2024 Program Magazine CMNW Summer Festival

Rhapsody in You

You set the tempo for a harmonious way of life. Let the rhythm move you to do whatever you please, whenever you please.

Can you feel the beat?

We call it the good life.

Dear Friends,

Welcome to this thrilling festival celebrating Ludwig van Beethoven and his profound influence on music history. Each week of the festival will focus on a different aspect of Beethoven’s legacy.

Beethoven’s Sound in the first week celebrates the way he expanded the tonal range of ensembles, most of all through his symphonies. By the time of Brahms and Mendelssohn, even a duo sonata and a piano trio were able to mimic the power of the pre-Beethoven symphony orchestra.

Our second week is dedicated to Beethoven Now with programs—featuring the world-class talent of our beloved Young Artist Institute musicians—that lift up how the next generation of great chamber musicians explore Beethoven’s works with their own fresh interpretations.

The third week’s Beethoven’s Fire theme demonstrates some of his immense range of temperament and how that served as inspiration for composers of the 20th and 21st centuries such as Béla Bartók and Joan Tower.

The fourth festival week focuses on Beethoven’s Piano and the way he exploited the rapidly developing keyboard instrument. His advances in writing opened paths for subsequent composers like Schumann and Ligeti to create their pianistic masterpieces.

Beethoven’s Virtuosity is the focus of the dazzling final week of the 2024 festival. Just as Beethoven did in his time, Jörg Widmann continues today to push instrumental limits both as a performer and composer.

Whether you love Beethoven or not, we hope that you will leave this summer with a greater appreciation for The Beethoven Effect!

Gloria Chien & Soovin Kim Artistic Directors

Ticket & Box Office Information

Chamber Music Northwest concert tickets are always available online at CMNW.org. Our Ticket Office is open from 10am–4pm, Monday through Friday for phone calls at 503-294-6400, or a visit to our new offices at 1201 SW 12th Ave., Ste. 420. Tickets for upcoming events may also be purchased at the onsite box office one hour prior to start, and during most concert intermissions.

Donate Your Unused Tickets

If you are unable to use your tickets, please call the Ticket Office to return them for resale. You will receive a tax deduction for the full value of the tickets in addition to giving another music lover the opportunity to attend!

ADA Services

Accessible seating and parking is available at all venues. Contact the Ticket Office in advance to arrange for your specific needs. We can provide special seating and additional accommodation information.

Picnics, Dining, and Refreshments

Picnics are a festival tradition before performances at Reed College. Bring your own picnic dinner, or purchase available food and drinks from Reed’s on-site caterer Bon Appétit beginning at 6pm. No outdoor catering will be available if the temperature exceeds 94 degrees.

Reed alcohol policy: No outside alcoholic beverages are allowed. No glass or china.

Enjoy a meal and support local nearby restaurants before or after concerts at PSU, The Reser, and The Old Church. Refreshments are available at intermission for most concerts.

CMNW Ticket Office:

503-294-6400 • tickets@cmnw.org

Kaul Auditorium, Reed College

SE 28th & Woodstock

Lincoln Performance Hall & Lincoln Recital Hall

Portland State University SW Broadway & Market

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts 12625 SW Crescent St., Beaverton

The Old Church Concert Hall 1422 SW 11th Ave.

Community Concerts

Chehalem Cultural Center 415 E Sheridan St., Newberg

Marshall Park 1069 E McLoughlin Blvd., Vancouver, WA

North Clackamas Park 5440 SE Kellogg Creek Dr., Milwaukie

University of Portland 5000 N Willamette Blvd.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

We respectfully acknowledge that the concerts of our festival sit on the ancestral lands and traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes. We recognize that these people were the first to make their homes along the Columbia (Wimahl) and Willamette (Whilamut) rivers and that they continue to live in this area.

Please silence all cell phones.

Food and beverages are not allowed in the concert hall. Personal water bottles are allowed. Cameras and recording devices are not permitted --please do not take pictures or record our concerts.

In consideration of our patrons with scent sensitivities, we ask that patrons refrain from wearing products with strong fragrances, including colognes, perfumes, and essential oils.

In consideration of our audience and artists, parents are requested not to bring children under the age of 7 to CMNW concerts, except for designated performances.

Patrons with hearing aids should be aware that such devices may transmit a shrill tone. The wearer is not often conscious of this. House staff makes an effort to identify the wearer, but it is extremely helpful for audience members, musicians, and recording staff if nearby patrons kindly let the wearer know that such a sound is being produced. The wearer will be appreciative and take care of the problem.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

A week-by-week listing of our festival events

OUR FRIENDS & SUPPORTERS

Appreciation for our donors, sponsors, and friends

COMMUNITY & EDUCATION EVENTS

Free events and educational experiences

YOUNG ARTIST INSTITUTE

Learn about our program for youth musicians

2024 PROTÉGÉ PROJECT

Learn about our 2024 Protégés here

PROGRAMS

Concert programs and program notes for our performances

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Gain a little more insight into our festival artists

YOUNG ARTIST INSTITUTE PROFILES

Learn about staff, piano fellows, and young artists

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

6pm The Reser

Young Artist Institute Prelude

7:30pm The Reser

OPENING NIGHT: Beethoven, Brahms & Bunch! 12pm The Old Church Young Artist Institute Showcase

6:30pm Kaul Auditorium Young Artist Institute Prelude

8pm Kaul Auditorium

OPENING NIGHT: Beethoven, Brahms & Bunch!

2:30pm Lincoln Recital Hall Young Artist Institute Prelude

4pm Lincoln Performance Hall

SONIC EVOLUTION: Mendelssohn, Bernstein & Neikrug 12pm Mago Hunt Recital Hall, U of P Violin Masterclass with Jennifer Frautschi

6:30pm Kaul Auditorium Young Artist Institute Prelude

6:30pm The Reser

Prelude Performance

7:30pm The Reser

MUSIC ON FIRE: Beethoven, Brahms & Fagerlund

6:30pm The Reser

Prelude Performance

7:30pm The Reser

PREEMINENT PIANO:

Beethoven, Ligeti & Goodyear

7pm Chehalem Cultural Center, Newberg FREE COMMUNITY CONCERT with Sandbox Percussion

MUSIC ON FIRE: Beethoven, Brahms & Fagerlund

Performance Hall

Blazing Works by Joan Tower, Bartók & the “Kreutzer”

6:30pm

Party: Cello & Piano Delights

PIANO:

Ligeti & Goodyear

CONVERGENCE: Quintets, Quartets & Solos

8pm Kaul Auditorium SONIC EVOLUTION: Mendelssohn, Bernstein & Neikrug 11am - 12pm Musicians Around Town Young Artist Institute Pop-up Concerts

7pm The Old Church NEW@NIGHT: Soundscapes of Hartke, Shaw & Penderecki

7pm University of Portland FREE COMMUNITY CONCERT with Young Artist Institute

12pm

Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU Percussion Masterclass with Sandbox Percussion

8pm Kaul Auditorium INCANDESCENCE:

Blazing Works by Joan Tower, Bartók & the “Kreutzer”

PROTÉGÉ SPOTLIGHT: Bassist Nina Bernat

6pm: Happy Hour & Conversation with Caroline Shaw Post-concert: Q&A with artists

12pm

Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU PROTÉGÉ SPOTLIGHT: Opus13

7pm North Clackamas Park FREE COMMUNITY CONCERT with Clancy Newman & Stewart Goodyear

Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU French Horn Masterclass with Radovan Vlatković

8pm Kaul Auditorium

KEYBOARD

CONVERGENCE: Quintets, Quartets & Solos 12pm Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU PROTÉGÉ SPOTLIGHT: Claire Wells & Chloe Mun

Kaul Auditorium Open Rehearsal: JOHN LUTHER ADAMS World Premiere of Prophecies of Fire

8pm Kaul Auditorium SPECIAL EVENT: World Premiere of Prophecies of Fire

11am Kaul Auditorium

Open Rehearsal: GYÖRGY LIGETI Trio for Violin, Horn & Piano

7pm The Old Church NEW@NIGHT:

Elemental Keyboards 6pm Happy Hour & Conversation with Kyle Rivera

Rehearsal: JÖRG WIDMANN

THANK YOU, FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC NORTHWEST

Acknowledgements & Gratitude

It takes many people beyond our board, donors, year-round staff, and festival staff to bring our Summer Festival to life! We extend our gratitude to these many partners who have supported and enriched our work in a myriad of ways for this summer’s festival.

OUR FANTASTIC VENUE PARTNERS

Reed College— our festival home for more than 40 years

Portland State University— where we were founded 54 summers ago

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts

The Old Church Concert Hall

University of Portland

Our Chamber Party hosts— for opening their homes for intimate concerts

OUR FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS

B+B Print Source

Devil’s Food Catering

Communications Northwest

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Hollywood Lights

Hyatt House Portland/Downtown

J&S Golf Cart Rentals

Kerr Violins— providing the viola for Julianne Lee

Percussion rentals from Jon Greeney, Michael Roberts, Brad Dutz, Portland State University & Union High School

Portland Piano Company— providing our hotel rehearsal piano

Schuback Violin Shop— providing the cello for Opus13

Steinway Portland— providing our Steinway concert grand piano

OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Chehalem Cultural Center

City of Vancouver

North Clackamas Parks & Recreation

SoundsTruck NW

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

OUR CLASSICAL MUSICAL FRIENDS

All Classical Radio

BRAVO Youth Orchestras

Cappella Romana

Fear No Music

45th Parallel Universe

Friends of Chamber Music

Metropolitan Youth Symphony Opera in the Park

Oregon Bach Festival

Oregon Symphony

OrpheusPDX

Portland Baroque Orchestra

Portland Chamber Orchestra

Portland Columbia Symphony

Portland Piano International

Portland Opera

Portland Youth Philharmonic

Resonance Ensemble

Third Angle New Music

Willamette Valley Chamber Music

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

OUR VOLUNTEERS

It is our dear volunteers who make this festival happen! We extend a great amount of gratitude to them, and know that we are so fortunate to benefit from their dedication and stalwart service to this organization and to our audiences.

We thank all of the incredible contributors, funders, donors, and community partners who make the 2024 Summer Festival possible…and to YOU, our audiences, for coming back. We do not take you sitting right where you are and reading this lightly—we are grateful you are here!

2024 Summer Festival Concert Sponsors

Chamber Music Northwest gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our concert sponsors. Each has contributed to help underwrite concerts and events this season. The sponsors are listed in order of the number of years they have supported CMNW.

For more information on Chamber Music

Northwest sponsorship opportunities, please contact Leslie Tuomi at 503-546-0184 or lesliet@cmnw.org

2023/2024 Season Supporters

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions received from the following friends. This list reflects gifts received through May 1, 2024. If information needs to be corrected, please notify the Development Department at 503-546-0184.

Corporations, Foundations, and Government

Artistic Director’s Circle

($25,000 and above)

Fortissimo

($10,000–$24,999)

Crescendo

($5,000–$9,999)

Aaron Copland Fund

Brillante

($2,500-$4,999)

All Classical Radio+

Arnerich Massena & Associates

Intel Corporation

The Jackson Foundation

McGregor Fund

Nike, Inc.

Maestoso

($1,000-$2,499)

The Amphion Foundation

Cascadia Foundation

Devil’s Food Catering+

John S. Ettelson Fund of The

Oregon Community Foundation

Heritage Bank

Intel Corporation

Morgan Stanley

Multnomah County

Cultural Coalition

OnPoint Community Credit Union

The Oregonian/OregonLive+

Allegro

($500-$999)

Columbia Sportswear Company

Goldy Family Designated Fund of The Oregon

Community Foundation

Missionary Chocolates+

Oregon ArtsWatch+

Richard & Mary Rosenberg Fund of Oregon Community Foundation

Individuals

Artistic Director’s Circle

($25,000 & above)

Karen & Cliff Deveney

Betsy & Gregory Hatton

Paul L. King

Ronni Lacroute

Crescendo

($5,000–$9,999)

Carl Abbott & Margery Post Abbott

Daniel H. Boyce & Lilla Cabot

Evelyn J. Brzezinski

Bill & Diana Dameron

Ronnie-Gail Emden & Andrew Wilson

Beth Fry

Yoko & Jonathan Greeney

Howard Greisler & Elizabeth Hudson

Linda & John Hardham

David C. & Maryanne Holman

Lucinda Parker McCarthy

Richard & Susan Rogers

Susan Sokol Blosser

Marc Therrien & Jena Rose

Michael Truman

Heidi Yorkshire & Joseph Anthony

Nancy & Herb Zachow

Anonymous Friend of CMNW

Brillante

($2,500-$4,999)

Scott & Margaret Arighi

Peter Bilotta & Shannon Bromenschenkel

Yu-Brody Charitable Fund of the

American Endowment Foundation

Marlene Burns & Jon Dickinson

Sonja L. Haugen

Leslie Hsu & Richard Lenon

James Kahan & Kathia Emery

Joan Levers & David Manhart

Wayne Litzenberger & Jane Patterson

Wilfried & Deanna Mueller-Crispin

Deborah & George Olsen

Hugh Porter & Jill Soltero

Janet & Larry Richards

Marilyn Crilley & George Rowbottom

Holly C. Silver

Anne Stevenson

Anonymous Friend of CMNW

Nathan F. Cogan

Linda S. Craig

Marvin & Abby Dawson

Mary Dickson

William Dolan & Suzanne Bromschwig

Ralph Eccles & Carrie Ganong

Jon Feldhausen

Ola Fincke

Deborah & Larry Friedman

Dean & Susan Gisvold

David Greger

Bill Haden & Doris Huff

Ted Haskell & Mary Mears-Haskell

Diane M. Herrmann

Kirk Hirschfeld

Albert Huang

Lynne Johnson & Larry Madson

Paula Kanarek & Ross Kaplan

Katherine King

Miyoung Kwak

Sally & Bob Landauer

Barbara & Bill Langley

Allan & Joyce Leedy

Leslie Lehmann & Clark Worth

Shawn & Lisa Mangum

Joseph & Linda Mandiberg

Linda & Ken Mantel

Judy McCraw

Gregory & Sonya Morgansen

Patricia Morris-Rader

Martin C. Muller

Noreen Murdock & Grant Linsell

Beverly & Richard North

Rev. Dr. Rodney & Sandra Page

Robert & Rachel Papkin

Barry Pelzner & Deborah Pollack

Ellen Pullen

Susan & Lawrence Rein

Patricia Reser & Bill Westphal

Woody & Rae Richen

Michael & Susan Richmond

Amy Richter

Charles & Selene Robinowitz

Janet Schibel

Bill Scott & Kate Thompson

David Staehely

Powell’s Books | 40

Acorn Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation | 18

Karen & Cliff Deveney | 12

Reed College | 11

David & Maryanne Holman | 9

George & Deborah Olsen | 9

Arnerich Massena & Associates | 8

Bill & Diana Dameron | 8

Chamber Music Northwest’s Volunteers 7

Anonymous Friends of CMNW | 7

Evelyn Brzezinski | 4

Jerome Guillen & Jeremy Gallaher | 4

Heritage Bank 4

Martha Dibblee | 2

Ronnie-Gail Emden & Andrew Wilson | 3

Ellen Macke & Howard Pifer | 3

Heidi Yorkshire & Joseph Anthony | 3

Susan Sokol Blosser 2

Joan Levers & David Manhart | 2

Beth Fry | 1

John & Linda Hardham | 1

Pat Morris-Rader & Bob Cogan 1

Marianne Steflik Irish Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation

Powell's Books

Reser Family Foundation

Sokol Blosser Winery

Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust

Michael & Alice Powell

Ravi Vedanayagam & Ursula Luckert

Fortissimo

($10,000-$24,999)

Carole Alexander

Kennett F. Burnes

Martha G. Dibblee

Jerome Guillen & Jeremy Gallaher

Holman Family Funds of OCF

Howard Pifer III & Ellen Macke

Jeff & Kathleen Rubin

Peter & Ann van Bever

Mark & Nancy van der Veer

Slate & Davida Wilson

Maestoso

($1,000-$2,499)

Acorn Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation

Angela Allen & Jan van Santen

William & Gail Bain

Arlena Barnes & William Kinsey

Lori & Todd Bauman

Virginia Smith & John Bissonnette

Bruce Blank

Charles & Carol Ouchi Brunner

Gloria Chien & Soovin Kim

Colin Ma & Laurie Christensen

Mike & Judy Stoner

Leslie & Scott Tuomi

Liz Wehrli

Joella Werlin

Mort & Audrey Zalutsky

Karen & Lawrence Zivin

Anonymous Friend of CMNW

Dorothea M. Lensch Fund

Joseph E. Weston Public Foundation

MEDIA SPONSORS

Allegro

($500-$999)

Ginny Adelsheim

Nan & Greg Anderson

Robin Bacon-Shone

Suzanne Barthelmess

Elizabeth & J. Bruce Bell

Jerry Bobbe

Jan & Diana Boldt

Celia Brandt

Terry Bryll

Monika Butcher

Elizabeth Carnes

Joseph & Corinne Christy

Elaine Cogan

Marian Creamer

Allen Dobbins

Norma Dody

Cynthia K. Doran

Kay L. Doyle

David & Beth Ferguson

John Betonte & Carol Fredlund

Kit Gillem

Harold Goldstein & Carol Streeter

Elinor Gollay

Caroline Greger

Scott & Tamara Grigsby

Virginia Hancock

Scott Young & Carla Hansel

Thomas A. Hansen

Howard & Molly Harris

Nancy & David Hill

Ria & Takuei Honda

Richard & Linda Jenkins

Cecily Johns

Dennis C. Johnson

Helen Johnson

James Jones & Naomi Cytron

Dr. Howard Rosenbaum & Dr. Marcia Kahn

Dr. & Mrs. Peter J. Kane

Shelly Kappor

Nancy Kieburtz

Adela & Dick Knight

Paul Lambertsen

Thad & Terry Langford

Susan & Robert Leeb

Harvey & Ellen Leff

Carol Schnitzer Lewis Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation

Jerry & Gayle Marger

M. & L. Marks Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation

Becki Marsh & Wink Gross

Debra Meisinger & Barry Buchanan

Lora Meyer

Kate Nicholson & Bill Ray

Kris Oliveira

Susan Olson & Bill Nelson

Beverly Ormseth

Greg & Marie-Noelle Phillips

Marcia & Robert Popper

Carole Douglass & William Pressly

Drs. Bonnie & Pete Reagan

Betty & Jacob Reiss

Robert & Anne Richardson

Dave & Cheryl Richardson

Rosemarie Rosenfeld

Karen & Norman Sade

Meredith Savery

Dianne Sawyer & Richard Petersen

James B. & Julianne Sawyer

David & Judy Schiff

Janet Schwartz

Diana & Hal Scoggins

Jinny Shipman & Dick Kaiser

Carolyn Smith & Neil Soiffer

Sue Stegmiller & Bill Joy

Mardy & Hank Stevens

Herb Trubo & Steven Buchert

Hans & Dorene Tschersich

Matt & Anne Wand

Sharon Weil

Cameron J. Wiley &

Carey Whitt Wiley

James B. Wilson

Bruce & Susan Winthrop

Wade & Lynnetta Wisler

Merri Souther Wyatt

Estin & Esther Yang

Anonymous Friends of CMNW (2)

