BARRY SHIFFMAN, artistic director
CONTACT: Karen Herlitz, Director of Marketing [email protected] Phone: 978-546-7391, Ext. 110 DATE: August 19, 2021
Celebrating 40 Years of Music—the Rockport Chamber Music Festival continues into September
The Rockport Chamber Music Festival continues through September 19th and brings outstanding artists, including the Brentano Quartet, St. Lawrence Quartet, the Han-Finckel-Setzer Trio, violinist James Ehnes with Stewart Goodyear, as well as debut appearances from pianists Jan Lisiecki and Simone Dinnerstein. The remainder of the festival continues to host 2 performances of each program and are approximately 60-70 minutes in length with no intermission.
Additionally, on Sunday, September 26, Rockport Music’s Gala celebrates the 40th Anniversary featuring renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman with A Far Cry as well as Artistic Director Barry Shiffman and violinist Hana Chang in a spectacular program of Bach’s Two Violin Concerto, Grieg’s Holberg Suite and Chopin’s Sonata in B minor, Op. 58.
The Fall-Winter 2021-22 Classical Season is now available and features the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Grammy Award-winning Chanticleer, stellar pianists Charlie Albright and Isata Kanneh-Mason, and much more. See schedule below.
Rockport Music will continue to offer virtual viewing tickets of concerts through September 19th for people to enjoy from home (available on demand 48 hours after live performance). All concerts are held at the Shalin Liu Performance Center and events are available at rockportmusic.org or calling our Box Office at 978-546-7391. Rockport Music requests that all patrons wear masks while inside the Shalin Liu Performance Center. A full schedule of artists and programs are listed below.
40th Anniversary ROCKPORT CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Friday, September 3 :: 5 & 8 PM (rescheduled from July 10) JAN LISIEKI, piano The spectacularly-talented pianist, winner of both the Gramophone Young Artist Award and the Leonard Bernstein Award, makes his Rockport debut with a powerhouse program that includes Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Chopin. Tickets: $59, $49 | Virtual: $20
PROGRAM Beethoven: Rondo a capriccio Mendelssohn: Rondo capriccioso Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words, Op. 67 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 62 Chopin: Ballade, No. 1 Mendelssohn: Variations Sérieuses
Thursday, September 9 :: 5 & 8 PM JAMES EHNES, violin & STEWART GOODYEAR, piano Violinist James Ehnes, winner of the 2017 Royal Philharmonic Society Award as well as Gramophone, Grammy and JUNO Awards, pairs up with pianist Stewart Goodyear, called “one of the best pianists of his generation” (Philadelphia Inquirer) to perform an all-Beethoven program including the “Spring” and “Kreutzer” violin sonatas. Tickets: $69, $55 | Virtual: $20
PROGRAM BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata No. 5, Op. 24 in C major “Spring” BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47 in A major “Kreutzer”
Friday, September 10 :: 5 & 8 PM ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET With BARRY SHIFFMAN, viola The St. Lawrence String Quartet is renowned for the intensity of its performances, its breadth of repertoire and its commitment to concert experiences that are both intellectually exciting and emotionally alive. The Quartet is hailed as having “a rare gift for combining interpretive spontaneity and fierce musical commitment” (The NY Times). The Quartet joins with RCMF Artistic Director Barry Shiffman, and former St. Lawrence Quartet member, for Osvaldo Golijov’s K’va Karat. Tickets: $59, $49 | Virtual: $20
PROGRAM HAYDN: String Quartet, Op. 76, No. 4 “The Sunrise” GOLIJOV: K’va Karat BEETHOVEN: String Quartet, Op. 132, No. 15 in A Minor, Mvmt III (Heiliger Dankgesang)
Sunday, September 12 :: 5 & 8 PM VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS Violin Soloists: Stella Chen | Nikki Chooi | Julian Rhee | Denis Kim Max Levinson, harpsichord | Barry Shiffman, viola | Jonathan Dormond, cello | TBD, bass Experience Vivaldi’s iconic masterpiece The Four Seasons with solos from rising violin stars and competition winners. The program opens with Chevalier de St. Georges’ beautiful Quartet Concertante No. 5. Tickets: $59, $49 | Virtual: $20
PROGRAM J. B. CHEVALIER DE ST. GEORGES: Quartet Concertante No. 5 VIVALDI: Four Seasons
Friday, September 17 :: 5 & 8 PM HAN-SETZER-FINCKEL TRIO Wu Han, piano | Philip Setzer, violin | David Finckel, cello
Featuring the dynamic duo David Finckel and Wu Han with violinist Philip Setzer (Finckel’s long-time colleague in the legendary Emerson String Quartet), the trio performs a dazzling program of Beethoven and Dvorak.
