times Dispatch writing, “As delightful as the Jupiter Quartet was in the Beethoven, they were awe-inspiring in the Bartók.” The Jupiter String Quartet’s Daniel McDounough will be joined by Deveau and Nuccio for Brahms’ Trio in A Minor for clarinet, cello and piano. 

Sunday, June 19, 5PM: Claremont Trio & Clarinetist, Mark Nuccio

The Claremont Trio performs Martin’s Trio on Irish Folk Songs and Fanny Mendelssohn/Hensel’s Piano Trio in D minor, written for her sister in the last year of the composer’s life. They will be joined by Mark Nuccio, a clarinetist  described by the New York Times as shaping “his phrases beautifully with a rich, expressive tone,” for Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. 

Thursday, June 23, 8PM: Anderson & Roe, Piano Duo Extraordinaire

Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Roe began their musical partnership at Julliard, where they both received their bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and have since toured in the United States and abroad to considerable acclaim. Writes the Star Telegram, “Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe captured the spirit of camaraderie while playing at the highest level of artistry.” On June 23, the duo will play music by Brahms, Mozart, Radiohead and more in their first appearance at the Shalin Liu Performance Center. 

Friday, June 24, 8PM: Daedalus String Quartet & Pianist, Andrew Rangell 

The Daedalus, whose style was described by the Seattle Times as “full of verve and energy” and “both incisive and unified,” will perform quartets by Mozart and Richard Wernick. In a rare public performance, Andrew Rangell will play Janacek’s In the Mists, a piano cycle suffused with both loveliness and anguish, written shortly after the death of the composer’s daughter. Rangell and the Deadalus Quartet will also collaborate on Dohnanyi’s Piano Quintet No.2. 

Saturday, June 25, 8PM: Guitarist David Leisner & Friends

The night will feature a mixed ensemble, including David Leisner (“the most painterly of classical guitarists” – San Antonio Express-News), violinst Arnaud Sussmann, violist Yinzi Kong, Julie Albers on cello, and William Ransom on piano. The ensemble will play a variety of works including music by Haug, Schumann and Paganini. 

Sunday, June 26, 5PM: David Finckel & Wu Han Play Beethoven and Brahms

Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, ranked among the most esteemed classical musicians in the world today, are in high demand year after year among chamber music audiences; the duo appears each season at venues and concert series across the United States, as well as internationally. Said London’s Musical Opinion of their Wigmore Hall debut, “They enthralled both myself and the audience with performances [of] idiomatic command, technical mastery and unsullied integrity of vision.”  

Thursday, July 7, 8PM: The Music of Evan Ziporyn

Raised in a musically ecumenical household in Evanston, Illinois, Evan grew up listening to his father’s violin, his grandmother’s Yiddish Socialist chorus, his mother’s extensive folk & jazz collection, and the sounds of top 40 & Motown on AM radio. The concert will feature Ziporyn, joined by friends from Bang on a Can, as well as other musicians, playing Evan’s original works. 

Friday, July 8, 8PM: St. Petersburg String Quartet

The St. Petersburg will perform quartets by Prokofiev, Shostakovich and more. The ensemble, renowned both in Russia and internationally, is praised by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, which lauds their, “subtle, carefully mixed colors and precise gradations of dynamics” and “acute sense of rhythm and admirable concern for balance and the articulation of inner voicings.” The St. Petersburg String Quarter will return to the Rockport Chamber Music Festival to play at the Shalin Liu on July 8. 

Saturday, July 9, 8PM: Vassily Primakov and the St. Petersburg String Quartet

Vassily Primakov makes his first appearance at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, joining the St. Petersburg for an evening of music by Russian composers, as well as an arrangement of Bach’s Chaconne from the Partita in D minor, by Boris Vayner. Says the Johannesburg Press’s Thys Odendaal of the young pianist, “Primakov is so focused in his playing that it sounds as if music just flows through himÂ… one hears the heartbeat of the composer.” This will be the festival’s second night of Russian music featuring the St. Petersburg Quartet. 

Sunday, July 10, 5PM: Red Priest: Venetian Carnival

Says the Pittsburg Post-Gazette of Red Priest, “If the Rolling Stones played recorder, violin, cello and harpsichord and their genre was 17th-century music, they would be the band called Red Priest.” The group, who take their name from “the red priest” Antonio Vivaldi, perform not only with intensity and striking showmanship, but also with technical mastery and superb musicianship. Piers Adams was recently heralded in the Washington Post as “the reigning recorder virtuoso in the world today;” the ensemble, also including violinist David Greenburg, cellist Angela East and harpsichordist David Wright, plays entirely from memory, allowing for the greatest emotive and technical collaboration. 

Monday, July 11, 7:30PM: Red Priest: Bach and the Pirates

Red Priest returns for a second concert. Stolen masterworks and forgotten jewels of the baroque era are performed with swashbuckling virtuosity!  This hugely popular programme includes Vivaldi’s Tempesta di Mare Concerto, a Pirate Suite by Couperin, the ‘Albinoni’ Adagio and works by Bach, Tartini, Simonetti, Leclair, Vitali and Handel. 