Cantabile

($250-$499)

Greg & Susan Aldrich

Richard & Kristin Angell

Ruby Apsler

Elizabeth Arch

Tom & Dorothy Atwood

Barbara Backstrand

Barbara Bailey

Dawn & Gary Banker

Robert & Gail Black

George & Annis Bleeke

Sandra & Ben Bole

Jerry & Amy Brem

Kay Bristow

Barbara Brooks

Morgan & William Brown

Cheryl & Stephen Campbell

Rick Caskey

Peng Chen

Cynthia Chilton

Elinor & Martin Colman

Jerry & Jean Corn

Michael Davidson

Joan Davis

Debby Dickson

John Dresser

Michelle Edwards

Stephen & Janet Elder

Arthur & Margianne Erickson

Marco Escalante & Dongni Li

George W. Fabel

Eric & Elysa Foxman

Ben Frech

Freeman Family Foundation

Andra Georges & Timothy Shepard

Michael Gibbons

Sylvia Gray & Viktors Berstis

Nancy & Robert Greiff

Kirk Hall

John & Judie Hammerstad

Irv & Gail Handelman

Ulrich H. Hardt & Karen Johnson

David Hattner & Kristie Leiser

Josephine Hawthorne

Fred & Cookie Hegge

Victoria Hexter & Ray Normandeau

Joan Hough

Sherene Huntzinger

Linda Hutchins & John Montague

Richard & Deanna Iltis

Ivan & Jeri Inger

Pamela Jacklin & Leonard Girard

Joanne Jene

Michael Johnson

Stephen Katz

Eugenia Keegan

Jim & Morley Knoll

John & Stephanie Liu

Amelia Lukas

Elisabeth Lyon

Kate Lyons & Corey Millard

Kay Mannion

Tess & George Marino

Michael Mase & Alan Winders

A & M Family Fund

Richard Meeker & Ellen Rosenblum

Gary Miller & Dell Ann Dyar

Jane Moore

Ann Morgan

Ralph Conrad Nelson

Randall Nelson

Charley Peterson & Susan Sater

Walter & Susan Piepke

Ruth & Charles Poindexter

Larry Rabinowitz

Scott Redeker & Gregg Williams

Norma Reich

Philip Riedel

Carolyn Robb

Shirley Roffe

Daniel Rosenhouse & Pam Waldman

Charlotte A. Rubin

William H. & Susan M. Sack

Robert & Judith Scholz

SooJung Sharp

Barbara Stephens

Donald & Roslyn Sutherland

Jeanette Swenson

M. Jessica Taft

Dennis Taylor & Mindy Campbell

Gudrun Taylor

Dominique van de Stadt & Octavio Pajaro

Laurel Verissimo

Bruce Weber

Jennifer Wolcott & Dan Heinrichs

Anne K. Woodbury

Kathleen Worley

Jean Wu

Anonymous Friends of CMNW (4)

In Memoriam

Richard Blickle

Carl Abbott &

Margery Post Abbott

Nancy Bragdon

Kandis Brewer Nunn

Elisabeth Lyon

Judith & Larry Ruben

John Doran

Cynthia K. Doran

Maurice Dooley

Judy & Mike Holman

Dr. Richard Kieburtz

Norman & Sherry Eder

Elaine Nam

Carole Beauclerk

In Honor of

David Keyes

Kris Oliveira

Dr. Nancy G. Kennaway

Susan Olson & Bill Nelson

Susan Sokol Blosser

Hugh Porter & Jill Soltero

Leslie Tuomi

Suzanne Barthelmess

Support the Commissioning of New Music

CMNW Commissioning Club seeks new members!

You don’t have to be royalty to commission new music! Chamber Music Northwest’s Commissioning Club is open to anyone with a passion for bringing new pieces of chamber music to life. Commissioning Club members make a special donation in addition to their annual gift—the funds from their pooled gifts allow them to select and commission a new work from one composer each year.

Commissioning Club members have many opportunities to learn about the music, the composer’s creative process, attend a rehearsal, and meet the composer and performing artists. This year, the Commissioning Club is sponsoring Joan Tower’s new work, To Sing or Dance which premieres July 14 and 15.

For information on how you can join the Commissioning Club, contact Leslie Tuomi at 503-546-0184 or email lesliet@cmnw.org

Commissioning Club

Carl & Margery Abbott

Greg & Susan Aldrich Carole Alexander

Elizabeth Carnes

Joseph & Corinne Christy

Linda S. Craig

Bill & Diana Dameron Debby Dickson

In Memoriam

Dickson

Emden & Andrew Wilson Beth Fry Kit Gillem

Harold Goldstein & Carol Streeter

Elinor Gollay

David Hattner & Kristie Leiser

Diane M. Herrmann

Kwak

Susan & Robert Leeb

Kay Mannion

Jerry & Gayle Marger

Debra Meisinger & Barry Buchanan

George & Deborah Olsen

Ellen Pullen

Marilyn Crilley & George Rowbottom

& Ann van Bever Anonymous Friend of CMNW

With sadness, we note the passing of these CMNW family members over this past year. We will miss them, and we offer our sincere condolences to their families and friends.

Named Endowment Funds

With deep gratitude we recognize the donors of the following Named Endowment Funds, which provide perpetual support for Chamber Music Northwest artists and programs. In this current 2023-2024 year, income from the following funds helped underwrite the activities shown below.

Bart Alexander Oboe Chair Fund

Frank Rosenwein

Boyce/Cabot Emerging Artist Fund Young Artist Institute

Theodore & Celia Brandt Cello and Violin Chair Funds

Protégé Artists Opus13 Quartet

CMNW Commissioning Fund

New works by John Luther Adams, Stewart

Goodyear, Marc Neikrug, Kyle Rivera & Jörg Widmann

David Golub Piano Chair Fund

Alessio Bax & Stewart Goodyear

Ned & Sis Hayes Young Artist Fund

Protégé Artists Nina Bernat, Chloe Mun & Claire Wells

Mary-Claire King Flute Chair Fund

Brandon George & Amelia Lukas

Ronni Lacroute Young Artist Fund

Protégé Project & Young Artist Institute

Michael & Alice Powell Vocal Chair Fund

Supporting CMNW’s vocal recitals and concerts (Fall 2024)

David Shifrin Artistic Innovation Fund

Beautiful Everything with Imani Winds & BodyVox

David Shifrin Honorary Clarinet Chair Fund

Jörg Widmann

Stephen Swerling New Ventures Fund

Prophecies of Fire by John Luther Adams

Jean Vollum Piano Fund

Stewardship of CMNW’s Steinway Pianos

Whitsell Cello Fund

Peter Wiley & Clancy Newman

Nautilus Circle

Nautilus Circle members are a special part of our CMNW family. We thank them for their vision in ensuring that the chamber music they love will be here for future generations to enjoy, either through a gift to the CMNW endowment, or by making provisions for a future gift to come from their estate.

We invite YOU to join the Nautilus Circle!

It’s simple to join the Nautilus Circle—include Chamber Music Northwest as part of your will or estate plan, and let us know when you do.

There are many ways to create your own musical legacy—through your will, a trust, naming us as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy, and many more. We can help with clear, simple guidance on how you can leave a meaningful gift for Chamber Music Northwest, as well as other charities you love. And, you can do so without opening your checkbook!

Please contact our Development Office at 503.546.0184 or development@cmnw.org for further information, and consult your tax advisor, or financial planner, to discover how to shape your legacy.

NAUTILUS CIRCLE MEMBERS

The following generous friends have made provisions for CMNW in their estate plans and/or have made a major gift to the CMNW Endowment Fund:

Carl Abbott &

Margery Post Abbott

Acorn Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation

Carole Alexander

Scott & Margaret Arighi

Laura L. Barber*

Laura J. Barton

Diane Boly

Daniel H. Boyce & Lilla Cabot

Theodore* & Celia Brandt

Evelyn J. Brzezinski

The Clark Foundation

Mathew A. & Roberta* Cohen

Maribeth Collins*

The Collins Foundation

Helen Corbett*

Bill & Diana Dameron

Karen & Cliff Deveney

Marlene Burns &

Jon Dickinson

Mary Dickson

William Dolan & Suzanne Bromschwig

Elaine Durst

Ronnie-Gail Emden & Andrew Wilson

John & Jane Emrick

Barbara Engel*

Don & Emilee Frisbee*

Doris S. Fulton*

Elizabeth & John Gray*

Susan W. Grayson

Howard Greisler & Elizabeth Hudson

Marilyn & Harold Hanson*

Mt. Hood Investment Group

Confidence from a trusted wealth management process

Robert & Janis Harrison

Ned & Sis Hayes*

Gary McDonald & Barbara Holisky

James Kahan & Kathia Emery

Nancy Kieburtz

Paul L. King

Sally & Bob Landauer

Leslie Lehmann & Clark Worth

Dorothea Lensch*

Amelia Lukas

Leeanne G. MacColl*

Linda Magee

Steve* & Lucinda

Parker McCarthy

Dr. Louis* & Judy McCraw

Nancie S. McGraw*

Betty A. Merten

William D. & Lois L. Miller

Wilfried & Deanna

Mueller-Crispin

Janice Orloff*

Dolores Y. Owen*

Rev. Dr. Rodney &

Sandra Page

James* & Norma Pizza

Michael & Alice Powell

Judson Randall*

Konrad Reisner*

George & Claire Rives*

Ruth Robinson

Laurens & Judith Ruben

Gilbert & Thelma Schnitzer*

Mayer* & Janet Schwartz

Bill Scott & Kate Thompson

David Shifrin

Joan & John Shipley*

Jinny Shipman & Dick Kaiser

Al Solheim

Anne Stevenson

Stephen Swerling*

Hall Templeton*

Harry Turtledove*

Peter & Ann van Bever

Ravi Vedanayagam & Ursula Luckert

Bruce Weber

Margaret (Peggy) Weil*

Judy Weinsoft*

Samuel C. Wheeler*/ Wheeler Foundation

William & Helen Jo Whitsell

Slate & Davida Wilson

Bruce & Susan Winthrop

Nancy & Herb Zachow

Anonymous friends of CMNW* (2)

*recognized posthumously

We proudly support Chamber Music Northwest and the joy music

UBS Financial Services Inc. 760 Southwest Ninth Avenue Suite 2450

Portland, OR 97205

503-225-9204

855-380-3442

advisors.ubs.com/ mhig

Young Artist Institute Circle

We are deeply grateful to the following generous donors for their major gifts in support of the Young Artist Institute:

Carole Alexander

Dan Boyce & Lilla Cabot

Kennett F. Burnes

Betsy & Gregory Hatton

Ronni Lacroute

Marilyn Crilley & George Rowbottom

Peter & Ann van Bever

Ravi Vedanayagam & Ursula Luckert

Slate & Davida Wilson

Yu Brody Charitable Fund

We formed the Young Artist Institute Circle (YAI Circle) in order to give everyone who is passionate about music education a role in creating the next generation of great chamber musicians. Together, the gifts from YAI Circle members fund at least one full scholarship for the three-week Institute. That amounts to over $10,000 per student for lessons, coachings, and workshops with our world-class faculty, multiple performance opportunities, room and board, transportation, and even some fun activities.

You can join the YAI Circle by making a three-year pledge of $250 or more (in addition to your regular gift). YAI Circle members receive meaningful benefits (that do not affect the tax-deductible status of their donation): opportunities to meet with our artistic directors, social events with the YAI students and faculty, invitations to all of their recitals, donor recognition, and “behind the scenes” opportunity to observe the YAI learning in action.

Contact our Development Department to find out more at development@ cmnw.org.

Maryka Biaggio & Deb Zita

Evelyn Brzezinski

Janet & Nicholas DeMorgan

Marlene Burns & Jon Dickinson

Mary Dickson

Allen Dobbins

Ronnie-Gail Emden & Andrew Wilson

Jon Feldhausen

Virginia & George Feldman

David Greger

Howard Greisler & Elizabeth Hudson

John & Judie Hammerstad

Linda & John Hardham

Ted & Mary Mears Haskell

Diane Herrmann

We’ve got you covered when it comes to your finances. We handle your full to-do list, so you can put your energy and time toward what inspires

Gary McDonald & Barbara Holisky

Lynne Johnson & Larry Madsen

James Kahan & Kathia Emery

Marcia Kahn & Howard Rosenbaum

Miyoung Kwak

Terry & Thad Langford

Leslie Lehmann & Clark Worth

Kay Mannion

Greg & Sonya Morgansen

George & Deborah Olsen

Rodney & Sandi Page

Charley Peterson & Susan Slater

Betty & Jacob Reiss

Jeff & Kathleen Rubin

Anne Stevenson

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY EVENTS

For Our Community

You are invited to enjoy these FREE music-infused events from Chamber Music Northwest throughout our Summer Festival. Young Artist Institute Pop-ups!

June 25 @ 1pm-4pm & July 2 @ 11am-12pm | All over Portland!

Students from CMNW’s Young Artist Institute will be doing short, “pop-up” performances on June 25 and July 2 at public sites all around Portland and beyond! You can find them at Travel Portland, OMSI, Powell’s City of Books, OHSU Farmers Market, and so many more fun locations. Visit CMNW.org and our social media channels for all the details.

Young Artist Virtuosi Showcases

June 21 @ Noon | Lincoln Recital Hall

June 28 @ Noon | The Old Church Concert Hall

July 6 @ 7pm | Kaul Auditorium, Reed College with Fear No Music Sponsored by Acorn Fund of OCF

You are invited to watch and support the incredible students of the Young Artist Institute as they grow with us this summer. The first two showcases will highlight solo repertoire. The final showcase features selections from Beethoven String Quartets and World Premieres of short, Beethoven-inspired mini quartets by members of Fear No Music's Young Composers Project.

Outdoor Community Concerts

July 2 @ 7pm | University of Portland featuring Young Artist Institute

Free Community Concerts Media Sponsor

July 12 @ 7pm | Chehalem Cultural Center (Newberg) featuring Sandbox Percussion Sponsored by Evelyn Brzezinski

Mobile Concert Stage sponsored by SoundsTruck NW

July 16 @ 7pm | North Clackamas Park featuring pianist Stewart Goodyear & cellist Clancy Newman

July 26 @ 7pm | Marshall Park (Vancouver) featuring the Columbia River Brass Quintet in partnership with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Pack a picnic and bring your own seats to enjoy these fun and family-friendly outdoor concerts! You’ll see the famed SoundsTruck NW, the Northwest’s premier mobile concert stage, in action for each of these performances.

Prelude Performances

June 27 @ 6:00pm | The Reser with YAI

June 29 @ 6:30pm | Kaul Auditorium, Reed College with YAI

June 30 @ 2:30pm | Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU with YAI

July 1 @ 6:30pm | Kaul Auditorium, Reed College with YAI

July 11 @ 6:30pm | The Reser

July 13 @ 7pm | Kaul Auditorium, Reed College

July 18 @ 6:30pm | The Reser

July 20 @ 7pm | Kaul Auditorium, Reed College

July 25 @ 6:30pm | The Reser

July 27 @ 7pm | Kaul Auditorium, Reed College

Arrive early for all opening weekend concerts, and plan on coming early on Thursdays and Saturdays for the remainder of the festival for free performances of the Young Artist Institute or local young musicians. Check CMNW.org for musician updates.

Free Educational Events

Masterclasses

Witness our 2024 Summer Festival artists coach the next generation of musicians in our community, including many from our Young Artist Institute! Can’t attend in person? These will be available to stream after the festival in our online Masterclass Library at CMNW.org.

Mago Hunt Recital Hall, University of Portland

June 25 @ 9am | Paul Neubauer, viola (with YAI students)

July 1 @ Noon | Jennifer Frautschi, violin (with YAI students)

Lincoln Recital Hall, Rm. 75, Portland State University

July 15 @ Noon | Sandbox Percussion, percussion

July 22 @ Noon | Radovan Vlatković, horn

Open Rehearsals

Wednesdays, June 26 & July 10, 17, 24 @ 11 am | Kaul Auditorium, Reed College

Go behind the scenes and observe CMNW’s world-class musicians working together to put the finishing touches on music for upcoming performances. An informal Q&A follows the rehearsal.

Sponsored by George & Deborah Olsen

No open rehearsal July 3

6/26 | BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, arranged for Chamber Ensemble with Amelia Lukas (flute), Frank Rosenwein (oboe), David Shifrin (clarinet), Carin Miller (bassoon), Jeff Garza (horn), Ian Rosenbaum (timpani), Soovin Kim (violin), Jessica Lee (violin), Nicholas Cords (viola), Peter Stumpf (cello), Nina Bernat (bass)

7/10 | JOHN LUTHER ADAMS Prophecies of Fire with Sandbox Percussion

7/17 | GYÖRGY LIGETI Trio for Violin, Horn & Piano with Soovin Kim (violin), Radovan Vlatković (horn), Gloria Chien (piano)

7/24 | JÖRG WIDMANN 180 Beats per Minute with Opus13 Quartet, Michael Müller (cello), Marilyn de Oliveira (cello), composer Jörg Widmann.

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David Finckel & Wu Han • feb 6

t miss two of the most esteemed classical musicians in the world today!

haydn & Robert schumann

chien-kim- shifrin trio • oct 5

artistic directors & artistic director emeritus team up for an unforgettable evening!

YOUNG ARTIST INSTITUTE

Collaborative Piano Fellowship

A critical person in a young string player’s development is the pianist they collaborate with for concertos, sonatas, and other pieces that include piano. The pianist provides the string player with a sense of rhythm, harmony, and texture. We are glad to be able to offer the CMNW Collaborative Piano Fellowship that brings two of the finest graduate student pianists to rehearse and perform with the Institute string players. We are thrilled to welcome back Yandi Chen and Pualina Lim Mei En who were part of the inaugural YAI in 2022.

Chamber Music Northwest’s Young Artist Institute

Launched in 2022, Chamber Music Northwest’s Young Artist Institute (YAI) is an intensive education program for 16 talented string players from around the world, ages 14-18. For the 2024 cohort, the threeweek program is held from June 15 to July 6 on the University of Portland campus.

During and just prior to CMNW’s Summer Festival, the young musicians are featured in performances throughout the community, including free showcases, pop-ups around town, and on the new mobile concert stage for a community concert. As well, during the first two weeks of the festival everyone is welcome to come see them in pre-concert prelude performances!

Held on the University of Portland campus, these young musicians work with YAI faculty daily, and have the unique opportunity to perform in dozens of free performances—on stages, lobbies, and at pop-up engagements—as soloists and in quartets throughout the community. The students will experience tremendous growth performing both solo works and string quartets for audiences large and small.