PROGRAM BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 70 "Ghost" DVORAK: Piano Trio Op. 90 "Dumky"
Tickets: $86, $68 | Virtual: $25
Saturday, September 18 :: 5 & 8 PM BRENTANO STRING QUARTET Winners of both the Cleveland Quartet and Naumburg Chamber Music Awards and Yale’s Resident String Quartet since 2014, the celebrated Brentano Quartet performs Bach, Haydn, George Walker and Beethoven. Tickets: $69, $55 | Virtual: $20
PROGRAM BACH: Prelude in F minor, BWV 881, arranged for quartet by Mark Steinberg HAYDN: String Quartet, Op. 20, No. 5 GEORGE WALKER: Molto adagio from String Quartet No. 1 BEETHOVEN: String Quartet, Op. 135
Sunday, September 19 :: 5 & 8 PM SIMONE DINNERSTEIN, piano Hailed by The Washington Post as “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity,” Simone Dinnerstein’s recordings have all topped the Billboard Classical charts. In her Rockport debut, she performs a program of works by Schumann, Couperin, Satie and Glass.
PROGRAM COUPERIN: Les Barricade Mystérieuses SCHUMANN: Arabesque, Op. 18 GLASS: Mad Rush COUPERIN: Tic Toc Choc SATIE: Gnossienne No. 3 SCHUMANN: Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Tickets: $59, $49 | Virtual: $20
FALL-WINTER 21-22 CLASSICAL SEASON Sunday, October 17 :: 5 PM CHANTICLEER Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker magazine and Ensemble of the Year by Musical America, the GRAMMY® award-winning ensemble Chanticleer performs a dynamic program entitled Awakenings. Tickets: $69, $62, $49
Sunday, November 7 :: 3 PM CHARLIE ALBRIGHT, piano American pianist/composer/improviser Charlie Albright has been praised for his “jaw-dropping technique and virtuosity meshed with a distinctive musicality” by The New York Times. The Avery Fisher Grant recipient regularly collaborates with artists from all genres, including Bobby McFerrin, Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell. Tickets: $39, $35, $29
Tuesday, November 9 :: 7 PM RASA QUARTET Part of Education & Outreach program Quickly emerging as one of New England’s finest young ensembles, the Rasa Quartet won 1st prize in the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition (2020) and were selected as finalists for the Lakes Area Music Festival String Quartet Residency. The Quartet is also acclaimed for their cross-cultural collaborations like their participation in the Christmas Celtic Sojourn and Rockport Celtic Festival. Tickets: $15
Sunday, December 5 :: 3 PM BOSTON BRASS CHRISTMAS CONCERT The heralded Boston Brass comes to Rockport for a festive yuletide-themed concert, bringing their signature blend of classical, jazz and pop standards. Performing exciting classical arrangements to burning jazz standards, Boston Brass treats audiences to a unique brand of entertainment captivating all ages. Tickets: $39, $35, $29
Sunday, January 23 :: 3 PM PHOENIX ORCHESTRA Under the direction of their new musical director Joshua Weilerstein, the acclaimed Phoenix Orchestra is renowned for its energetic playing, versatile programming, and an individualistic approach to larger orchestral repertoire. Phoenix has performed at a variety of venues in the Greater Boston Area, including OBERON, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Center for Arts at the Armory among others. The program includes works Caroline Shaw, Ravel and Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Tickets: $39, $35, $29
Sunday, February 13 :: 3 PM HORSZOWSKI TRIO The Horszowski Trio has quickly become a vital force in the international chamber music world. Since their debut performance in New York City in 2011, they have toured extensively throughout North America, Europe, the Far East, and India, traversing the extensive traditional piano trio repertoire and introducing audiences to new music that they have commissioned and premiered. Tickets: $39, $35, $29
Friday, March 11, 8 PM ISATA KANNEH-MASON, piano Recipient of the 2021 Leonard Bernstein Award and a 2020 Opus Klassik award for best young artist, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason is a tour-de-force. As a member of the Kanneh-Mason family, she also won the 2021 best classical artist at the Global Awards. In 2021, she released Summertime, a journey through the varied piano repertoire of 20th-century America featuring Samuel Barber and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. She performs works by Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Chopin and more. Tickets: $39, $35, $29
Sunday, April 3 :: 3 PM CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER String Masterpieces Ani Kavafian & Stella Chen, violin | Paul Neubauer & Hsin-Yun Huang, viola | Mihai Marica and David Requiro, cello Six heralded members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, all acclaimed soloists in their own right, join forces for a stirring program, String Masterpieces, featuring works by Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms. Tickets: $59, $55, $45
Beethoven: String Trio in G major, Op. 9, No. 1 Mozart: String Quintet in C minor, K. 406 Brahms: String Sextet, No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18
Website: rockportmusic.org | Box Office: 978.546.7391
Rockport Music is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
ABOUT ROCKPORT MUSIC Founded in 1981 as the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music presents exceptional concerts and cultural events in the “stunning acoustics and dramatic setting” (Boston Globe) of the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Best known for its summer chamber music festival featuring some of the world’s finest ensembles and soloists, Rockport Music has expanded its offerings to include year-round presentations of jazz, folk, pop, and world music, high-definition broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera and National Theatre (London), and special film presentations. Education and community outreach activities serve nearly 10,000 students and adults throughout Cape Ann and the North Shore annually.