Thursday, July 14, 8 PM: Borromeo String Quartet

The Borromeo, a favorite at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, will return July 14. The group, lauded by Jeffrey Rossman for “their passion, unequaled technical brilliance and complete absorption in the music,” will perform quartets by Mozart, Brewbaker and Debussy. 

Friday, July 15, 8PM: Calmus Ensemble Leipzig

This German a capella quintet won Grand prize at the 2009 Concert Artist Guild Award in NYC. Said the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City, “They infuse their singing with wonderful lyricism and exquisite expressiveness, they bring passion to their interpretations and they, quite simply, bring whatever they sing to glorious life.” At their first very concert in Rockport, Calmus will sing music by Reger, Schütz, Brahms, Bobby McFerrin, and Sting, among others. 

Saturday, July 16, 8PM: The Weekend Traveler: Around the World with the New Century Saxophone Quartet

Pack your bags!  The New Century Saxophone Quartet is getting ready to celebrate its 30-year international performing career with a special performance project, “Weekend Traveler.”  This program explores folk music as heard through the ears of Copland, Shostakovich, Piazzolla, and Grainger, and others alongside sophisticated adaptations of original folk music from the United States, Eastern Europe and Asia, Latin America, and the British Isles. The program features the music of composer David Cutler. Says Leidsch Dagblad of the quartet, “The dynamic qualities of the quartet shone through in its unforced subtlety.” The NCSQ will return to Rockport this July 16. 

 

Sunday, July 17, 7:30PM: RCMF Grand Finale with Pianist, Russell Sherman. 

Celebrated pianist Russell Sherman, whose interpretations “offer a powerful, poetic vision,” (Allan Kozinn – The New York Times) will play works including Liszt’s Sonata in B minor and Schumann’s Fantasy in C major. The Liszt Sonata, at first largely ignored and rejected by critics including Eduard Hanslick, is now widely considered a masterpiece of the Romantic era and the pinnacle of Liszt’s piano composition. 

Friday, July 22, 8 pm: Christian McBride & Inside Straight

One of the leading bassists of our day, Christian McBride has collaborated with such jazz greats as Freddie Hubbard, Ray Brown, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock. A consummate entertainer and storyteller known for his warmth and humor, McBride and his quintet perform music from their new CD, “Kind of Brown,” a collection of swing and blues tunes.

Saturday, July 23, 8 pm: George Wein and the Newport All-Stars

Founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, pianist and singer George Wein remains a towering figure on the American jazz scene.  Beloved for his interpretations of both Dixieland and “straight-ahead” jazz, Wein has assembled an all-star band to mark his Rockport Music debut.

Sunday, July 24, 5 pm: Freddy Cole Quartet

The New York Times declared that “Freddy [Cole] has an impeccable sense of swing…he is, overall, the most maturely expressive male jazz singer of his generation, if not the best alive.” The brother of Nat King Cole and the uncle of Natalie Cole, Freddy engages audiences with music that is personal, inspiring, and deeply moving.

Friday, July 29, 8 pm: Jane Monheit

Jazz and contemporary vocalist Jane Monheit has performed at many of the major concert halls, cabarets, and jazz venues around the globe. She has collaborated with such artists as Michael Buble, Ramsay Lewis, John Pizzarelli, Mark O’Connor, and Terence Blanchard. Jane has received two Grammy Award nominations for recordings made on the Concord label.

 

Friday, August 5 & 6, 8 pm: Paula Cole

Grammy Award-winning singer and Rockport native Paula Cole took the Boston-area by storm last summer with two sold-out performances at the Shalin Liu Performance Center.  Cole returns for three performances singing such hit songs as “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait.”

Friday, August 12, 8 pm: Guy Mendilow Band

Colorful tales of sailors seduced by sirens at sea, murder, fantastic dreams, and the treachery of kings and queens abound in a program created by the Guy Mendilow Band. Discover ancient music of the Sephardic people, infused with the sounds and cultures from the places Mendilow and his band call home, from Israel and Brazil to Japan and the United States. 

Sunday, August 21, 2 & 5 pm: A Celtic Celebration with Hanneke Cassel and Friends

Celtic violinist and Rockport Music favorite, Hanneke Cassel returns with violinists Sarah Naylor Macleod, Andrea Beaton, and Kimberly Fraser, cellist Natalie Haas and guitarist Keith Murphy for Celtic-tune-filled concerts that include contemporary and traditional music from Scotland, Cape Breton, and more.

Friday, August 26 & 27, 8 pm: Tom Rush

Tom Rush is known to audiences around the world for his distinctive guitar style, wry humor and warm, expressive voice. His music and his songs evoke everything from rib-aching laughter, to passion or sweet melancholy. With a voice and manner that “gives listeners the impression they’re old friends listening in on a musical conversation,” (Montreal Gazette), Rush is an engaging performer both of his own work and that of other song-writers.

Sunday, August 28, 5 pm: Grace Kelly and Phil Woods

18-year-old Boston native Grace Kelly is the youngest musician to be named the “Alto Saxophonist Rising Star” by Downbeat Magazine.  With a busy touring and recording schedule, Grace makes a return engagement to the Shalin Liu Performance Center with the legendary Phil Woods, the three-time Grammy Award winner, whose six-decade-long career helped define the art of jazz saxophone performance in America.