The violinists, violists, and cellists selected for the YAI program are among the top high school string players from North America and Asia. Students in the 2024 YAI cohort have won numerous competitions around the world, and have soloed with orchestras around the U.S. and Europe including the Seattle Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and National Orchestra of Uzbekistan. They hail from prestigious preparatory programs including New England Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory, Colburn Academy, The Juilliard School, Korea National University of the Arts, Yehudi Menuhin School, and Portland’s own Portland Youth Philharmonic.

Hand-in-hand with the YAI program is the CMNW Collaborative Piano Fellowship. This fellowship program features the talents of two exceptional graduate-level pianists. Selected from major conservatories, Yandi Chen and Pualina Lim Mei En will rehearse, perform, and learn alongside the young artists to refine their skills in the challenging art of collaborative performance with a soloist.

“Supporting and educating young artists has been at the core of our work at Music@Menlo (where Gloria was institute director), and at the New England Conservatory and Yale School of Music (where Soovin teaches),” said Gloria Chien and Soovin Kim, CMNW Artistic Directors. “This Young Artist Institute is a dream that continues to grow and thrive. We know it will continue to affect the lives of the extraordinary students, and our CMNW audiences, alike. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen YAI inspire and invigorate the love of chamber music through these shining young musical talents!”

Institute Young Artists

Inés Maro Burgos Babakhanian (14) Violin • Madrid, Spain

Caitlin Enright (16) Cello • Chatham, New Jersey

Griffin Frost (16) Cello • New York, New York

Jessica Kartawidjaja (18) Violin • Jakarta, Indonesia

Christy Kim (18) Violin • Mason, Ohio

Michelle Koo (18) Viola • Palo Alto, California

Charles Lee (16) Cello • Bellevue, Washington

Katie Liu (16) Violin • Portland, Oregon

Tokuji Miyasaka (17) Violin • Pullman, Washington

Jiyu Oh (18) Violin • Seoul, South Korea

Eunsuh Ella Park (16) Viola • Chicago, Illinois

Caleb Sharp (16) Cello • Wilton, Connecticut

Rebekah Sung (16) Viola • Fremont, California

Henry Woodruff (16) Viola • Solvang, California

Hiro Yoshimura (18) Violin • Cupertino, California

Kailey Yun (17) Violin • Irvine, California

Institute Faculty

Soovin Kim • Violin Instructor

Jessica Lee • Violin Instructor

Nicholas Cords • Viola Instructor

Peter Stumpf • Cello Instructor

Alyssa Tong • Young Artist Institute Manager

Katie Danforth • Young Artist Institute Operations Associate

Maureen Sheehan, J. Alexander Smith Young Artist Institute Resident Mentors & Production Assistants

You’re invited to turn to page 13 to learn about the supporters of the Young Artists Institute Circle who have a very special relationship with furthering YAI, and its young musicians.

Collaborative Piano Fellows

Yandi Chen Piano

Hometown: Shanghai, China

Degrees from Previous Schools: Bachelor of Music in Piano at Juilliard School, Master of Music in Piano at Yale School of Music

Current Program: Doctor of Musical Arts in Chamber Music Piano at New England Conservatory

CATCH FREE YOUNG ARTIST INSTITUTE PERFORMANCES!

Young Artist Institute Community Performances

SOLO SHOWCASE • FRI, June 21 @ Noon

CMNW Young Artist Institute Showcase #1 | Lincoln Recital Hall

SOLO SHOWCASE • FRI, June 28 @ Noon CMNW Young Artist Institute Showcase #2 The Old Church

COMMUNITY CONCERT • TUE, July 2 @ 7pm Young Artist Institute | University of Portland with SoundsTruck NW

FINAL SHOWCASE • SAT, July 6 @ 7pm CMNW Young Artist Institute Final Showcase (featuring new compositions by Fear No Music’s Young Composers Project) | Kaul Auditorium

YAI Around Town

POP-UP PERFORMANCES • TUE, June 25 1–4pm with YAI soloists & pianists SEE THEM at local hospitals, OMSI, OHSU Farmers Market, The Racquet Club, and more!

POP-UP PERFORMANCES • TUE, July 2 11am–12pm Pop-up performances with YAI quartets Spend the morning with YAI pop-ups at Tualatin Public Library, Mirabella, Watermark, and Powell’s Books!

Mainstage Concert Prelude Performances

Arrive early for mainstage concerts from June 27 to July 1 to enjoy a free pre-concert performance by the YAI. Experience the joy and virtuosity of the next generation! See page 18 for details.

Pualina Lim Mei En Piano

Hometown Singapore

Degrees from previous schools: Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Master of Music in Collaborative Piano, New England Conservatory

Current program: Graduate Diploma in Collaborative Piano, New England Conservatory

2024 PROTÉGÉ PROJECT

2024 Protégé Project Artists

Chamber Music Northwest’s Protégé Project is a world-class professional residency for emerging musicians—soloists, ensembles, composers—that cultivates and encourages the growth of chamber music’s rising stars. Protégé Project artists are featured in CMNW summer festival concerts, and present music engagements in the community.

Since its founding in 2010, Chamber Music Northwest’s Protégé Project has played a key role in launching the professional careers of dozens of America’s finest young chamber musicians including the now internationally renowned ensembles Dover Quartet, Jasper String Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, and Viano String Quartet, who we’ve delightedly brought back to Portland in later years.

Individual artists have earned impressive accolades since their protégé time with us, such as: violinists Diana Adamyan, Benjamin Beilman, Nikki Chooi, Bella Hristova, and Anna Lee; pianists Yekwon Sunwoo, Yevgeny Yontov, Zitong Wang, and own our Artistic Director Gloria Chien; cellist Zlatomir Fung; composers Andy Akiho, Alistair Coleman, Kian Ravaei, Chris Rogerson, and Gabriella Smith; and many others.

The 2024 Summer Festival Protégé Project artists are bassist Nina Bernat , pianist Chloe Mun string quartet Opus13 , and violinist Claire Wells These incredible artists will be with us for several weeks during the summer festival, do look out for them performing in several concerts, across multiple weeks.

Nina Bernat

Chloe Mun Opus13

Claire Wells

WHY BEETHOVEN? GOOD QUESTION.

by Peter J. Bilotta

“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks, and invents.” —Beethoven

I love this quote from Beethoven more than any of his many powerful statements—on music, on love, on life. Electric. That one word truly captures the essence of his influential and effecting music. Like Tesla’s coil or Edison’s light bulb, his inventive, thoughtful, spirited works have literally powered music ever since.

What is it about Beethoven that we continue to find so compelling, innovative, inspiring, and utterly revolutionary more than two centuries after his astounding music poured forth from his imagination?

For music 200 years old, Beethoven is astonishingly present. It has served as an anthem fueling the Civil Rights Movement, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Tiananmen Square protests. It inhabits dozens of major films, from Oscar-winning dramas such as The King’s Speech and Dead Poets Society Die Hard. Both Beethoven and his music are the subject of seemingly endless parodies and re-imaginations in both

Beethoven also infused his music with previously unimaginable emotional ferocity and frankness— smoldering introspection, white-hot passion, and often, blazing joy—greatly augmenting music’s power to move, inspire, heal, and unify. His struggle with his encroaching deafness and depression seems palpably present in his music, which often culminates in soaring affirmation after long stretches of chaos, anger, and despair. The thrill of Beethoven comes in part from his fusion of virtuosic difficulty and emotional intensity—sudden dynamic changes, unexplained silences, and breathless digressions that hint at feelings barely under control. No one before had confronted audiences with such an intense range of burning emotion and cathartic release.

“What I have in my heart and soul —must find a way out. That's the reason for music."

—Beethoven

Beethoven’s new sound and its power also required musical bodies of wood, wire, and string to bend to his will. He made extraordinary demands on the piano—previously in the background—to become an entire symphony of louder, more complex, and dramatically expansive sound. No sooner did his favorite maker deliver a new piano made to his specifications than Beethoven lamented it was inadequate for the music he was now writing. He literally catapulted the piano forward as the center of many of his compositions—a place of honor it has maintained in music ever since.

His music was (and still is) so challenging to perform, that many leading artists of his day declared it “unplayable”—to which Beethoven replied: “The barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry, 'Thus far and no farther.'”

Then, there was what Beethoven did to musicians, requiring them to soar higher than ever before. Whether in his violin sonatas or piano trios, string quartets or concertos, he demanded a level of singular virtuosity previously unimagined. Even today, his most difficult passages generate an exhilarating sense of danger, raising musicians’ blood pressure, no matter how many times they have played them—and thrilling us, no matter how many times we have heard them.

The sound, fire, power, and virtuosity of Beethoven’s music have certainly made it both memorable and influential. However, this doesn’t wholly explain why we still find him so relevant today. I think it has a lot to do not just with Beethoven’s music, but the man himself. During his lifetime and for years after, both he and his music were regarded as bizarre, confusing, unrefined, and even a bit insane—a tortured artist touched by madness, and a genius out of place in his time.

Beethoven’s response to this very reaction to his Opus 59 string quartets? “They are not for you. They are for a later age.”

In a remarkable review of his Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Hector Berlioz reported that “nine-tenths of the audience got up and left, complaining aloud that the music was unbearable, incomprehensible, ridiculous—the work of a madman defying common sense.”

Berlioz himself nearly left, but “just when the public’s patience gave out, mine revived, and I fell under the spell of the composer’s genius.”

Perhaps, this is the key to understanding both Beethoven’s timelessness and immediacy. We inhabit that later age now, and it is one of chaos, confusion, and fury. Beethoven’s introspective sound, emotional intensity, soaring virtuosity, and unbridled power and joy—and its profound effect on so much of the music we love—is both a salve in troubled times and our means of transcending them. In many ways, Beethoven the man—overcoming great adversity to create this music of lasting beauty— is a hero for this age. Our age And, I suspect that is exactly what he intended.

“What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven.” —Beethoven

2024 COMMISSIONED & WORLD PREMIERE COMPOSERS

JOHN LUTHER ADAMS

Prophecies of Fire (2024)

CMNW Co-Commission • World Premiere

John Luther Adams’s Prophecies of Fire was co-commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund.

KENJI BUNCH

Ralph’s Old Records

2015 CMNW Commission

Kenji Bunch’s Ralph’s Old Records was commissioned and premiered by Chamber Music Northwest in 2015 with the generous support of Carl Abbott and Margery Post Abbott.

KYLE RIVERA

Grimoire I: Laplace’s Demon (2024)

CMNW Co-Commission • World Premiere

Kyle Rivera’s new work was commissioned by Emerging Voices—a groundbreaking collaboration between Chamber Music Northwest, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Seattle Chamber Music Society— supporting young, emerging composers of color.

TASTING NOTES WITH CHEF KENJI LOPEZ-ALT

Kenji Lopez-Alt cooks, James Ehnes plays, guest appearances from head chefs of Canlis & Beast and Cleaver, Tessa Lark and more. Food. Music. Excellence. One night only.

FRIDAY, JULY 19 | 7:30 PM | BENAROYA HALL

Need recommendations for where to eat and stay? Contact andrew@seattlechambermusic.org for a personalized visitor’s package.

STEWART GOODYEAR

The Torment of Marsyas for Flute & Piano (2023)

CMNW Commission • World Premiere

Stewart Goodyear’s The Torment of Marsyas was commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund.

MARC NEIKRUG

Oboe Quartet in 10 Parts (2023)

CMNW Co-Commission • West Coast Premiere

Marc Neikrug’s Oboe Quartet in 10 Parts was cocommissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire.

JÖRG WIDMANN

String Quartet No. 9, Study on Beethoven IV (2022)

CMNW Co-Commission • U.S. Premiere

Jörg Widmann’s String Quartet No. 9 was co-commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund.

JOAN TOWER

To Sing or Dance (2024)

CMNW Co-Commission • World Premiere

Joan Tower’s To Sing or Dance was cocommissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Club, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Emerald City Music.

To learn more about these composers, please see their biography listings in the Festival Artists & Composers section of this program.

World class chamber music in iconic

Join us for three weeks of dynamic performances at Sokol Blosser, Archery Summit and Appassionata Estate - with beloved favorites by Beethoven, Haydn & Schubert, alongside today’s voices, including 2024 Composer-in-Residence Kevin Day.

Thursday, June 27

The Reser | 7:30pm

Sponsors:

Heidi Yorkshire & Joseph Anthony

Prelude Performance | 6pm Young Artist Institute

Opening Night: Beethoven, Brahms & Bunch!

Saturday, June 29

Kaul Auditorium | 8pm

Sponsors:

Linda & John Hardham

Prelude Performance | 6:30pm Young Artist Institute

In the winter of 1891, Johannes Brahms contemplated retirement. He was unwell, depressed, and suffering from writer’s block. A visit to the court of Meiningen a few months later changed everything; there Brahms met virtuoso clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, who played in the court orchestra. Mühlfeld’s artistry, and the rich expressive sound of the clarinet itself, reinvigorated Brahms.

Portland-based composer Kenji Bunch enjoys an active career as a performer, arts leader, and educator, serving as Artistic Director of Fear No Music, and the CoDirector of the MYS advanced string orchestra MYSFits, in addition to his teaching positions at Portland State University, Reed College, and with the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Of his work Ralph’s Old Records which received its premiere with CMNW in 2015, Bunch writes,

BRAHMS (1833–1897)

KENJI BUNCH (b. 1973)

Sonata for Viola & Piano in F Minor, Op. 120, No. 1 • (23’)

I. Allegro appassionato

II. Andante un poco adagio

III. Allegretto grazioso

IV. Vivace

Ralph’s Old Records • (20’) 2015 CMNW COMMISSION

I. Chi-Chi Hotcha Watchee Stomp

II. Celestial Debris

III. I Didn’t Hear Nobody Pray

IV. When I Grew Too Old to Dream, Dream, Dream, One More Dream Came True

V. Off to the Foxes

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36 • (45’) arr. for chamber ensemble by Jopfen Music

I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio

II. Larghetto

III. Scherzo: Allegro

IV. Allegro molto

Paul Neubauer, viola

Alessio Bax, piano

Amelia Lukas, flute

David Shifrin, clarinet

Kenji Bunch, violin/viola

Alexander Hersh, cello

Monica Ohuchi, piano

In 1894, Brahms once again reached a low creative point, and once again Mühlfeld and his clarinet came to Brahms’s rescue. While vacationing in Bad Ischl that summer, Brahms wrote the two clarinet sonatas of Op. 120. He also reworked Op. 120 for viola, whose range and warm sound parallel that of the clarinet. Brahms’s version for viola transposes some of the music down an octave, to showcase the viola’s rich low register; in places, Brahms also thickens the harmony through use of double stops.

Op. 120, No. 1 contrasts the first two movements’ introspection and wistfulness with the exuberance and lighthearted whimsy of the final two; by the closing Vivace the mood is so transformed as to end in a sunny F Major rather than a brooding F Minor.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Amelia Lukas, flute

Frank Rosenwein, oboe

David Shifrin, clarinet

Carin Miller, bassoon

Jeff Garza, horn

Ian Rosenbaum, timpani

Soovin Kim, violin I

Jessica Lee, violin II

Nicholas Cords, viola

Peter Stumpf, cello

Nina Bernat, bass

Kenji Bunch’s Ralph’s Old Records was commissioned and premiered by Chamber Music Northwest in 2015 with the generous support of Carl Abbott & Margery Post Abbott.

“Growing up, I enjoyed listening to a cassette tape compilation my dad made from his stack of old vinyl records from the 30s and 40s. His handwritten title on the mix tape was the same as on his box of 78s, simply ‘Ralph’s Old Records.’

As I child, I knew little about the artists (ranging from Al Jolson and the Mills Brothers through Guy Lombardo, Glenn Miller, the Andrews Sisters, and Spike Jones) or the historical context of their music. Rather, I listened to the songs as abstract expressions of humor, exuberance, rhythmic energy, and at times, poignant beauty and lyricism. As an adult, I revisited this music with a more nuanced understanding similar to the more fully realized view I had developed of my father’s own ‘records;’ surviving Depression-era poverty, WWII, and becoming the first member of his family to receive a college education.

In this sense, Ralph’s Old Records is a quite personal work, written in the spirit of how I remember discovering this music as a child forty-some years ago—a wondrous, unpredictable concoction of syncopated rhythms and sonorities. This work is scored for ‘Pierrot’ ensemble: flute doubling piccolo, clarinet, violin doubling viola, cello, and piano, with several peripheral doublings unexpectedly popping up at times.”

—© Kenji Bunch

In 1802, as Ludwig van Beethoven completed his Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36 his worsening deafness triggered profound depression and suicidal thoughts. On his doctor’s advice, Beethoven spent much of 1802 in the village of Heiligenstadt, where he visited the nearby spa. The enforced isolation plunged Beethoven into greater despair, as he realized his hearing might never improve. On October 6, 1802, unable to contain his anguish any longer, Beethoven wrote a letter, known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, to his brothers Carl and Johann:

“… For six years now I have been hopelessly afflicted, made worse by senseless physicians, from year to year deceived with hopes of improvement, finally compelled to face the prospect of a lasting malady … Yet it was impossible for me to say to people, ‘Speak louder, shout, for I am deaf.’ Ah, how could I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense that ought to be more perfect in me than in others? … If I approach near to people a hot terror seizes upon me, and I fear being exposed to the danger that my condition might be noticed … Such incidents drove me almost to despair … I would have ended my life—it was only my art that held me back. It seemed to me impossible to leave the world until I had produced all that I felt was within me.”

Beethoven never sent the letter; it was discovered in his papers after his death.

The slow introduction transitions instantly to an aggressively cheerful Allegro as if Beethoven were forcing himself into a positive mood. In the Larghetto melodies of serene delicacy reflect Beethoven’s lifelong love of nature. The Scherzo’s offbeat rhythms and fragmented melodies probably shocked the Viennese audiences of Beethoven’s time. Beethoven rebels against his deafness in the Allegro molto, whose sassy opening gesture verges on insolence. The surge of energy generated by this movement expresses a defiant reaffirmation of will to “produce all that I felt was within me.”

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Sunday, June 30

Lincoln Performance Hall | 4pm

Sponsors: CMNW Volunteers

Prelude Performance | 2:30pm

Lincoln Recital Hall

Young Artist Institute

SONIC EVOLUTION: Mendelssohn, Bernstein & Neikrug

LEONARD

BERNSTEIN (1918–1990)

MARC NEIKRUG (b. 1946)

Clarinet Concerto (1942) • (12’)

Transcribed from the Sonata, arr. Sid Ramin

I. Grazioso

II. Andantino – Vivace e leggiero

FELIX

MENDELSSOHN (1809–1847)

Oboe Quartet in 10 Parts (2023) • (32’)

CMNW CO-COMMISSION • WEST COAST PREMIERE

Monday, July 1

Kaul Auditorium | 8pm

Sponsor: Martha Dibblee

Prelude Performance | 6:30pm Young Artist Institute

David Shifrin, solo clarinet

Ian Rosenbaum, percussion

Monica Ohuchi, piano

Bella Hristova, violin

Sunmi Chang, violin

Paul Neubauer, viola

Alexander Hersh, cello

Nina Bernat, bass

Frank Rosenwein, oboe

Bella Hristova, violin

Paul Neubauer, viola

Alexander Hersh, cello

INTERMISSION

Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 66 • (30’)

I. Allegro energico e con fuoco

II. Andante espressivo

III. Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto

IV. Finale. Allegro appassionato

Bella Hristova, violin

Peter Stumpf, cello

Alessio Bax, piano

In 1941, Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music. Two years later, he received the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to conduct a nationally broadcast performance with the New York Philharmonic. It was a tremendous success, the first of many leaps forward in his storied career.

