Season 31 June 18 - September 6, 2021 M MCelebrating Beethoven at 250 Powerful Concerts • Brilliant Musicians No radio? No problem! Find us on Facebook, Twitter and at wpr.org. 2 Midsummer’s Music Providing comprehensive piano service to Midsummer’s Music Festival No radio? No problem! Find us on Facebook, Twitter and at wpr.org. Potluck Piano Peter Nehlsen 1141 Old West Harbor Rd. Washington Island, WI 54246 920-535-0108 Season 31 3 About Midsummer’s Music Founded in 1990, Midsummer’s Music has been bringing chamber music to Door County, Wisconsin, audiences for more than three decades. Our “exciting, pulse-pounding and riveting” concerts include international premieres and feature world-class artists. Our unique and diverse cultural, historical, and scenic musical experiences touch tens of thousands of listeners each year via live performances, radio, and social media. A multi-faceted organization featuring collaborations with local organizations and institutions, we attract musicians from Chicago’s Lyric Opera, Chicago Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Ravinia Festival, and Pro Arte Quartet, among others. Our resident string quartet, the Griffon String Quartet, enriches the lives of children and adults throughout northeast Wisconsin through concerts, workshops, and music education. Collaborations include Write On, Door County and Woodwalk Gallery involving poets and artists who create original works based on the music that inspired them, and the Celebrate Water initiative which is a major programming commitment to bring awareness to water supply protection. Midsummer’s Music attracts increasing admiration and respect from around the country, while still gaining the affection of local Door County audiences. midsummersmusic.com • 920-854-7088 Mission Statement Our mission is to present world-class chamber music at the highest standards of artistic excellence that enriches audiences near and far by sharing dynamic, distinctive and engaging performances. We are actively committed to accessibility and intentional inclusivity in all aspects of our work and continually strive to provide all people with opportunities to connect with the music we perform. 4 Midsummer’s Music Board of Directors James T. Berkenstock, President Nancy Goldberg, Vice President Peggy Lott, Secretary Nancy Borghesi, Treasurer Mary Hauser and Ann Morgan, Members at Large Jean W. Berkenstock Allyson Fleck Tyler Powell Alice Chrismer Megan Heintzkill Dianne Trenchard Beverly Ann Conroy Kathryn M. Kant David Utzinger Arlene Johnson Michael J. Schmitz, Honorary Chairman Emeritus Beth Coleman Sue Jacobs Doug and Penny Schultz Frank Dayton Karl Klug Judy Widen Gloria Drummond Suzanne Musikantow Carmen Witt George Fiedler Alicia and Hugh Mulliken Staff Allyson Fleck, Executive Director Christina Laymon-Jones, Office Clerk Noah Schaffrick, Associate Director & Jenn Taylor, Bookkeeper Education Porgram Coordinator Nathaniel Malkow, Social Media Russ Warren, Marketing & Media Jacob Alexander, Junior Office Assistant Table of Contents From the Artistic Director ............................................................................................................................... 6 From the Executive Director .......................................................................................................................... 9 All Paths Lead Through Beethoven ...........................................................................................................10 Griffon String Quartet ....................................................................................................................................18 Crossing Borders ..............................................................................................................................................20 Creative Crisis ....................................................................................................................................................26 Kreutzer Connotations ..................................................................................................................................32 Respect and Revelation .................................................................................................................................38 Diversions and Excursions ............................................................................................................................42 Musicians ............................................................................................................................................................49 Major Support for the 2021 Season ..........................................................................................................58 Special Tributes ................................................................................................................................................60 Endowment Trust ............................................................................................................................................61 Gracenotes .........................................................................................................................................................63 The Bravo Society ............................................................................................................................................64 The 88 Key Society ..........................................................................................................................................64 Salon Concert Hosts .......................................................................................................................................65 The Jim and Jean Berkenstock Legacy Society .....................................................................................66 Season 31 5 From the Artistic Director Understanding Beethoven Since two-thirds of our programs include works of Beethoven, a few words to put his life and works in some context might be helpful. Such context only underscores the magnitude of Beethoven’s accomplishments. So, let’s focus on three things: the world he was born into, the unusual role that Bach played, and the influence Haydn and Mozart had upon him, and how he, in turn, influenced others. Beethoven existed primarily in two locations for his entire life – Bonn, Germany, and Vienna, Austria. Bonn, where he was born, was a provincial capital, ruled by a relatively enlightened Elector, Max Friedrich. The Elector was very interested in art and architecture and especially music. He had a fine musical establishment involving singers and orchestra, and his Kapellmeister was named Ludwig van Beethoven. This was our Ludwig’s grandfather. For forty years, the elder Ludwig served the court as an esteemed bass singer, keyboard player, and, for the last 12 years, as its musical leader and force of will he managed to control it better conductor in the position of Kapelmeister. than his father or grandmother. Nonetheless, He was a talented and imposing man. it made his life difficult at times and most Eventually his son, Johann, would join the certainly seems to have shortened it. musical establishment as a tenor. However, In the 1770s, when young Ludwig was just when Johann tried to succeed his father, beginning to be aware of life and his musical he was deemed not to have the talent or surroundings, the style of music most temperament. The senior Ludwig’s wife, appreciated was light and uncomplicated. As Johann’s mother, developed a problem a reaction to the contrapuntal and texturally with alcohol, and eventually she had to be complex music of the Baroque, the style of sent away to a cloister where she remained this period was often referred to as the stil for the last 22 years of her life. Eventually, galant or rococo style. Slowly, the principal Johann began to develop the same problem, domain of music was moving from the church which probably brought an early end to to secular instrumental arenas. The first his life. It also made him very disagreeable symphonies, including those of Haydn, were and difficult to live with while he was alive. only written about 10 years before Beethoven He was reported to have been very hard was born. These early works frequently lasted on Ludwig, his first son, especially when it no more than twelve minutes, had three came to his musical training, which began movements, and ended with a relatively light on violin and keyboard at a very early age. minuet. Haydn and Mozart would soon rev Young Ludwig would also inherit the same things up, but Beethoven was witness to difficulty with alcohol, although by sheer this development and capitalized over time 6 Midsummer’s Music (almost beyond imagining) on the vision one outside of Leipzig would have likely it presented to him. The stil galant would known or been aware of. Neffe immediately become a distant memory. immersed Beethoven in the Well-Tempered Part of what would lend a hand in the Clavier of Bach. Almost instantaneously, gradual transformation of the simple Beethoven was transfixed by the and delicate music of the early classical power of counterpoint, the controlled period into the power and glory of the late independence of the different voices. The classical style was the music of J. S. Bach. transformation was nearly immediate but, This, however, is almost beyond fathoming. as he encountered more works of Bach, You see, Bach was virtually unknown when would continue to become increasingly Beethoven was