CONTACT: Julie Rodriguez, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Artistic Services Manager 505-983-2075, Ext. 112; [email protected] Marc Neikrug, Artistic Director Festival graphics, images available: http://bit.ly/1N9Q7VN World-Renowned Musicians Promise Unparalleled Experiences At 2016 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Summer Festival Welcomes Pianist Peter Serkin as Artist-in-Residence Tickets for All Concerts Now On Sale For immediate release –Tuesday, March 8, 2016 SANTA FE, N.M. – The 2016 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival will present 42 concerts performed by nearly 70 of the world’s most celebrated musicians and ensembles, including distinguished pianist Peter Serkin as Artist-in-Residence in his Festival debut. From July 17 to Aug. 22, the celebrated Festival will feature more than 90 exciting works in Santa Fe and Albuquerque concert halls. The magical ambience of the high-desert mountains will enhance the remarkable chamber music offerings that span five centuries, from composers of the Bach family and Mozart toTakemitsu and today’s most respected composers. “For 44 years the Festival has been inspiring audiences with its remarkable dedication to presenting the full spectrum of chamber music – from the grandest of masterpieces to whimsical and entertaining works,” said Marc Neikrug, now in his 19th year as artistic director of the Festival. “We’re also proud to present commissioned compositions that add significantly to the body of music for smaller ensembles. “We are particularly delighted that distinguished pianist Peter Serkin will be making his Festival debut a nd performing in an unprecedented six concerts.” Composers with commissioned works being performed at the 2016 Festival include Danish composer Poul Ruders with Occam’s Razor for oboe and guitar and Israeli composer Gideon Lewensohn with his quintet for clarinet and string quartet. Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival - 2016 General Announcement page 1 of 4 Also, Elizabeth Ogonek, a young American composer and past participant of the Festival’s Young Composers String Quartet Project, will present a commissioned quartet for violin, clarinet, piano and percussion. Informative pre- and post-concert talks with composers of the commissioned works will take place one hour before or immediately following the respective performances. FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS Pianist and 2016 Artist-in-Residence Peter Serkin will make his Festival debut in six performances that will display his mastery across the full spectrum of chamber music expression. Serkin will perform Anton Webern’s arrangement of Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 1 in a collaboration with the Orion String Quartet, Busoni’s tour de force Fantasia contrappuntistica with his duo partner Julia Hsu and Bach’s Concerto for Two Pianos, BWV 1061, with Hsu. The acclaimed pianist also will perform a solo recital, in addition to Schumann’s Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 121 with Ida Kavafian and the Dvořák Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81 with the Dover Quartet. (See Addendum 1 for dates, times and concert venues.) Represented in concerts throughout the Festival season will be great Baroque composers, including several members of the Bach family, Vivaldi, Boccherini, Telemann and Zelenka. Baroque repertoire will range from concertos, quintets and sonatas to a cantata and a work for solo flute. British music appears in 17th, 20th and 21st century works by Purcell, Elgar, Bridge, Britten and Oliver Knussen. In addition to the world premieres, nearly 50 works are scheduled for their first performances at the Festival. Additional repertoire will be announced in the coming months. (See the repertoire list in Addendum 4.) Notable music will include Bach’s sublime Cantata No. 82, “Ich habe genug,” BWV 82, sung by mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor and Brahms’ delightful Liebeslieder Waltzes with a quartet of dazzling singers and the spirited piano duo of Haochen Zhang and Pei-Yao Wang. Also, Mendelssohn’s Octet, his youthful masterpiece played by the marvelous Johannes and Pacifica string quartets, and the delectable Schubert “Trout” Quintet will be performed. Artists making their Festival debuts include pianists Orion Weiss, Julia Hsu and Juho Pohjonen; violinists Alexandra Preucil (assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra) and Kyoko Takezawa; violists Che-Yen Chen (principal viola of the San Diego Symphony and the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra) and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival - 2016 General Announcement page 2 of 4 Manabu Suzuki; clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois; tenor Ben Bliss; baritone Kelly Markgraf; the Pacifica Quartet, named “Ensemble of the Year” by Musical America in 2009. (See the complete artist lists in Addenda 2 and 3.) Returning musicians include pianists Inon Barnatan (Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic), Haochen Zhang and Shai Wosner. Festival Artistic Director/pianist/composer Marc Neikrug returns as a performer in Kaleidoscope and Takemitsu’s A Bird Came down the Walk. Additional returning artists include violinist/violist Ida Kavafian, Caleb Hudson (a member of the renowned Canadian Brass) in virtuoso Baroque trumpet concertos, the Orion, FLUX, Johannes and Dover string quartets and conductor Guillermo Figueroa. Figueroa is music director of the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango, Colo., and was formerly music director of the Puerto Rico Symphony and the New Mexico Symphonic Orchestra. IMPORTANT SERIES CHANGE Two series are switching performance days. In 2016, the Santa Fe Thursday Series will become the Santa Fe Wednesday Series, taking place on five Wednesdays: July 20, 27; Aug. 3, 10 and 17. The Albuquerque Series will now take place on four Thursdays: July 21, 28; Aug. 4 and 11. The Albuquerque Series repertoire is the same as the corresponding Santa Fe Wednesday Series concerts with one exception. On Aug. 10 in Santa Fe, mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor will perform Two Songs for Alto, Viola & Piano, Op. 91 by Brahms, and in the corresponding Albuquerque concert on Aug. 11, baritone Kelly Markgraf will sing Ullmann’s Songbook of Hafis. CONCERT HALLS Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival concerts will take place at St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art, West Palace & Lincoln Avenues in Santa Fe; The Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 West San Francisco Street in Santa Fe; and at Simms Auditorium at the Albuquerque Academy, 6400 Wyoming Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. TICKET INFORMATION Festival tickets in a variety of options may be purchased with any major credit card by calling 505-982-1890 (or toll free at 888-221-9836, Ext. 102); by faxing orders to 505-986-0251 (credit card orders only); by visiting SantaFeChamberMusic.com, where seat selection is available; by emailing [email protected]; and in person at the Festival office, 208 Griffin Street in Santa Fe. Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival - 2016 General Announcement page 3 of 4 There are no refunds. However, patrons unable to use their tickets may donate them back to the Festival in person prior to the performance or email the ticket office at [email protected]. Ticket exchanges are subject to fees and restrictions. Please visit the Festival’s website SantaFeChamberMusic.com for continuing updates. ABOUT THE SANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL Since it was founded in 1972, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival has become one of the world’s pre-eminent music festivals, guided by a visionary spirit and dedicated to artistic excellence and innovation. Contributing to its magic is the Festival’s special Santa Fe setting, nestled amid the timeless splendors of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico. For information on Santa Fe, visit santafe.org. The Festival, under the leadership of executive director Steven Ovitsky and artistic director and composer/pianist Marc Neikrug, invites scores of distinguished musicians, along with emerging young talent, for its six-week season each summer. Patrons return year after year to enjoy the many concerts, recitals, youth concerts and open rehearsals, including an Albuquerque Series that made its debut in 2008. In the off-season, the Festival reaches out to young people in the Santa Fe public elementary schools – starting with Pre-K students – with innovative and inspiring musical programs. For more information on the Festival, visit SantaFeChamberMusic.com. # # # Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival - 2016 General Announcement page 4 of 4.