Bernstein wrote his Clarinet Sonata during that brief window between his graduation and his meteoric rise to fame. He began composing in 1941 in Key West, Florida, then finished and premiered the sonata with clarinetist David Glazer at the Institute of Modern Art in Boston in early 1942. Five decades later, Bernstein’s longtime orchestrator Sid Ramin created a new Clarinet Concerto arrangement of the sonata for clarinet, strings, and percussion.

The concerto kicks off with a jazzy clarinet riff, but the majority of the opening Grazioso movement proceeds with a restrained sense of ease. The influence of Bernstein’s teacher and lifelong friend Aaron Copland can be heard throughout, particularly in the stark, open harmonies that close the movement.

The second movement begins with a slow Andantino introduction, until an off-kilter Vivace e leggiero takes hold. Here, Bernstein uses the unusual 5/8 meter, a challenging rhythmic pattern to execute, particularly for the clarinetist. Jazzy syncopation and an effective use of contrast combine to make this movement a fantastic example of Bernstein’s early style. As one contemporary critic sagely predicted, “If this last movement is any indication… we can be sure of having something to look forward to in contemporary American music.”

—© Ethan Allred

The quartet for oboe and string trio was commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire. They graciously allowed the World Premiere to take place during the 50th anniversary season of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

The piece’s dedication reads: “For Steven Ovitsky with gratitude, respect, and friendship.”

The structure consists of 10 movements, which are short enough that I refer to them as “parts” rather than movements. They are analogous to a web or weaving and present several strands or musical aspects, which evolve and expand.

So, for example, parts 1, 5, and 9 are one strand, and parts 3, 6, and 8 are another. Part 10 is a culmination of both those strands.

—© Marc Neikrug

In 1832, Felix Mendelssohn wrote to his sister Fanny, “I should like to compose a couple of good trios.” Eight years later, Mendelssohn completed his D Minor Trio (which prompted Robert Schumann to declare Mendelssohn “the Mozart of the 19th century.”), and six years after that, the Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 66

The key of C Minor held a particular significance for Mendelssohn, as it did for Beethoven (Beethoven in turn was moved by Mozart’s “serenely tragic” C Minor piano concerto, K. 491). In choosing C Minor, a key associated with some of Beethoven’s most famous works, including the “Pathétique” Sonata and the Fifth Symphony, Mendelssohn alluded to the impact of Beethoven on his own music. The first movement of Op. 66 reinforces Mendelssohn’s seriousness of purpose. It remains in C Minor throughout and is filled with agitation bordering on anxiety. Not until a contrasting second theme emerges in the cello does the tension abate briefly.

The piano introduces the Andante espressivo a contemplative interlude with a gently rocking rhythm, and the strings maintain the tranquil mood with an expressive dialogue. The Scherzo’s lightning-fast tempo challenges the players, as does its intricate counterpoint, which continues into the Finale Mendelssohn’s affinity for old music surfaces in the quasi-Baroque quality of the writing, as well as his insertion of a chorale midway through. The chorale merges part of an existing melody, the “Old Hundredth,” with an original tune by Mendelssohn, after which the “appassionato” of the Finale builds to a joyful conclusion.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Marc Neikrug’s Oboe Quartet in 10 Parts was co-commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire.

Classical Music Festivals of the West 2024

CALIFORNIA

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music cabrillomusic.org

Santa Cruz, CA

July 29-August 11

Carmel Bach Festival bachfestival.org

Carmel, CA

July 13-27

In loving memory of Steve Friedlander

La Jolla Music Society SummerFest

TheConrad.org

La Jolla, CA

July 26-August 24

Mainly Mozart

All-Star Orchestra Festival

mainlymozart.org

La Jolla, CA

June 20-29

Music@Menlo musicatmenlo.org

Atherton, CA

July 19-August 10

COLORADO

Aspen Music Festival and School

aspenmusicfestival.com

Aspen, CO

June 26-August 18

Bravo! Vail Music Festival

bravovail.org

Vail, CO

June 20-August 1

Colorado Music Festival

coloradomusicfestival.org

Boulder, CO

July 5-August 4

Strings Music Festival

stringsmusicfestival.com

Steamboat Springs, CO

June 21-August 25

IDAHO

Sun Valley Music Festival

svmusicfestival.org

Sun Valley, ID

July 29-August 22

NEW MEXICO

Santa Fe Chamber

Music Festival

santafechambermusic.org

Santa Fe, NM

July 14-August 19

OREGON

Chamber Music Northwest

Summer Festival

cmnw.org

Portland, OR

June 27-July 28

Oregon Bach Festival oregonbachfestival.org

Eugene, OR

June 28-July 14

WASHINGTON

Seattle Chamber Music Society

Summer Festival

seattlechambermusic.org

Seattle, WA July 1-26

WYOMING

Grand Teton Music Festival

gtmf.org

Jackson, WY

June 27-August 17

With an Oregon Symphony Choose Your Own Series, you can choose the concerts you want to experience on your own schedule. Just choose three or more eligible concerts and enjoy big savings!

Enjoy breathtaking concerts like:

• Chopin and Alpine Symphony

• Back to the ‘80s

• Dvořák’s New World Symphony

• Mahler 3: Nature Finds a Voice

• Marvel vs. DC and many more!

Learn more at orsymphony.org/cyo

GARRICK OHLSSON

ASHER FISCH, JOYCE YANG

DAVID DANZMAYR

MARVEL VS. DC

Wednesday, July 3

The Old Church | 7pm 6pm | Happy Hour & Conversation with Caroline Shaw Post-concert Q&A with artists

New@ Night

NEW@NIGHT: Soundscapes of Hartke, Shaw

& Penderecki

CAROLINE SHAW (b. 1982)

KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI (1933–2020)

STEPHEN HARTKE (b. 1952)

Plan and Elevation (2015) • (15')

I. The Ellipse

II. The Cutting Garden

III. The Herbaceous Border

IV. The Orangery

V. The Beech Tree

Duo Concertante for Violin & Double Bass (2011) • (5')

Opus13

Sonoko Miriam Welde, violin

Edvard Erdal, violin

Albin Uusijärvi, viola

Daniel Thorell, cello

Netsuke (2011) • (18')

I. Tengu, the shapeshifter that feeds on the falsely holy

II. Tadamori and the Oil-thief

III. Tanuki playing the samisen

IV. Baku, the monster that devours nightmares

V. Demons carrying a rich man to hell

VI. Jewel of Wisdom with mountain pavilions

violin

I have always loved drawing the architecture around me when traveling, and some of my favorite lessons in musical composition have occurred by chance in my drawing practice over the years. The title, Plan & Elevation refers to two standard ways of representing architecture— essentially an orthographic, or “bird’s eye,” perspective (“plan”), and a side view which features more ornamental detail (“elevation”). This binary is also a gentle metaphor for one’s path in any endeavor—often the actual journey and results are quite different. I was fortunate to have been the inaugural music fellow at Dumbarton Oaks in 201415. Plan & Elevation examines different parts of the estate’s beautiful grounds and my personal experience in those particular spaces. Each movement is based on a simple ground bass line which supports a different musical concept or character. “The Ellipse” considers the notion of infinite repetition (I won’t deny a tiny Kierkegaard influence here). One can walk around and around the stone path, beneath the trimmed hornbeams, as I often did as a way to clear my mind while writing. The second movement, “The Cutting Garden,” is a fun fragmentation of various string quartets (primarily Ravel, Mozart K. 387, and my own Entr’acte, Valencia and Punctum), referencing the variety of flowers grown there before they meet their inevitable end as cuttings for display. “The Herbaceous Border” is spare and strict at first, like the cold geometry of French formal gardens with their clear orthogonals, before building to the opposite of order: chaos. The fourth movement, “The Orangery,” is evokes the slim, fractured shadows in that room as the light tries to peek through the leaves of the aging fig vine. We end with my favorite spot in the garden, “The Beech Tree.” It is strong, simple, ancient, elegant, and quiet; it needs no introduction.

—© Caroline Shaw

In the 1960s, Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki (1933–2020) rose to fame as an icon of the musical avant-garde. Despite the challenging nature of his music, he showed a unique ability to captivate audiences in concert halls while also crossing over to popular cultural acclaim. His music has appeared in films including The Shining and The Exorcist and pop musicians like Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood cite Penderecki’s influence to this day.

In 2011, Penderecki wrote a Duo Concertante for Violin & Double Bass, one of relatively few showpieces in the repertoire for double bass virtuosos. Its Italian title, Duo Concertante, implies that both instrumentalists should be considered soloists.

Composing music for two instruments at opposite ends of the pitch spectrum like violin and double bass presents unique challenges and opportunities. Penderecki mitigates those challenges by asking the bass to tune a whole step higher than usual. He also gives each soloist’s line a sense of independence, fostering hearty musical dialogue instead of harmony.

Like many of Penderecki’s later works, this duo shows a relatively melodic, lyrical side of the composer. Avant-garde techniques appear here and there for effect, but the focus never strays from the talents of the two performers.

—© Ethan Allred

Netsuke are Japanese miniature carvings that were originally made to secure objects suspended from a man’s sash. Often very intricate in design, they represent a broad range of subject matters from depictions of animals and people to scenes from folktales, literature, and everyday life to fanciful supernatural creatures. This piece was inspired by six exquisite carvings from the Bushell Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In the first movement, a tengu, a hawk-like goblin, takes on the appearance of a monk to lure a religious hypocrite to his doom. The second carving, Tadamori and the Oil-Thief is a wonderfully kinetic depiction of a midnight scuffle between a samurai and a poor servant whom he has mistaken for a thief. A tanuki is a raccoon-like creature thought to have the power to change its appearance. In this small sculpture, one is seen dressed in a robe quietly playing the samisen. In my piece, I found myself thinking of the samisen duels that one frequently hears in Japanese theatrical music. While quite fearsome looking, with the head of an elephant and a lion’s mane, the baku is a shy creature that performs the useful service of protecting sleepers from nightmares. In the carving that inspired the fifth movement, a rich man has apparently set off on a journey, but instead of being carried by his usual bearers, seven demons have hijacked his sedan chair and gleefully cart him down to Hell. The final netsuke shows a serene mountain landscape intricately rendered in a water-drop-shaped piece of ivory. Gnarled, wind-blown trees and the verandas of handsome pavilions can be discerned through the mist. Commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress, Netsuke is dedicated in friendship and gratitude to Matt Albert and Lisa Kaplan of Eighth Blackbird.

—© Stephen Hartke

Jennifer Frautschi,

Nina Bernat, bass

Jennifer Frautschi, violin

Monica Ohuchi, piano

Lincoln Recital Hall | 12pm

PROTÉGÉ SPOTLIGHT: Bassist Nina Bernat

CHOPIN (1810–1849)

SOFIA GUBAIDULINA (b. 1931)

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809–1847)

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

ROSSINI (1792–1868)

Introduction et polonaise brillante, Op. 3 • (10’)

Pantomime (1966) • (6’)

Lied ohne Worte (Song without Words), Op. 109 • (5’)

Nina Bernat bass

Gloria Chien , piano

Every piece Frédéric Chopin wrote included the piano in one way or another, but he occasionally included other instruments. One such example is the youthful Introduction et polonaise brillante, Op. 3 for cello and piano. Chopin wrote the polonaise during an 1829 visit to the estate of Prussian nobleman Antoni Radziwiłł and added the Introduction the following year.

The Introduction begins with a series of flashy piano lines, which contrast with seductively romantic cello melodies. Chopin capitalizes on the strengths of each instrument, with the cello primarily sticking to smooth, legato melodies, and the piano providing structure and occasional virtuosic flourishes. Some arrangements of the piece distribute the virtuosity more evenly, however, giving the cello its fair share of the fun.

The Polonaise is in a rondo form. Compared to Chopin’s polonaises for piano solo, this is a vigorous and energetic one, fitting its intended performance venue of a leisurely salon.

—© Ethan Allred

Suleika, Op. 34, No. 4 • (3’)

String Sonata No. 3 in C Major • (14’) I. Allegro

II. Andante

III. Moderato

Julianne Lee , violin

Sonoko Miriam Welde , violin

Daniel Thorell cello

Nina Bernat bass

In 1959, Sofia Gubaidulina met Dmitri Shostakovich for a lesson, to play for him and to absorb his wisdom. He advised her to continue along her incorrect path words that would resonate with her for the duration of her career. Gubaidulina’s adoption of microtonality, traditional folk music, and religious mysticism in her work ultimately did antagonize the Soviet government, as Shostakovich predicted, and as a result she was reprimanded and blacklisted for writing “irresponsible” music.

A few years after this fateful meeting, in 1966, Pantomime for double bass and piano was written. Although this piece is nearly twenty years before Gubaidulina first uses the Fibonacci sequence to structure her work, one can see that she is experimenting with form through small phrases with large expression.

In the opening section, glissando and tremolo techniques pepper each phrase and a distinctive gesture with the bow ends each musical segment. A new section begins as the piano’s line is taken over by a circular staccato pattern, convincing the bass to join in with agitated Bartók pizzicato and ricochet. In this early work, one can still hear influences of Anton Webern and even hints of her brief mentor, Shostakovich.

—© Sofia

Gubaidulina

Felix Mendelssohn was the pioneer of a uniquely 19th century genre of music: the Song without Words. Using only music (that is, without any lyrics), he hoped to capture the emotional journey contained within a vocal song. When asked whether his songs were meant to portray a particular story, he responded, “if I happen to have certain words in mind…I would never want to tell them to anyone, because the same words never mean the same things to others. Only the song can say the same thing, can arouse the same feelings in one person as in another.”

Mendelssohn composed 48 Songs without Words for solo piano, but only one that featured any other instrument: the Lied ohne Worte (Song without Words), Op. 109 for cello and piano. In this song, the cellist plays the role of the vocalist, while the pianist sets the scene with its folksy, guitar-like chords. An element of stormy drama emerges in the song’s central section, marked Agitato Then, Mendelssohn juxtaposes echoes of both the heightened middle section and the introductory calm, before settling on a serene final arpeggio.

The existence of this lone, multiinstrumental Song without Words poses a question: what beautiful songs for other instruments might Mendelssohn have created if he had the chance? Sadly, he passed away only two years after the song’s composition (at age 38), so that question will remain forever unanswered.

—© Ethan Allred

When Felix Mendelssohn set Suleika Op. 34, No. 4 he thought the romantic poem was Goethe’s. In fact, this expression of love and longing was written by a woman, Marianne von Willemer. She and Goethe met in 1814 and corresponded until Goethe’s death. When she sent Goethe her poem, he passed it off as his own.

Mendelssohn used a strophic setting— the same music for each verse—until the final strophe, which shifts from a storm-tossed E Minor to a calm E Major. The melody’s long legato phrases work effectively in this instrumental arrangement for bass and piano.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

When Italian opera composer Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) was twelve years old, he spent the summer at the estate of Agostino Triossi, a wealthy businessman and double bassist. Triossi asked Rossini to write some music, so the precocious young composer provided him with six delightful “Sonatas a quattro” for two violins, cello, and double bass.

The String Sonata No. 3 in C Major displays many of the features that eventually made Rossini a successful operatic composer. The opening Allegro exhibits an excellent sense of pacing and balance, while the Andante’s dramatic, soaring melodies foreshadow his later aria style. The sonata closes with a delightful Moderato spotlighting each musician in turn with a rumbling bass line, suave cello melodies, and rapid-fire violin runs.

—© Ethan Allred

Wednesday, July 10

Kaul Auditorium | 8pm

Sponsors: Ellen Macke & Howard Pifer

SPECIAL EVENT

World Premiere of Prophecies of Fire

GABRIELA LENA FRANK (b. 1972)

GABRIELA LENA FRANK

JOHN LUTHER ADAMS (b. 1953)

Luciérnagas (Fireflies) from Suite Mestiza for Solo Violin (2017) • (4’)

Zapatos de Chincha for Violin and Cello (2010) • (4’)

Prophecies of Fire (2024) • (31’) CMNW CO-COMMISSION • WORLD PREMIERE

Julianne Lee , violin

Julianne Lee , violin

Mark Kosower, cello

Sandbox Percussion

Ian Rosenbaum, percussion

Jonny Allen, percussion

Terry Sweeney, percussion

Victor Caccese, percussion

John Luther Adams’s Prophecies of Fire was co-commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund.

Inspired by the mixed-race cultures of Andean South America, Suite Mestiza for Solo Violin draws directly on sights and sounds from trips to Perú taken with my mother as traveling companion. As joint personal journeys of remembrance and identity (my mother as a Peruvian born ChineseIndian-Spanish “costeña” or coastal native who would emigrate to the States upon marrying my father; and me as the American-born Latina), experiences that might be deemed rather ordinary instead have a miraculous cast for us. Suite Mestiza was composed for my friend and colleague, Movses Pogossian, a musician of infinite skill and humanity, including the piece you will hear today, Luciérnagas, which was inspired by the virtuoso and fleet character of fireflies that are encountered everywhere in Perú.

—© Gabriela Lena Frank

Hilos (Threads, 2010), written for the ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, is scored for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. Alluding to the beauty of Peruvian textiles, both in their construction and in their pictorial content of everyday life, the short movements of Hilos are a kind of Peruvian "pictures at an exhibition." Players are mixed and matched in various combinations, and draw on a myriad of sounds evocative of indigenous music. These include fanciful pizzicatos and widely-spaced tremolos suggesting guitar-like instruments, strong attacks and surging releases suggesting zampona panpipes and quena flutes, glissandi and scratch tones suggesting vocal coloristic effects, and so forth. Tonight’s performance includes the movement Zapatos de Chincha (Shoes of Chincha). This light-footed movement is inspired by Chincha, a southern coastal town known for its afro-peruano music and dance (including a unique brand of tap). The cello part is especially reminiscent of the cajon, a wooden box that percussionists sit on and strike with hands and feet, extracting a remarkable array of sounds and rhythms.

—© Gabriela Lena Frank

"…and I come back to find the stars misplaced, and the smell of a world that has burned."

— Jimi Hendrix

My earliest musical awakening was as a drummer. From rock bands to playing timpani in a symphony orchestra, my deepest physical connections to music have been through percussion. Over the past five decades, my life’s work has led me to compose music for orchestra, string quartet, piano, human voice, electronics, and a wide variety of other media. Now, in my 72nd year, I've returned to the place I began.

At this stage in my creative life, I feel a special responsibility and joy in working with the next generations of musicians. Several years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Sandbox Percussion perform my extended cycle for percussion quartet, Strange and Sacred Noise Since then, these extraordinary musicians have performed songbirdsongs …and bells remembered… and Inuksuit. I’ve come to regard these four young men as the foremost interpreters of my percussion music. And I welcomed the invitation to compose Prophecies of Fire —a concertlength work specifically for them.

The musicians surround the listeners, enveloping them in a continuum of timbres, pitches, dynamics, and velocities, rising from the threshold of whispers, slowly swelling into a vast sea of sound—like the wildfires, superstorms, and tides of darkness rising all around us. But beyond any poetic or metaphorical associations, this work is a celebration of the elemental power of sound itself to touch, to move, and perhaps even to transform human consciousness.

—© John Luther Adams

Thursday, July 11

The Reser | 7:30pm

Co-Sponsor:

Evelyn Brzezinski

Prelude Performance | 6:30pm

Saturday, July 13

Kaul Auditorium | 8pm

Sponsor:

Prelude Performance | 7:00pm

MUSIC ON FIRE: Beethoven, Brahms & Fagerlund

The music Ludwig van Beethoven composed in the final years of his life has an innovative quality, largely unmoored from standard musical conventions he could no longer hear. Listening to Beethoven’s music from this period feels like eavesdropping on the composer’s internal ruminations as profound musical ideas formed inside his mind. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the massive fugue Beethoven wrote as the finale to his String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130.

Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund has established himself as one of the most prominent European composers of his generation. Fagerlund’s music explores philosophical questions and existential experiences with what the BBC Music Magazine describes as “boundless technical resources at the service of a considerable imagination.”

BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Grosse Fuge in B-flat Major, Op. 133 • (16’)

Opus13

Sonoko Miriam Welde, violin

Edvard Erdal, violin

Albin Uusijärvi, viola

Daniel Thorell, cello

SEBASTIAN FAGERLUND (b. 1972)

BRAHMS (1833–1897)

String Quartet No. 1, “Verso l'interno” (2007) • (17’)

I.Pròlogo

II. Danza 1

III. Danza 2

IV. Canto

V. Danza 3

VI. Epilogo

INTERMISSION

Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 • (44’)

I. Allegro non troppo

II. Andante, un poco adagio

III. Scherzo: Allegro

IV. Finale: Poco sostenuto

Soovin Kim, violin

Claire Wells, violin

Julianne Lee, viola

Mark Kosower, cello

George Li, piano

Beethoven intended the Grosse Fuge to conclude Op. 130, but its austere character, not to mention its length, unbalanced the rest of the quartet’s movements (at over 15 minutes long, the Grosse Fuge is longer than the first movement and twice as long as the internal sections). Ignaz Schuppanzigh, Beethoven’s longtime teacher, friend, and the leader of the quartet that premiered Op. 130, and Beethoven’s publisher, Matthias Artaria, urged the reluctant Beethoven to write a different ending. Beethoven grudgingly complied, and Artaria published the Grosse Fuge as a stand-alone work, with the opus number 133.

Not surprisingly, Beethoven’s contemporaries rejected the Fuge One critic described it as “incomprehensible, like Chinese” and “a confusion of Babel.” These linguistic analogies are telling, since the Grosse Fuge was, in fact, a new musical language. It is no wonder most of Beethoven’s contemporaries couldn’t make sense of it. The Fuge is truly music out of time: it belongs to the future, not to 1826 Vienna.

By the 20th century, the Grosse Fuge was gaining new acceptance and understanding, even admiration. Igor Stravinsky declared, “[it is] an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever.”

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

“A sort of primitivism is present in many of my works,” Fagerlund observes. “As a result, rhythm, in particular, has become very important. I am fascinated by relentless drive and energy.” The three Danzas from Fagerlund’s 2006 String Quartet No. 1, “Verso l’interno” reflect his preoccupation with this “relentless drive” in their untamed savage power. The subtitle references an “inward turning” to the measured phrases of a translucent Canto the central section of this six-movement work. Fagerlund writes, “This melodical and fragile movement forms the center of the piece where the musical nucleus of the string quartet is presented. The bigger the distance is to the core of the piece, the more distant and transformed the material becomes.”

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Stories of Johannes Brahms’s painstaking compositional process are legion; in his early works, Brahms often took years to realize his initial musical ideas. As he wrote, Brahms’s music sometimes morphed from one genre to another— for example, his first piano concerto started off as a two-piano sonata and then became a symphony before assuming its final form. So too with Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 , one of the most performed and recorded of all piano quintets.

Op. 34 was always a quintet; it was the instrumentation that changed. First scored for string quartet plus one cello, an ensemble Franz Schubert utilized in his C Major Quintet, Brahms finished it in August 1862 and sent it to violinist/ composer Joseph Joachim and pianist/composer Clara Schumann. Both reacted positively, but Joachim also expressed concerns. “This piece of music is certainly of the greatest importance and is strong in character,” he noted, “… but what is lacking, to give me pure pleasure, is, in a word, charm.” Brahms refashioned Op. 34 into a sonata for two pianos, but after its lackluster premiere in 1864, Clara opined, “It cannot be called a Sonata. The first time I tried the work I had the feeling that it was an arrangement.” Finally, at the suggestion of conductor Hermann Levi, Brahms rescored Op. 34 for string quartet and piano.

Brahms’s signature melancholy declares itself in the opening notes, and runs through all four movements. Sometimes, as in the Allegro non troppo, the atmosphere is one of youthful romantic angst; in other places like the Scherzo triumphant Beethovenian exclamations alternate with nervous, agitated mutterings from the strings. The Andante features a quasi-lullaby, in the style of Schubert, with hints of harmonic disquiet murmuring beneath its placid surface. The Finale opens with a slow introduction, followed by episodes alternating an up-tempo Roma tune with unsettled, violent outbursts.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Sunday, July 14

Lincoln Performance Hall | 4pm

Sponsor: Beth Fry

Monday, July 15

Kaul Auditorium | 8pm

Sponsor:

INCANDESCENCE: Blazing Works by Joan Tower, Bartók & the “Kreutzer”

JOAN TOWER (b. 1938)

To Sing or Dance (2024) • (20’) CMNW CO-COMMISSION • WORLD PREMIERE

BÉLA BARTÓK (1881–1945)

BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Violin Sonata No. 2, Sz. 76 (1922) • (20’)

I. Molto moderato

II. Allegretto

Soovin Kim, violin

Sandbox Percussion

Ian Rosenbaum, percussion

Jonny Allen, percussion

Terry Sweeney, percussion

Victor Caccese, percussion

Soovin Kim, violin

Gloria Chien, piano

INTERMISSION

Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”) • (35’)

I. Adagio sostenuto – Presto

II. Andante con variazioni

III. Finale: Presto

Soovin Kim, violin

Gloria Chien, piano

Joan Tower’s To Sing or Dance was co-commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Club, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Emerald City Music.

To Sing or Dance was commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest and is dedicated to violinist Soovin Kim and Sandbox Percussion.

When I spent some time with the wonderful composer Arvo Pärt, we had a discussion about the origins of music. He felt music came from the voice (or singing) and I had a different idea that it came from the drum (or dancing). Basically, this difference of opinion reflects a longtime split between composers who write mostly for the voice (Pärt, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, etc.) and those that compose mostly for instruments (me, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, etc.).

When I was asked to write a piece for violin and percussion, that difference became immediately apparent: how to have these two very different instruments in the same space, living fairly comfortably together. What I discovered was that the pitched percussion (vibraphones, glockenspiels, and crotales) were an easier match to join the violin. So right at the beginning, when the percussion starts alone, there is a dialogue between non-pitched and pitched percussion, which eventually invites the violin to join the discussion. And, eventually, the violin starts picking up on some of the rhythms of the percussion as another interaction. Occasionally, I gave solo space to both the violin and the percussion group to let them develop forward into their individual and special DNAs without having to adapt to the other one.

I want to thank violinist Soovin Kim and Sandbox Percussion for taking on this piece.

—© Joan Tower

Béla Bartók’s first two violin sonatas, from 1921 and 1922, respectively, were written for his friend and colleague Jelly d’Arányi, an outstanding violinist and greatniece of 19th-century violin virtuoso, Joseph Joachim. In 1923, d’Arányi and Bartók premiered Sz. 76 in Berlin.

Both sonatas reflect Bartók’s indepth explorations of 12-tone composition methods pioneered by Arnold Schoenberg. Into the nontonal language (despite Bartók’s claim that Sz. 76 was written in C Major, the prevailing tonality is the tritone, a highly dissonant and unstable interval), Bartók incorporates the violin techniques of Hungarian folk music—Roma glissandos, non-vibrato, sharp accents, and asymmetrical rhythms. The two-movement structure, in lieu of a standard three-movement sonata format, parallels the Hungarian verbunkos featuring a slow (lassú) and fast ( friss) section played without pause.

The violin parts of both sonatas are unusually challenging, as Bartók explained in a 1924 letter: “The violin part of the two violin sonatas … is extraordinarily difficult, and it is only a violinist of the top class who has any chance of learning them.”

In the Molto moderato of Sz. 76, violin and piano seem to pursue their own individual musical explorations, offset by occasional clashes. For the most part, however, each player traces a solitary path, parallel to but not in conjunction with one other. The Allegretto begins with pizzicato violin, and the two instruments explore the non-tonal landscape together using folk dance rhythms. The primitive vitality of this music is irresistible, propelling itself forward towards a—perhaps ironic?—C Major conclusion.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

The story of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”) is long and highly mythologized. He originally wrote the Sonata for a young virtuoso named George Bridgetower, who premiered it with Beethoven to the composer’s great pleasure. Apparently the two later had a quarrel over a romantic interest, however, and Beethoven decided to instead dedicate the sonata to French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, whom he hadn’t seen in years.

The “Kreutzer” Sonata goes far beyond any other Beethoven violin sonata in its breadth, its virtuosity, and its incessant development of small melodic fragments. This massive sonata begins with a legendarily dissonant introduction. It does not reach its “key” of A Major (Beethoven didn’t actually give the piece an official key) until a suddenly calm section well into the development. Until then, he rapidly moves between related keys with thick textures, created by a liberal use of upper and lower ranges of both piano and violin.

The equally broad second movement, an Andante theme and variations, is based around a complex melody—this is unusual because themes are generally simple so that the variations can build in many different directions. The sonata still dates from fairly early in Beethoven’s career (1803), but here he already shows the incredible talent for building variations that would be the source of such later masterpieces as the Diabelli Variations. After the intensity of the first movement, the variety of this central movement provides a muchneeded respite.

The Presto finale was originally composed for the earlier Violin Sonata Opus 30, No. 1, but Beethoven chose to use it for the “Kreutzer” instead. This bouncy movement gives the feeling of perpetual motion, with occasional moments of pause. It presents a fittingly enigmatic and long-winded conclusion to what certainly represented a giant step in the history of the violin sonata.

—© Ethan Allred

Tuesday, July 16

Lincoln Recital Hall | 12pm

Sponsors: Joan Levers & David Manhart

PROTÉGÉ SPOTLIGHT: Opus13

MOZART (1756–1791)

String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 ("Dissonance") • (30’)

I. Adagio – Allegro

II. Andante cantabile

III. Menuetto and Trio: Allegro

IV. Allegro

GRIEG (1843–1907)

String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 27 • (34’)

I. Un poco andante – Allegro molto ed agitato

II. Romanze: Andantino

III. Intermezzo: Allegro molto marcato – Più vivo e scherzando

IV. Finale: Lento – Presto al saltarello

Opus13

Sonoko Miriam Welde, violin

Edvard Erdal, violin

Albin Uusijärvi, viola

Daniel Thorell, cello

Joseph Haydn is rightly acknowledged as the father of the string quartet. In Haydn’s hands, the string quartet evolved from an insignificant incidental ensemble into a substantive genre all its own. Each of the four instruments— two violins, viola, and cello—assumed the role of an equal partner, capable of executing either melodic or harmonic material.

In the summer of 1781, not long after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart moved to Vienna, Haydn completed his Op. 33 string quartets. Mozart had long admired the older composer and studied Haydn’s new quartets closely. Mozart emulated Haydn’s focus on instrumental autonomy, and incorporated this and other innovations into his own string quartets. On January 14, 1785, Mozart completed his String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 (“Dissonance”), the last of six new quartets, which he dedicated to his friend and colleague, noting they were “the fruits of long and laborious toil.”

K. 465’s nickname, “Dissonance,” refers to its groundbreaking introduction, which bears no harmonic relationship to the quartet’s key of C Major. For the duration of the Adagio Mozart confounds both listeners and players: the cello sounds repeated C bass notes while the upper strings form slow chords in harmonically distant keys such as A-flat. Any sense of a home tonality is absent before the Allegro opens with an emphatic declaration of C Major. In rehearsals, some musicians complained their scores were full of errors, and even Haydn was taken aback at first, but supported his friend, saying, “If Mozart wrote it, he must have meant it.” Mozart repeats and elaborates the graceful F Major theme of the Andante cantabile alternating with episodes in unexpected tonalities. The Menuetto and Trio range further afield, harmonically speaking, before the closing Allegro conclusively answers the harmonic question “What key are we in?” while the first violin sails high over the rest of the ensemble.

After hearing K. 465 for the first time in February 1785, Haydn confided to Mozart’s father Leopold, “Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition.”

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

“I have recently finished a string quartet which I still haven’t heard,” Edvard Grieg wrote to a friend in the summer of 1878. “It is in G minor and not planned to be meat for small minds! It aims at breadth, vigor, flight of imagination, and, above all, fullness of tone for the instruments for which it is written.”

In his String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 27 the only string quartet Grieg composed, he established his bona fides as a Norwegian composer who could successfully incorporate Norwegian sound into the Germanic string quartet format. Although performers and audience alike responded with enthusiasm at Op. 27’s premiere in October 1878, chauvinist German critics savaged it in print. “We have felt only displeasure and repugnance toward all the boorish and absurd stuff that is gathered together under the guise of a Norwegian national stamp … and toward the lack of any talent for structure and development,” sniffed the influential critic Eduard Bernsdorf. Grieg was stung by this review, having toiled over every aspect of the music. “I feel that in this work are hidden traces of that life’s blood of which the future will hopefully see more than mere drops,” Grieg wrote.

Time has vindicated Grieg, and today his Op. 27 is regarded as a major work in every sense. Two years before he wrote Op. 27, Grieg set a poem by Henrik Ibsen, “Spillemænd” (Fiddlers). The plaintive melody of this song provides the melodic and harmonic foundation for all four movements, particularly the Allegro molto ed agitato in which it appears repeatedly. Fragments and motifs from “Spillemænd” recur in both the dramatic Romanze and the lighthearted Intermezzo and the complete theme returns in the spirited, energetic Finale

Throughout the quartet, Grieg’s writing is orchestral; all the players execute double-stops (playing two notes simultaneously), which thickens the overall texture of the ensemble. The double-stop technique also conjures up the resonant sound of the Hardanger fiddle, a Norwegian instrument Grieg loved, which has two sets of strings: one bowed, and another which vibrates sympathetically.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Wednesday, July 17

The Old Church | 7pm 6pm | Happy Hour & Conversation with Kyle Rivera

Post-concert Q&A with artists

New@ Night

In life, there are births and there are deaths; there are successes and failures; great joys and great sorrows. There are famines, plagues, and times of abundance; there are trials, journeys, searches, revelations; visions, hopes, inventions, and inspirations. There is creation. And there is destruction.

proper mythological demon, Laplace’s Demon is a philosophical avatar that confronts chaos theory, free will, and an understanding that exists infinitely beyond human capability. In the music, I translate the implications of Laplace’s Demon to construct a sonic environment that invokes the demon’s ramifications on human agency and the human mind.

—© Kyle Rivera

NEW@NIGHT: Elemental Keyboards

CLANCY NEWMAN (b. 1977)

KEIKO ABE (b. 1937)

KYLE RIVERA (b. 1996)

JURI SEO (b. 1981)

Variations on Japanese Children’s Songs (1982) • (6')

Grimoire I: Laplace’s Demon (2024) • (15-20')

CMNW CO-COMMISSION • WORLD PREMIERE

I. Phase Space

II. Traveling an Infinite Curve in a Finite Space

III. Fractals, Free Will, and The Future

IV. The Demon Knows, The Butterfly Dreams

V. Weird Densities of Ancient Orbits

Piano Sonata No. 1 , “La Hammerklavier” (2015–2016) • (30')

I. La Hammerklavier

II. Ricercare

And always there is the beat of the drum, steady, inevitable, immutable. It was there before us. And it will be there long after we are gone

—© Clancy Newman

Newman, cello

Ji Hye Jung, marimba

Edvard Erdal, violin

Albin Uusijärvi, viola

Daniel Thorell, cello

Stewart Goodyear, piano & keyboard

Ji Hye Jung, percussion

Steven Beck, piano

Variations on Japanese Children’s Songs was the third piece composed by Keiko Abe and it is an example of one of her early improvisational works. The composition came to be when recording the album, Nostalgia her first album that had no accompanying orchestra or chamber ensemble. She then improvised variations of many Japanese folk songs on marimba which would eventually become Variations on Japanese Children’s Songs.

—© Keiko Abe

Kyle Rivera’s Grimoire I: Laplace's Demon was commissioned by Emerging Voices—a groundbreaking collaboration by Chamber Music Northwest, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Seattle Chamber Music Society—supporting young, emerging composers of color.

Mythology about demons and malevolent spirits can shed light on our relationship to our human flaws and iniquities. Through the Grimoire series, I attempt to interrogate the fears of the unknown and our human inadequacy. Each Grimoire confronts a demonic figure from various cultures, traditions, and philosophies, and invokes the core nature of the demon according to its relevant mythology. My primary concern is to discover, through a musical ritual, a new side to the earnest vulnerability that fosters fear of the Other.

This first Grimoire looks to Laplace’s Demon as the central figure for the work’s lore. Laplace’s Demon is associated with supernatural knowledge of the physical world. While not a

In Beethoven’s Op. 106 “Hammerklavier” Sonata, rather than hearing the distant, god-given genius of musical legend, I hear an individual confronting the full extent of his limitations. The music toils at the edge of its creator’s potential. Beethoven’s self-imposed challenges of maintaining structural integrity—despite an everexpanding form, complex tonal syntax, and painstaking counterpoint—fight with the mad force of his musical subconscious. The result is a remarkable heightening of expression: tempestuous, tender, and wickedly comic.

(Not surprisingly, Op. 106 is notoriously difficult to play; its wide leaps and dense material demand not only technical virtuosity, but the courage to face the possibility of a massive public failure).

Despite many overt references, my “La Hammerklavier” sonata is not “about” Op. 106. I wanted to write music that expressed more abstract ideas— struggle, optimism, and beauty—using Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” as a focusing lens.

My first movement is in sonata form. It distorts the famous opening leap of Beethoven’s sonata with a “wrong” chord that implies two different keys at once. The rhythms trip, as if mimicking a bad performance. Stylistically eclectic quotations—taken from all four of Beethoven’s movements— alter the affects of the original, often humorously. Following the example of the late sonatas, my sonata has a fugal development. A lighthearted coda follows the recapitulation.

The second movement, Ricercare, is mostly based on the Adagio third movement of Op. 106. The title “Ricercare" has both literal and

historical meanings. My ricercare “searches” for the third movement (ricercare literally means “to search”), and it develops what it finds contrapuntally (ricercare movements traditionally unfold contrapuntally). I wanted the movement to capture the feeling of listening to Op. 106 in a dream, of not being able to remember it precisely. After much wandering, it eventually finds a theme by Beethoven—but it is a “wrong” one that combines two separate phrases from the original. Ten variations on this wrong theme follow. The seventh variation provides the only exact quotation in this movement—a slowly descending melody over Beethoven’s enchanted Neapolitan chord. The climactic final variation is a gigue (à la J. S. Bach) on top of the BECH (Bb-E-C-B) motive. It epitomizes the Bb-B struggle manifest in Op. 106, and throws a little nod to my friend Steve Beck, the wonderful pianist for whom this piece was written.

—© Juri Seo

Trance Music (2003) • (15') Clancy

Thursday, July 18

The Reser | 7:30pm

Co-Sponsors: Heidi Yorkshire & Joseph Anthony

Prelude Performance | 6:30pm

Saturday, July 20

Kaul Auditorium | 8pm

Sponsor:

Prelude Performance | 7pm

PREEMINENT PIANO: Beethoven, Ligeti & Goodyear

STEWART GOODYEAR (b. 1978)

GYÖRGY LIGETI (1923–2006)

The Torment of Marsyas for Flute & Piano (2023) • (15’) CMNW COMMISSION • WORLD PREMIERE

Trio for Violin, Horn & Piano (1982) • (23’)

I. Andantino con tenerezza

II. Vivacissimo molto ritmico

III. Alla marcia

IV. Lamento: Adagio

INTERMISSION

BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op. 106 (“Hammerklavier”) • (40’)

I. Allegro

II. Scherzo: Assai vivace

III. Adagio sostenuto

IV. Introduzione: Largo – Fuga: Allegro risoluto

Amelia Lukas, flute

Stewart Goodyear, piano

Soovin Kim, violin

Radovan Vlatković, horn Gloria Chien, piano

Chloe Mun, piano

Stewart Goodyear’s The Torment of Marsyas was commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund.

This work plays out like a virtuosic symphonic poem for flute and piano, a battle of wits, musicianship, and virtuosity. I was intrigued by the musical competition that the satyr Marsyas had with Apollo, and how Apollo triumphed over him. Duels of Liszt and Moscheles came to mind, as well as Mozart and Clementi, and I began writing furiously. Instead of parts, or movements, I thought of the individual sections within the work as “rounds.” Writing most of this work has been one of the most pleasurable experiences ever...but I must admit, writing the ending gave me goosebumps. I have never written a work with such a vivid, stark, and harrowing ending, and, admittedly, this ending took the longest to write.

—© Stewart Goodyear

György Ligeti’s early compositions reflect the aesthetics of the post-WWII serialist style in which he was trained. By the late 1970s, however, Ligeti had reached a musical impasse. He composed nothing between 1977 and 1982; during that time, he sought out a more individual language to express his ideas. In a 1981 interview, Ligeti declared, “I reject both [the avantgarde and traditional style]. The Avantgarde, to which I am said to belong, has become academic. As for looking back, there’s no point in chewing over an outmoded style. I prefer to follow a third way: being myself, without paying heed either to categorizations or to fashionable gadgetry.” The following year, Ligeti completed his first composition in this “third way,” his Trio for Violin, Horn & Piano, “Hommage à Brahms.”

Don’t let the subtitle fool you; other than employing the same instruments used in Brahms’ 1865 Trio for Horn, there is nothing remotely Brahmsian in Ligeti’s music. During his self-imposed compositional hiatus, Ligeti had studied the music of Conlon Nancarrow, who experimented with tempo variations. Nancarrow’s original approach to music

writing inspired Ligeti to experiment with multiple simultaneous tunings in the Horn Trio. “The piano plays as it is tuned, by definition, tempered,” Ligeti wrote. “The violin tuned in pure fifths deviates from the tempered tuning considerably—as always with chamber music for strings and piano. In a tonal violin/piano sonata of the Classical or Romantic period, the violinist tries to match the tuning of the piano to some degrees, at least in the slow movements. Though this always remains an approximation, it is part of the character of the genre. In my Trio … [although scored for a valved horn] I was thinking in terms of natural horns pitched in various keys, and I indicate these in the score. In this way, mostly untempered overtones occur, which tend to throw the violinist’s fingers off their mark. This is intentional, part of the riddle of this non-manifest musical language.”

The violin’s first three notes are a motif Ligeti used to unify all four movements. The Vivacissimo molto ritmico plays with different simultaneous subdivisions of an eight-beat pulse; 3+3+2 or 3+2+3. The brief Alla Marcia begins forcefully, but competing cross-rhythms in violin and piano cause musical stutters. The march rhythm fades into a steady pulse as the horn joins in. The closing Lamento: Adagio features a somber passacaglia built on a brief chromatic descending motif.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

“What is difficult is also beautiful.” —Ludwig van Beethoven

On December 27, 1817, piano maker Broadwood & Sons sent Ludwig van Beethoven a new six-octave grand piano. It arrived after Beethoven had completed the first two movements of his Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op. 106 (“Hammerklavier”), and Beethoven immediately grasped the musical possibilities of this new instrument. Without the Broadwood’s extended range, expressive tone, and greater volume, the “Hammerklavier” would be a different piece of music. In Op. 106, Beethoven stretches every aspect of the sonata to extremes. Its length (45

to 60 minutes), its complexity, and the emotional and technical demands it places on both performer and audience make this sonata a singular experience. Or, as Beethoven wryly observed, the “Hammerklavier” is “a sonata that will give pianists something to do.”

The Scherzo approximately three minutes long, combines mocking humor with moody ruminations; at one point Beethoven quotes the opening of his “Eroica” symphony, this time in a gloomy minor key rather than its original E-flat major.

Throughout Op. 106, Beethoven adopts harmonic progressions that modulate by thirds. This departure from the Classical sonata harmonic relationship between tonic and dominant allowed Beethoven access to a variety of tonal areas, and provided him a richer, more expressive harmonic palette, particularly in the profoundly introspective Adagio, one of the longest single movements in piano sonata literature.

The final movement begins with a slow introduction, followed by an immense fugue with an unusually lengthy theme, or fugue subject. The dense counterpoint and ingenious play of themes and counterthemes bring the “Hammerklavier” to a jubilant, satisfying conclusion.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Sunday, July 21

Lincoln Performance Hall | 4pm

Sponsor:

Monday, July 22

Kaul Auditorium | 8pm

Sponsors:

Bill & Diana Dameron

KEYBOARD CONVERGENCE: Quintets, Quartets & Solos

BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Quintet for Piano & Winds in E-flat Major, Op. 16 • (26’)

I. Grave – Allegro ma non troppo

II. Andante cantabile

III. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882–1971)

ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810–1856)

Three Movements from Petrushka • (26’)

I. Danse russe (Russian Dance)

II. Chez Pétrouchka (Petrushka's Room)

III. La semaine grasse (The Shrovetide Fair)

INTERMISSION

Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 • (28’)

I. Sostenuto assai – Allegro ma non troppo

II. Scherzo: Molto vivace

III. Andante cantabile

IV. Finale: Vivace

Paul Lueders, oboe

Afendi Yusuf, clarinet

Radovan Vlatković, horn

Keith Buncke, bassoon

Chloe Mun, piano

Stewart Goodyear, piano

Claire Wells , violin

Burchard Tang, viola

Clancy Newman, cello

Gloria Chien, piano

The inspiration for Ludwig van Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, Op. 16 is generally assumed to be Mozart’s 1784 quintet for the same ensemble, K. 452. Both works share the same key and scoring, but otherwise have little in common. In Mozart’s Quintet, the instruments collaborate equally, while Beethoven’s is closer to a piano concerto with wind ensemble accompaniment. Although both men were in their early to mid-20s when they composed their respective pieces, Mozart’s Quintet is the product of a mature composer, while Beethoven’s style was still evolving.

Beethoven’s youth notwithstanding, this Quintet reveals his lifelong preoccupation with short phrases, more rhythmic than melodic in conception. The first notes, in the manner of a fanfare, announce the opening Grave, which soon gives way to a cheerful Allegro. In the Andante, each wind instrument takes its turn in the spotlight.

Beethoven’s friend Ferdinand Ries documented an amusing—and totally Beethovenian—incident at one performance of Op. 16: “In the last Allegro a pause occurs several times before the theme returns; on one of these occasions Beethoven began to improvise, taking the Rondo as his theme, pleasing himself and those listening for a considerable time, but not pleasing the other players. They were annoyed, and the oboist even enraged. It really looked highly comical when these gentlemen, expecting the movement to be resumed at any moment, kept putting their instruments to their mouths, but then had to put them down again without playing a note. At length Beethoven was satisfied, and started up the Rondo again. The whole assembly was delighted.”

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

In 1921, pianist Arthur Rubenstein commissioned Igor Stravinsky to arrange what Rubenstein called a “Petrushka Sonata,” using music from Stravinsky’s 1911 ballet Petrushka Rubenstein paid the composer 5,000 francs, which Stravinsky deemed “a generous sum.” Stravinsky did not simply transcribe his orchestral score for piano; Three Movements from Petrushka was conceived as a solo piano work designed to display breathtaking virtuosity.

Three Movements uses roughly half the music Stravinsky composed for the ballet. Danse russe sets the scene with the hustle and bustle of the Shrovetide Fair, a pre-Lenten carnival in St. Petersburg, at which all the action takes place. In Chez Pétrushka (In Petrushka’s Cell), we meet Petrushka through the “Petrushka chord,” a combination of two very dissonant keys that suggests the raucous blaring of a car horn. The harsh quality of the Petrushka chord epitomizes this description of the character by Vaclav Nijinsky, who danced the title role: “One who beats his head against the wall but always is cheated and despised and left outside alone.”

La semaine grasse (The Shrovetide Fair) reprises the carnival scene and utilizes most of the material from the ballet’s final moments, with one notable exception. The ballet ends with Petrushka’s murder, but Stravinsky, wanting a less troubling ending, cut that section out of Three Movements and ended instead with the boisterously joyful energy of the crowded fair.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

When he wrote music, Robert Schumann tended to focus on one genre at a time; in the summer of 1842 he turned his attention to chamber works. By the end of 1842, Schumann had completed three string quartets, a piano quintet, a piano quartet, and his Op. 88 Phantasiestücke for piano, violin, and cello.

The Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47 reflects Beethoven’s influence on Schumann in the four-note motif that dominates the opening movement. It opens the slow introduction, then announces itself more forcefully in the Allegro ma non troppo. From this concise fragment Schumann generates vigorous, propulsive phrases full of energy and excitement. The energy carries into the brief Scherzo which features a furtive, whispery theme that contrasts with a lyrical countertheme. In the Andante cantabile the cello presents one of Schumann’s most singable instrumental melodies, a warm graceful theme of love and longing. This theme becomes a duet and then repeats in between contrasting interludes in which the string quartet comes into its own, with the piano accompanying. The four-note theme of the first movement, now shortened to three notes, launches the Vivace. The viola presents a second theme, a fugue subject played by all the instruments. Schumann reveals his contrapuntal ingenuity in combining this fugue with the three-note opener and additional lyrical phrases that recall the Andante cantabile The quartet ends with a joyous rush of energy.

When Op. 47 premiered in December 1844 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, a critic for the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung described it as “... a piece full of spirit and vitality which, especially in the two inside movements, was most lovely and appealing, uniting a wealth of beautiful musical ideas with soaring flights of imagination. It will surely be received with great applause everywhere, as it was here.”

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Yaron Kohlberg & Bishara Haroni

Wednesday, July 24

The Old Church | 7pm 6pm | Happy Hour & Conversation with Jörg Widmann Post-concert Q&A with artists

New@ Night

NEW@NIGHT: The Genius of Jörg Widmann

JÖRG WIDMANN (b. 1973)

JÖRG WIDMANN

JÖRG WIDMANN

Etude No. 2 for Solo Violin (2001) • (10')

Selected Duos for Violin & Cello (2008) (Heidelberg Version)

No. XIV. Capriccio, Op. 2, No. 1

No. XXII. Lamento, Op. 2, No. 9

No. XXI. Valse bavaroise, Op. 2, No. 8

No. XIII. Vier Strophen vom Heimweh, Op. 1, No. 8 No. XXIV. Toccatina all'inglese, Op. 2, No. 11

String Quartet No. 9, Study on Beethoven IV (2022) • (40') CMNW CO-COMMISSION • U.S. PREMIERE

Ohi Resnick, violin

Joris van Rijn , violin

Michael Müller cello

Ruysdael Quartet

Joris van Rijn, violin

Emi Ohi Resnick, violin

Gijs Kramers. viola

Michael Müller, cello

Jörg Widmann’s String Quartet No. 9 was co-commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund.

Most composers play one or more instruments proficiently, but few are equally at home performing as they are writing music. Such is the case for German composer and clarinetist Jörg Widmann (b. 1973), one of the most frequently performed composers living today.

Widmann’s wealth of experience as a performer has helped him forge a style that explores the true diversity of sound that can be created by musicians and their instruments. His approach, sometimes called Klangkomposition (sound composition), focuses on shaping the overall sound environment created by the performers over time rather than focusing on concepts like melody or harmony.

Widmann described the opening section of his 2001 Etude No. 2 for Solo Violin as a “three-part chorale.” If you’re wondering how a violinist can even play three parts at the same time, they can’t (except by “rolling” the chords). Widmann instead asks the performer to sing one note of his chorale while playing the other two—a challenge only accepted by the bravest of violinists.

constellations. I then decided to make these unprotected and naked two-part structures deliberately audible in certain movements. In almost all remaining pieces, I extended the harmony to form a three- and frequently even four-part structure. The substantial number of the resulting double stops represents a particular technical challenge for both instruments, but it is precisely this almost continuously utilized technique which produces the specific tonal quality of the work.

The étude continues with what Widmann describes as a “journey…to spirited, unbridled virtuosity.” Throughout this musical voyage, he employs a variety of extended techniques—such as playing below the bridge or striking the instrument with one’s hand—to create a remarkably varied soundscape from the efforts of a single musician.

—© Ethan Allred

My initial intention was to write a few small duos for violin and violoncello.

I could not then have imagined that this would ultimately produce 24 duos created in elated compositional excess. The result is two volumes containing 13 and 11 duos respectively.

For a while, I retained great respect for the vulnerability and reductive nature of this duo constellation, and my tonal powers of imagination remained curiously inhibited and one dimensional. I was somehow only able to produce a small number of scattered and tonally extremely brittle and sparse tonal

The character and duration of the individual pieces could hardly be more varied, but a harmonic thread runs through all movements. Violin and violoncello simultaneously form a comparable and incomparable pair. In these duos, both instruments are inseparably dependent on one another and cannot exist without each other. It is also essential to visualize the predominant compositional technique in the literal sense of "note against note" as strictly contrapuntal. Everything is interwoven, and everything one instrument does has consequences for the other. They attract each other, reject each other, love and hate each other, sometimes throw balls back and forth in play and then suddenly with an almost destructive intent. The playful elements of the work therefore always remain serious and the serious elements playful. Tricks and effects are totally absent: I have concentrated on the bare and essential musical substance right down to the most miniature phrases.

Substantial parts of the duos were composed in distant Dubai. This seems to have proved to have been an extremely inspirational and productive time for me, even though the titles of certain movements such as "Valse bavaroise" in Vol. 2 or the final piece in Vol. 1 "Four Verses of Homesickness" tell of a different type of longing.

—© Jorg Widmann

The 9th String Quartet is the penultimate quartet in my Beethoven study string quartet cycle. Chronologically, however, it was written after the 10th Quartet Cavatina. And indeed, composing it felt like completing the cycle. While the 6th Quartet, Study on Beethoven, which opened the cycle was in one movement, the 7th in two movements and the 8th in three movements, this 9th Quartet is a four-movement work. The sacred number 9 in music challenged me to create a particularly dense and intense work. In particular, the 2nd movement, the Scherzo movement and the 4th movement, Allegro alla Marcia, are downright monstrous in their scope and their incessant density of information and impulse compared to their historical models. This 9th quartet enjoys working on Beethoven's still unrivaled C-sharp Minor String Quartet, Op. 131. The radicality and modernity of this work are still burningly relevant for us today. As with the other quartets in the Beethoven study cycle, I was surprised by the new forms that engaging with the historical model enabled me to explore, and the previously hidden soul spaces of my own music that this work opened up to me. My engagement with the Beethoven symphonies in the orchestral piece Con brio resulted in the discovery of new tonal possibilities of the orchestra (the timpani treatment!), while the comparison of Beethoven's choral fantasy with the Latin Dies irae in my ARCHE oratorio resulted in new theological highlights has become possible, in the string quartet cycle it is above all the emergence and discovery of new forms that could only emerge through the engagement with Beethoven's quartets.

—© Jorg Widmann

Emi

Lost

October

O Radiant Dawn

December 20 & 21

International

March

Surrounded

Featuring

GISELLE

Dani Rowe and Tiit Helimets after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot

Featuring the OBT Orchestra | World Premiere

MARILYN

Dani Rowe | World Premiere

THE OBT COLLECTION

For

Showcasing OBT company dancers choreographing for OBT’s junior company, OBT2

Thursday, July 25

The Reser | 7:30pm

Sponsors:

David & Maryanne Holman

Prelude Performance | 6:30pm

SOARING SOLOISTS: Clarinet, Cello & Piano

JÖRG WIDMANN (b. 1973)

JÖRG WIDMANN

BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Fantasie for Solo Clarinet (1993) • (8’)

Etude No. 3 for Solo Violin (2002) • (6’)

Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69 • (26’)

I. Allegro ma non tanto

II. Scherzo: Allegro molto

III. Adagio cantabile – Allegro vivace

INTERMISSION

JÖRG WIDMANN

180 Beats per Minute (1993) • (6’)

Saturday, July 27

Kaul Auditorium | 8pm

Sponsors:

Ellen Macke & Howard Pifer

Prelude Performance | 7pm

Jörg Widmann, clarinet

Claire Wells, violin

Paul Watkins, cello

Gloria Chien, piano

Jörg Widmann an internationally sought-after soloist and professor of clarinet at the Freiburg Musikhochschule, displays the exquisite refinement of contemporary clarinet sound in Fünf Bruchstücke (already published) for clarinet and piano (KLB 54) and in the present Fantasie for Solo Clarinet. While noise, as a means of expression, is given much attention in Fünf Bruchstücke, Fantasie is largely based on the usual Romantic melodious sound, though this time with ironic side trips into dance, klezmer, and jazz music, the clarinet's equivalent of light music.

"Fantasie for Solo Clarinet is my first real piece for my own instrument, the clarinet. With its eccentric virtuosity and its cheerful, ironic fundamental character, it reflects the experience with Stravinsky's 3 Pieces for Solo Clarinet of 1919 and the tonal innovations which did not appear in music before Carl Maria von Weber's notation for the clarinet, and takes them further in a new way. It is a little imaginary scene uniting the dialogues of different people in close proximity in the spirit of the commedia dell'arte."

range. He even introduces techniques like glissando or sliding, and pizzicato or plucking the strings, to provide additional depth to his exploration of the power of a violinist’s left hand.

—© Ethan Allred

WEBER (1786 –1826)

Clarinet Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 34 • (25’) arr. for chamber ensemble

I. Allegro

II. Fantasia

III. Menuetto, capriccio presto

IV. Rondo, allegro giocoso

Opus13 Quartet

Sonoko Miriam Welde, violin

Edvard Erdal, violin

Albin Uusijärvi, viola

Daniel Thorell, cello

Michael Müller, cello

Marilyn de Oliveira, cello

Jörg Widmann, clarinet

Joris van Rijn, violin I

Sonoko Miriam Welde, violin I

Claire Wells, violin I

Emi Ohi Resnick, violin II

Edvard Erdal, violin II

Soovin Kim, violin II

Gijs Kramers, viola

Albin Uusijärvi, viola

Jordan Bak, viola

Michael Müller, cello

Daniel Thorell, cello

Marilyn de Oliveira, cello

Braizahn Jones, bass

—© Jörg Widmann

Traditionally, musical Études (French for “studies”) were short exercises designed to help musicians practice a particular skill in private. In the 1800s, however, virtuoso composer/ performers like Chopin, Paganini, and Liszt started writing concert études, designed to show off a specific skill rather than to practice it. Many others have continued this tradition, including German composer Jörg Widmann (b. 1973), who has written six études for solo violin between 1995 and today.

Widmann describes his Etude No. 3 for Solo Violin (2002) as a “left-hand étude,” meaning that it focuses mainly on the capabilities of the fingers of the violinist’s left hand. He manages to craft a wide variety of musical effects from this simple idea, sometimes focusing in on a small range of pitches, and at others bounding wildly throughout the violin’s

Beginning in 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven turned his attention away from symphonic writing to focus on chamber music, including his Sonata for Cello & Piano No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69. Of all Beethoven’s cello sonatas (he wrote five), No. 3 is the most popular and is widely considered, as cellist

David Finckel declares, “one of the greatest works in the cello literature.”

In Op. 69, Beethoven presents a true collaboration between cello and piano. Both instruments share equally in presenting and developing the thematic material throughout. Musically, the two players create an animated dialogue, a wide-ranging conversation that explores a variety of themes, tonalities, moods, and ideas. Beethoven showcases the cello’s singing legato quality in the opening Allegro while the Scherzo spotlights the piano’s bold percussive declarations. The closing Allegro vivace, preceded by a brief and intimate Adagio returns to the effervescent mood of the first movement, as both instruments execute a dazzling series of virtuoso passages.

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

180 Beats per Minute was created in 1993, shortly after I left school. The “Techno Nights” that were very popular at the time inspired me to write this piece. A rhythmic drive and a constant change in pulse speed by at top speed (180 beats per minute). Structure condenses into a study of a chord, which in principle varies throughout the entire piece, but remains unchanged in its tonal material. Until finally the piece condenses into a six-part canon that moves from the first violin to the third cello and oscillates between major and minor thirds. The work doesn't want to be more than it is—pure joy in the rhythm itself.

—© Jörg Widmann

Carl Maria von Weber’s friendship with clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Baermann fortuitously yielded music that helped accelerate the popularity of this versatile instrument in a variety of settings. Here, in his brilliant Clarinet Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 34 , the composer not only showcases the virtuosity and lyricism of the instrument, truly securing its place in the chamber music repertoire, but simultaneously infuses the music with his characteristically operatic style: dramatically shifting between mood, key, and affect, as though there were some secret libretto underlying this purely instrumental work. Of course, no such narrative exists save in the imaginative mind of a listener.

The drama begins at the outset of the work: calm leads to joviality, after which Weber plunges briefly into an intense minor-mode episode before easing into levity once again. In no more than a minute’s worth of music the composer has explored a full spectrum of emotions, and this capricious meandering continues throughout the entire quintet. The dramatic heart of the work is perhaps the ink-black Fantasia, in which the vocal tone of the clarinet is exploited in aria style. The movement fades to extreme quiet, the composer again utilizing the unique qualities of an instrument capable of the very softest tones. A humorous minuet pits the wind instrument against the strings: so often, they are engaged in a musical argument. The trio section, however, feels more like a genteel, amicable dialogue. In the finale, Weber truly showcases the virtuosity of all musicians, most especially the clarinetist. Fireworks and confetti seem to spew from the clarinet’s bell in an endless display of theatrical showmanship. Here, an opera composer demonstrates his uncanny ability to leave his audiences in awe as they leave the theatre.

In today’s performance, the quintet will be bolstered by a full cadre of strings and added double basses, giving it the feel of a chamber concerto.

—© Ethan Allred

Sunday, July 28

Kaul Auditorium | 4pm

Sponsors: Karen & Cliff Deveney

FESTIVAL FINALE: Celestial Virtuosity

OLIVIER MESSIAEN (1908–1992)

MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937)

BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Interstellar Call from From the Canyons to the Stars (1974) • (7’)

Piano Trio in A Minor, M. 67 (1914) • (28’)

I. Modéré

II. Pantoum: Assez vif

III. Passacaille: Très large

IV. Final: Animé

INTERMISSION

Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 • (40’)

I. Adagio – Allegro con brio

II. Adagio cantabile

III. Tempo di menuetto

IV. Tema con variazioni: Andante

V. Scherzo: Allegro molto e vivace

VI. Andante con moto alla marcia – Presto

Radovan Vlatković, horn

Soovin Kim, violin

Paul Watkins, cello

Gloria Chien, piano

Jörg Widmann, clarinet

Carin Miller, bassoon

Radovan Vlatković, horn

Soovin Kim, violin

Jordan Bak, viola

Paul Watkins, cello

Braizahn Jones, bass

In 1971, arts philanthropist Alice Tully asked Olivier Messiaen to compose a work commemorating America’s bicentennial. The following year, Messiaen and his wife, pianist Yvonne Loriod, visited Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks, and Zion National Park in Utah and Arizona. Messiaen was overwhelmed by the geologic colors and rock formations, as well as “the beauties of the physical sky and the spiritual sky.” Inspired, Messiaen began writing From the Canyons to the Stars, a large-scale multimovement work in fulfillment of Tully’s commission. “[This] is above all a religious work, a work of praise and contemplation,” Messiaen, a devout Catholic, explained. “It is also a geological and astronomical work.”

Interstellar Call for solo horn is Messiaen’s musical response to two Biblical quotations: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and gives to all of them their names.” (Psalm 147:3) and “O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place!” (Job 16:18). The horn, representing humanity, seeks to find a meaningful purpose in suffering. The soloist uses stopped trills and fluttertonguing (the player rolls an “R” while playing a note) and glissandi to create unusual timbres. Midway through, Messiaen tells the soloist to use “the fingering of the horn in D, going back to its original nature: the hunting horn. Its calls become more and more hoarse and heart-rending: no answer! The calls are lost in the silence.”

—© Elizabeth Schwartz

Unlike much of Maurice Ravel’s music, known for its beauty and craftsmanship rather than personal revelations, the Piano Trio in A Minor, M. 67 brims with intimacy.

Ravel wrote the Trio over a six-month period beginning in March 1914, just months before WWI began. “Yes, I am working with the certainty, the lucidity of a madman,” Ravel confided to a friend that summer, “but sometimes depression is at work as well and suddenly there I am sobbing over my sharps and flats.”

After war broke out in August 1914, Ravel was devastated. In addition to not knowing the fate of his friends who had gone to war, Ravel was obsessed by “this nightmare…the horror of this fighting which never stops for a second.”

In March 1915, after repeated attempts to enlist, the 40-year-old Ravel became a private, driving a truck in the Thirteenth Army Regiment.

Ravel’s affinity for Javanese music is clearly audible in the Trio, which uses a pentatonic (five-note) scale found in Indonesian gamelan music as its foundation. Ravel combines this non-Western scale with rhythms commonly found in the Basque music of his heritage. The Modéré which Ravel characterized as “Basque in color” features 8/8 time (eighth notes in 3+3+2 groupings). As a result, the phrases float through the modal harmonies in a liquid manner, even when rhythmically intense. In the Passacaille, Ravel pays homage to J. S. Bach. The austere repeating bass line anchors some of the Trio’s most personal, impassioned music—we can indeed hear Ravel “sobbing over his sharps and flats.”

—©

Elizabeth Schwartz

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 —for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and bass—was first performed on April 2, 1800 at a concert in Vienna that included Beethoven’s First Symphony. The audience loved it, and soon the Septet was performed throughout Europe. It is easy to understand this music’s popularity. Working with a fairly even balance between winds and strings, Beethoven writes attractive music full of energy and high spirits. In six movements, the Septet is an instrumental suite somewhat in the manner of Mozart’s serenades.

The Septet opens with an elegant Adagio introduction that slowly gathers energy. The Allegro con brio rockets along on its opening violin theme; in sonata form, this movement features a vigorous development. The Adagio cantabile offers a gracious tune for clarinet over slowlyrocking strings; the melody moves easily between instruments as the movement progresses. The cheerfully bubbling minuet—with its athletic trio—leads to a theme and variations movement. Beethoven’s theme here is poised: strings have the first four bars, winds the second four, and there follow five brisk variations and a coda that is itself a further variation. The Scherzo is one of the finest movements in the Septet. Full of power and dancing rhythms, it looks ahead to the scherzos of Beethoven’s symphonies. The final movement opens with an ominous march and then blasts loose happily at the Presto. This finale, which makes virtuoso demands on the players (particularly the violinist), is shot through with a happiness rare in Beethoven’s music. A cadenza for violin leads to a return of the opening material, and the Septet races to its close.

—© Eric Bromberger

2024 ARTISTS & COMPOSERS

John Luther Adams

CMNW co-commissioned & World Premiere composer

3rd Summer

For John Luther Adams, music is a lifelong search for home—an invitation to slow down, pay attention, and remember our place within the larger community of life on earth.

Living for almost 40 years in northern Alaska, JLA discovered a unique musical world grounded in space, stillness, and elemental forces. In the 1970s and into the '80s, he worked full time as an environmental activist. But the time came when he felt compelled to dedicate himself entirely to music. He made this choice with the belief that, ultimately, music can do more than politics to change the world. Since that time, he has become one of the most widely admired composers in the world, receiving the Pulitzer Prize, a Grammy Award, and many other honors.

In works such as Become Ocean, In the White Silence, and Canticles of the Holy Wind Adams brings the sense of wonder that we feel outdoors into the concert hall. And in outdoor works such as Inuksuit and Sila: The Breath of the World he employs music as a way to reclaim our connections with place, wherever we may be.

A deep concern for the state of the earth and the future of humanity drives Adams to continue composing.

Since leaving Alaska, JLA and his wife Cynthia have made their home in the deserts of Mexico, Chile, and the southwestern United States.

Jonny Allen Percussion (Sandbox Percussion)

2nd Summer Jonny Allen’s contagious passion for music has been described as “a demonstration of raw power, virtuosity, and feeling” by The New York Times The Grammy-nominated percussionist has won prizes at both the International Chamber Music Competition and the International Marimba Competition in Salzburg, giving respective performances at Carnegie Hall and Schloss Hoch in Flachau, Austria. He has also performed as a drum set soloist with Ghana’s National Symphony Orchestra at the National Theatre in Accra.

Outside of Sandbox, Jonny performs regularly with his jazz trio, Triplepoint, the Percussion Collective, and is a founding Core Member of the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*). He is also a committed educator, codirecting the NYU Sandbox Percussion Seminar each summer, holding a position as Percussion Director at Choate Rosemary Hall, as well as giving workshops and masterclasses worldwide. Jonny holds a Bachelor’s degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, as well as a Masters degree and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music.

Jordan Bak Viola

2nd Summer Award-winning, Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak has achieved international acclaim as a trailblazing artist, praised for his radiant stage presence, dynamic interpretations, and fearless power. Critics have described him as “an exciting new voice in Classical

performance” (I Care If You Listen) “a powerhouse musician, with a strong voice and compelling sound” (The Whole Note) and lauded his “haunting lyrical grace” (Gramophone). A top prizewinner in many competitions such as the Sphinx Competition, Tertis International Viola Competition, and Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, Bak was recently named one of ClassicFM’s “30 Under 30” Rising Stars, Musical America’s New Artist of the Month, and was a featured artist for WQXR’s inaugural Artist Propulsion Lab. Bak’s enthusiastically-received debut album IMPULSE has garnered over two million streams on major digital media platforms, featuring new compositions by Tyson Gholston Davis, Toshio Hosokawa, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Quinn Mason, Jeffrey Mumford, and Joan Tower.

Bak has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, New York Classical Players, London Mozart Players, and Juilliard Orchestra among others, and as a chamber musician, has performed at numerous festivals such as Marlboro Music Festival, Tippet Rise, Chamber Music Northwest, and Newport Classical. Recent recital debuts include Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Concertgebouw, and at the Schleswig-Holstein and Lichfield music festivals. Bak currently serves as Assistant Professor of Viola at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) and has given masterclasses at Peabody Institute, Oberlin Conservatory, NYU Steinhardt, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and Conservatorio del Tolima.

2nd Summer Combining exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique, Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with First Prize wins at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with more than 150 orchestras, including the New York, London, Royal, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the Boston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Seattle, Sydney, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, and the Tokyo and NHK Symphony in Japan, collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Fabio Luisi, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van Zweden.

As a renowned chamber musician, he recently collaborated with Joshua Bell, Ian Bostridge, Lucille Chung, Vilde Frang, Steven Isserlis, Daishin Kashimoto, Sergei Nakariakov, Emmanuel Pahud, Lawrence Power, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Paul Watkins, and Tabea Zimmermann.

Since 2017, he has been the Artistic Director of the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival, a Summer Music Festival in the Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany. He appears regularly in festivals such as Seattle, Bravo Vail, Salon-de-Provence, Le Pont in Japan, Great Lakes, Verbier, Ravinia, and Music@Menlo.

Bax’s award-winning Signum Classics discography includes 13 albums covering a wide range of repertoire in solo, piano duo, and concerto.

At the record age of 14, Bax graduated with top honors from the Conservatory of Bari, his hometown in Italy, and after further studies in Europe, he moved to the United States in 1994. A Steinway artist, he lives in New York City with pianist Lucille Chung and their daughter, Mila. He has been on the piano faculty of Boston’s New England Conservatory since the fall of 2019.

Steven Beck Piano

2nd Summer

A New York concert by pianist Steven Beck was described as “exemplary” and “deeply satisfying” by Anthony Tommasini in The New York Times He is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where his teachers were Seymour Lipkin, Peter Serkin, and Bruce Brubaker.

Mr. Beck made his concerto debut with the National Symphony Orchestra, and has toured Japan as soloist with the New York Symphonic Ensemble. His annual Christmas Eve performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Bargemusic has become a New York institution. He has also performed as soloist and chamber musician at Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, and Miller Theater, as well as on WNYC; summer appearances have been at the Aspen Music Festival and Lincoln Center Out of Doors. He has performed as a musician with the New York City Ballet and the Mark Morris Dance Group, and as an orchestral musician he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, and Orpheus.

Mr. Beck is an experienced performer of new music, having worked with Elliott Carter, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Wuorinen, George Crumb, George Perle, and Fred Lerdahl. He is a member of the Knights, the Talea Ensemble, Quattro Mani, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. His discography includes George Walker’s piano sonatas on Bridge Records, and Elliott Carter’s Double Concerto on Albany Records. He is a Steinway Artist, and is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as well as the Colorado College Summer Music Festival and the Sewanee Music Center.

1st Summer Double bassist

Nina Bernat, acclaimed for her interpretive maturity, expressive depth, and technical clarity, emerges onto the world stage with awards and accolades, thrilling audiences everywhere.

In 2023, Nina was honored as a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the CAG Elmaleh Competition. Recent 1st prizes include the Barbash J.S. Bach String Competition, the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Juilliard Double Bass Competition, and the 2019 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition.

Engaged in all aspects of double bass performance, she has been invited to perform as Guest Principal Bass with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic, serving under the batons of conductors such as András Schiff and Osmo Vänskä. Nina is in demand as a passionate chamber musician. She began her involvement with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as a member of the Bowers Program in 2024. Among her notable chamber performances are appearances with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Series, and Mostly Music.

Nina performs on an instrument passed down from her father, Mark Bernat, attributed to Guadagnini.

Kenji Bunch

Violin/Viola CMNW 2015 commissioned composer, festival artist

4th Summer

Kenji Bunch writes music that looks for commonalities between musical styles, for understandings that transcend cultural or generational barriers, and for empathic connections with his listeners. Drawing on vernacular musical traditions, an interest in highlighting historical

Alessio Bax Piano

Nina Bernat Bass

CMNW 2024 Protégé Artist

injustices and inaccuracies, and techniques from his classical training, Bunch creates music with a unique, personal vocabulary that appeals to a diverse array of performers and audiences. With his work frequently performed worldwide and recorded numerous times, Bunch considers his current mission the search for and celebration of shared emotional truths about the human experience from the profound to the absurd, to help facilitate connection and healing through entertainment, vulnerability, humor, and joy.

As the first student to receive dual graduate degrees in viola and composition from The Juilliard School, Mr. Bunch has been widely recognized for his groundbreaking works for viola, and remains active as an innovative performer, comfortable in traditional, experimental, and improvisational musical contexts. He currently serves as Artistic Director of the new music group Fear No Music and is deeply committed to music education in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife, pianist Monica Ohuchi, their two children, and two dogs.

Keith Buncke

2nd Summer

Keith Buncke began his tenure as Principal Bassoon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in July 2015, appointed by Music Director Riccardo Muti. He previously served for one season as Principal Bassoon of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, a position he won while still attending the Curtis Institute of Music.

Keith grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon. At the age of eleven, after a few years of studying the piano and cello, he heard Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 for the first time. With prominent parts for the winds, he was immediately struck by the sound of bassoon, inspiring him to start playing it. He went on to begin studies with Lyle Dockendorff and Mark Eubanks, the former Principal Bassoon of the Oregon Symphony. He continued his studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Curtis Institute. He supplemented his education at the Pacific, Tanglewood, and Aspen music festivals, as well as Music Academy

of the West. Working with colleagues in the CSO and Chicago area, as well as artists like Mitsuko Uchida and Vadim Gluzman, Keith has extensively performed chamber music in Chicago and around the country at festivals like the Marlboro Music Festival and La Jolla Music Society. He has been a frequent guest artist and teacher at the Aspen Music Festival and Interlochen Academy and Camp, and has given masterclasses and recitals at universities across the country. He is an adjunct faculty at DePaul University. This is his first appearance at CMNW since a brief showing as a high schooler, playing alongside his former teacher.

When not on stage or at the reed desk/ practice room, Keith enjoys walking and biking along Chicago’s lakefront, as well as going on trips for hiking and skiing.

Victor Caccese Percussion (Sandbox Percussion)

2nd Summer

Victor Caccese is a founding member of the Brooklynbased percussion quartet Sandbox Percussion and a Grammy-nominated percussionist.

As a member of Sandbox, Victor has performed over 150 concerts worldwide and taught at institutions such as University of Missouri-Kansas City, The Peabody Conservatory, The Curtis Institute, Michigan State University, Vanderbilt University, University of Kansas, and University of Massachusetts Amherst. Victor has collaborated with composers such as Amy Beth Kirsten, Andy Akiho, David Crowell, James Wood, John Luther Adams, and Thomas Kotcheff. In the Fall of 2021, along with Sandbox Percussion, Victor gave the world premiere of an evening-length work by Andy Akiho entitled Seven Pillars Next summer, Victor will teach and perform at the seventh annual NYU Sandbox Percussion Seminar, a chamber music festival accepting students from around the world to study and perform some of today’s leading contemporary percussion pieces.

Also a composer and arranger, Victor has written a number of pieces for percussion. His works have been performed by Sandbox Percussion more than 50 times throughout the United States. While music and percussion are

at the core of his professional life, Victor has also worked as a photographer and videographer. As head of media and content development for Sandbox Percussion, he has developed and maintained a YouTube presence consisting of performance videos, workshop documentaries, and travel vlogs.

Victor holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and the Yale School of Music. He is also a member of The Percussion Collective, a stunning ensemble founded by performer and pedagogue Robert van Sice. Victor serves on faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory as a percussion instructor and Ensemblein-Residence with Sandbox Percussion. He also is on faculty at the Mahanaim School for Music in Huntington, NY. Victor endorses Pearl/Adams instruments, Vic Firth drumsticks, Remo drumheads, Zildjian Cymbals, and Black Swamp accessories.

Sunmi Chang Violin

2nd Summer

As the laureate of both the 2007 International Markneukirchen and Sion-Valais International Violin Competitions, Korean-born violinist, Sunmi Chang, has performed widely to much acclaim throughout North America and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. At the age of 17, she toured with the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra playing Bach’s Double Concerto for Two Violins, conducted by Lord Menuhin in UNESCO Headquarters and Guildford Cathedral in England. In 2008, Sunmi was the soloist on Yale Philharmonia's tour to Seoul, Beijing, and Shanghai, performing the Beethoven Concerto. To celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday, she returned to Yale, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with cellist Paul Watkins and pianist Melvin Chen, conducted by Peter Oundjian.

An active chamber musician, she was invited to take part in various chamber music festivals such as the Rising Stars Series at Caramoor, Vivace Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Music in the Vineyards, and Chamber Music Northwest. Sunmi is also the Founder & Artistic Director of Summit Chamber Music Series, committed to bringing

world-class chamber music to West Virginia.

In December 2023, Sunmi released Mother Tales under PARMA Recordings with pianist Clara Yang—an album that pays tribute to four remarkable women composers: Florence Price, Gabriela Lena Frank, Liliya Ugay, and Amy Beach.

Sunmi received her Bachelor’s degree at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin, Master’s and Artist Diploma degrees at Yale School of Music, and Doctoral degree from the University of Michigan. Her principal teachers have included Eberhard Feltz, Peter Oundjian, Soovin Kim, and Ani Kavafian. She recently joined as the violin faculty at the School of Music at the University of Oregon.

Gloria Chien Piano

CMNW Artistic Director, festival artist

7th Summer Taiwanese-born pianist Gloria Chien has one of the most diverse musical lives as a noted performer, concert presenter, and educator. She made her orchestral debut at the age of sixteen with the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Thomas Dausgaard, and she performed again with the BSO with Keith Lockhart. She was subsequently selected by The Boston Globe as one of its Superior Pianists of the year, “who appears to excel in everything.” In recent seasons, she has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician at Alice Tully Hall, the Library of Congress, the Phillips Collection, the Dresden Chamber Music Festival, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. She performs frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

In 2009, she launched String Theory, a chamber music series in Chattanooga, Tennessee that has become one of the region’s premier classical music presenters. The following year she was appointed Director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo. In 2017, she joined her husband, violinist Soovin Kim, as Artistic Director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont. The duo became Artistic Directors at Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon in 2020.

Chien studied extensively at the New England Conservatory of Music with Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman. She, with Kim, were awarded Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 2021 CMS Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music.

Chien is Artist-in-Residence at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, and she is a Steinway Artist. Chien received her B.M., M.M., and D.M.A. degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music as a student of Russell Sherman and Wha-Kyung Byun.

Nicholas Cords

Viola

YAI faculty, festival artist

2nd Summer

For three decades, omnivorous violist

Nicholas Cords has been on the front line of a unique constellation of projects as performer, educator, and cultural advocate, with a signature passion for the cross section between the long tradition of classical music and the wide range of music being created today.

Nicholas served for twenty years as violist of the Silkroad Ensemble, a musical collective founded by YoYo Ma in 2000 with the belief that cross-cultural collaboration leads to a more hopeful world. This mission was poignantly explored by the recent Oscar-nominated documentary by Morgan Neville, The Music of Strangers which makes a case for why culture matters. In addition, Nicholas served from 2017-2020 as a Co-Artistic Director for Silkroad, and previously as Silkroad’s Programming Chair. He appears on all of the Silkroad Ensemble’s albums including Sing Me Home (Sony Music), which received a 2017 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.

Another key aspect of Nicholas’s musical life is as founding member of Brooklyn Rider, an intrepid group which NPR credits with "recreating the 300-year-old form of the string quartet as a vital and creative 21stcentury ensemble.” Highly committed to collaborative ventures, the group has worked with Irish fiddler Martin Hayes, jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman, ballerina Wendy Whelan, Persian kemancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor,

Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, Mexican singer Magos Herrera, and banjoist Béla Fleck, to name a few. Their most recent recording, Healing Modes was lauded by The New York Times and received a 2021 Grammy Nomination. His acclaimed 2020 solo recording, Touch Harmonious (In a Circle Records), is a reflection on the arc of tradition spanning from the baroque to today, featuring multiple premieres. A dedicated teacher, Nicholas currently serves on the viola and chamber music faculty of New England Conservatory.

Marilyn de Oliveira Cello

1st Summer Brazilian cellist

Marilyn de Oliveira enjoys an active career as a symphonic and chamber musician. Since joining the Oregon Symphony as the Assistant Principal Cellist in 2009, Marilyn has been a founding member of Mousai Remix and Pyxis String Quartets, cellist of Third Angle New Music and 45th Parallel Universe, and a guest with prestigious festivals such as Grand Teton Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and Chamber Music Northwest. In addition to her many performance engagements, Mrs. de Oliveira is also an educator, orchestral coach, and music activist. She is part of the music faculty at Reed College, maintains a private studio with graduates now in renowned music schools worldwide, and founded the Oregon Symphony Musician’s Caroling Project—a collaborative effort which has brought music to those in need during the holidays for over a decade. Prior to joining the OSO, Marilyn served as Acting Assistant Principal Cellist and section member of the San Antonio Symphony and was a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami, FL. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, her Master of Music degree from Rice University, and was the Bronze Award Winner in the senior division of The Sphinx Competition in 2006.

Bassoon

1st Summer

The Norwegian violinist Edvard Erdal (b. 1996) is a sought-after chamber musician and orchestra leader. He currently holds the position of First Concertmaster of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra in Norway. Edvard is a founding member of the string quartet Opus13, which was awarded 2nd prize in the prestigious Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022. Edvard plays a Lorenzo Storioni violin dated 1780, generously on loan from Snefonn AS.

11th Summer

Two-time Grammy nominee and Avery Fisher career grant recipient, violinist Jennifer Frautschi, has appeared as soloist with innumerable orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she has performed with the Boston Chamber Music Society and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and appeared at Chamber Music Northwest, La Jolla Summerfest, Music@Menlo, Tippet Rise Art Center, Toronto Summer Music, and the Bridgehampton, Charlottesville, Lake Champlain, Moab, Ojai, Santa Fe, Seattle, and Spoleto Music Festivals.

Her extensive discography includes several discs for Naxos: the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, conducted by the legendary Robert Craft, and two Grammy-nominated recordings with the Fred Sherry Quartet of Schoenberg’s Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra and the Schoenberg Third String Quartet. Her most recent releases are with pianist John Blacklow on Albany Records: the first devoted to the three sonatas of Robert Schumann; the second, American Duos, an exploration of recent additions to the violin and piano repertoire by contemporary

American composers Barbara White, Steven Mackey, Elena Ruehr, Dan Coleman, and Stephen Hartke. She also recorded three widely praised CDs for Artek: an orchestral recording of the Prokofiev concerti with Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony; the violin music of Ravel and Stravinsky; and 20th-century works for solo violin. Other recordings include a disc of Romantic Horn Trios, with hornist Eric Ruske and pianist Stephen Prutsman, and the Stravinsky Duo Concertant with pianist Jeremy Denk.

Born in Pasadena, California, Ms. Frautschi attended the Colburn School, Harvard, the New England Conservatory, and the Juilliard School. She performs on a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius violin known as the “exCadiz,” on generous loan from a private American foundation with support from Rare Violins In Consortium. She currently teaches in the graduate program at Stony Brook University.

Jeff Garza Horn

2nd Summer Jeff Garza is Principal Horn of the Oregon Symphony and the Bellingham Festival of Music. He has previously held principal positions with the San Antonio Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Britt Festival Orchestra, Utah Festival Opera, and Festival Mozaic Orchestra. Jeff has served as Guest Principal Horn in dozens of orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Utah Symphony, New Zealand Symphony, and Melbourne Symphony.

Jeff has performed at festivals and chamber music series throughout the United States including Chamber Music Northwest, Menlo School Summer Brass Institute, Chamber Music International, Concordia Chamber Players, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Cactus Pear Music Festival, 45th Parallel, Chatter ABQ, and the Texas Music Festival. Jeff is a core member and former Artistic Director of Olmos Ensemble, a chamber music group based in San Antonio, Texas.

Jeff earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music

at Rice University and is an alumnus of the Interlochen Center for the Arts where he was awarded an Emerson Scholarship and the Young Artist Certificate, Interlochen Arts Academy’s highest artistic honor. He has held fellowship positions with the New World Symphony, Tanglewood Music Center, and the National Repertory Orchestra.

Jeff is Instructor of Horn at Oregon State University and the University of Portland.

Stewart Goodyear

Piano

CMNW commissioned & World Premiere composer, festival artist

2nd Summer

Proclaimed "a phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times and "one of the best pianists of his generation" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished concert pianist, improviser, and composer. Mr. Goodyear has performed with, and has been commissioned by, many of the major orchestras and chamber music organizations around the world.

Last year, Orchid Classics released Mr. Goodyear's recording of his suite for piano and orchestra, Callaloo and his piano sonata. His recent commissions include works for violinist Miranda Cuckson, cellist Inbal Segev, the Penderecki String Quartet, the Horszowski Trio, the Honens Piano Competition, and the Chineke! Foundation.

Mr. Goodyear's discography includes the complete sonatas and piano concertos of Beethoven, as well as concertos by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, and Rachmaninov, an album of Ravel piano works, and an album entitled For Glenn Gould which combines repertoire from Mr. Gould's U.S. and Montreal debuts. His recordings have been released on the Marquis Classics, Orchid Classics, Bright Shiny Things, and Steinway and Sons labels. His newest recording, Adolphus Hailstork's Piano Concerto with the Buffalo Philharmonic under JoAnn Falletta, was released in March 2023 on the Naxos label.

Highlights for the 2024-25 season are his performances at the BBC Proms with the Chineke! Orchestra, performances

at the Rheingau Musik Festival, and performances with the Vancouver and Toronto Symphonies, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, Frankfurt Museumgesellschaft, and A Far Cry in Boston.

Alexander Hersh Cello

2nd Summer

Having given his Carnegie Hall debut recital in 2022, cellist Alexander Hersh has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting and creative talents of his generation. He frequently appears as soloist with major orchestras, including the Houston Symphony and Boston POPS, and has received top prizes at competitions worldwide including the 2022 Pro Musicis International Award, Astral Artists National Auditions, Salon de Virtuosi Career grant, New York International Artists Association Competition, and the Schadt competition.

A passionate chamber musician, Hersh has performed on tour with Musicians from Marlboro and appeared at music festivals worldwide including Marlboro, Chamber Music Northwest, Caramoor, Ravinia, Music@Menlo, I-M-S Prussia Cove, Manchester, Amsterdam Cello Biennale, Kneisel Hall, and Lucerne. He serves as Co-Artistic Director of NEXUS Chamber Music, an artist driven collective of musicians whose mission is to make classical music culturally relevant through live concerts and multimedia content. In 2023, Hersh released his debut album ABSINTHE a project that marries his love of classical music with short films, comedy, and themed merchandise. The narrativebased videos are available on Hersh’s YouTube channel and the album is out now on all streaming platforms.

Raised in Chicago, Alexander Hersh began playing the cello at the age of five. He received his B.M. and M.M. from New England Conservatory where he graduated with academic honors. Later he was a recipient of the Frank Huntington Beebe fund for studies in Berlin where he studied at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule for Musik Berlin. His previous teachers have included Laurence Lesser, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Kim Kashkashian, Nicolas Altstaedt, and Paul Katz. He plays a G.B. Rogeri cello, courtesy of Guarneri Hall NFP and Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins.

Bella Hristova Violin

4th Summer Bulgarian-American violinist, Bella Hristova, has won international acclaim for her “expressive nuance and rich tone” (The New York Times) and “impressive power and control” (The Washington Post) An Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, she has also won First Prize in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and Laureate of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

Bella has performed extensively as a soloist with orchestras in North and South America, Asia, Europe, and New Zealand. In addition to her many appearances with orchestras, Bella has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and performs frequently with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Following multiple tours of New Zealand with renowned pianist, Michael Houstoun, the pair have recorded the complete Beethoven and Brahms violin sonatas.

A champion of music by living composers, Bella Hristova has commissioned composers including Joan Tower and Nokuthula Ngwenyama. In 2016, Bella was the featured soloist for a consortium of eight major orchestras for a new concerto commission written for her by her husband, acclaimed composer David Serkin Ludwig. The world premiere recording of the concerto was recently released with JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Bella began violin studies at the age of six in her native Bulgaria. She later studied with Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute of Music and Jaime Laredo at Indiana University. She plays on a 1655 Amati violin and lives in New York City with her husband, David, and their four beloved (but poorly behaved) cats.

4th Summer

Braizahn Jones is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Hal Robinson and Edgar Meyer. Braizahn studied with Paul Firak (Principal Bass, Las Vegas Philharmonic) in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada before attending the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University where he studied with Jeffrey Weisner before transferring to Curtis in 2014. Since then, Braizahn has gone on to perform and tour with both the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony before joining the Oregon Symphony as Assistant Principal Bass in 2018. With his time away from the orchestra he also performs chamber music with worldrenowned artists at Portland's Chamber Music Northwest and the Jackson Hole Chamber Music festival. A passionate teacher, Braizahn serves as part of the double bass faculty at the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland. He has served as guest faculty at the Pacific Music Institute in Honolulu, as well as various other festivals and youth orchestras locally, nationally, and internationally, and joined the double bass faculty at Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 2022.

Ji Hye Jung Percussion

1st Summer

Percussionist

Ji Hye Jung has been praised as “spectacular” by the Los Angeles Times and “extraordinary” by the Ventura County Star with The Times further describing her as “a centered player who can give the impression of being very still yet at all places at once.”

Ms. Jung began concertizing in her native South Korea at the age of nine, going on to perform more than 100 concerts including solo appearances with every major orchestra in Korea. Soon after coming to the United States in 2004 she garnered first prizes at the 2006 Linz International Marimba Competition and the 2007 Yale Gordon Concerto Competition.

Jennifer Frautschi Violin

With percussion repertoire still in its formative stages, Ms. Jung feels strongly about collaborating with composers to further the creation of a new voice for the art form. To this end she has commissioned and premiered works by Kevin Puts, Emma O’Halloran, Annika Scolofsky, Bora Yoon, Molly Herron, Christopher Theofanidis, Alejandro Viñao, Lukas Ligeti, Paul Lansky, Jason Treuting, and John Serry.

For more than ten years Jung has served as Principal Percussionist for Camerata Pacifica, with whom she has debuted works by Bright Sheng, David Bruce, Lera Auerbach, and Huang Ruo. Recent solo engagements include appearances at the Westport Festival of Chamber Music in Ireland, Portugal’s Tomarimbando Festival, New Music Indaba in South Africa, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, the Grand Teton Music Festival, Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Cortona Sessions for New Music in Italy, the Grachtenfestival in Holland, and the Ligeti Symposium in Helsinki, Finland. Since 2015 Ms. Jung has served as Associate Professor of Percussion at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where she lives with her husband Lee and their daughter Eugenia.

Soovin Kim

Violin

CMNW Artistic Director, YAI faculty, festival artist

6th Summer

Soovin Kim enjoys a broad musical career regularly performing Bach sonatas and Paganini caprices for solo violin, sonatas for violin and piano ranging from Beethoven to Ives, Mozart and Haydn concertos and symphonies as a conductor, and new world-premiere works almost every season. When he was 20 years old, Kim received first prize at the Paganini International Violin Competition. He immersed himself in the string quartet literature for 20 years as the 1st violinist of the Johannes Quartet. Among his many commercial recordings are his “thrillingly triumphant” (Classic FM Magazine) disc of Paganini’s demanding 24 Caprices and a two-disc set of Bach’s complete solo violin works that were released in 2022. Kim is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival (LCCMF) in Burlington, Vermont. In addition to its

explorative programming and extensive work with living composers, LCCMF created the ONE Strings program through which all 3rd through 5th grade students of the Integrated Arts Academy in Burlington study violin. The University of Vermont recognized Soovin Kim’s work by bestowing an Honorary Doctorate upon him in 2015. In 2020, he and his wife, pianist Gloria Chien, became Artistic Directors of Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon. He, with Chien, were awarded Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 2021 CMS Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music. Kim devotes much of his time to his passion for teaching at the New England Conservatory in Boston and the Yale School of Music in New Haven.

1st Summer

Mark Kosower is a consummate artist equally at home on stage as soloist, chamber musician, and as the Principal Cello of The Cleveland Orchestra. He maintains a very active career as a soloist, having appeared with the Orchestre de Paris, the Bamberg Symphony, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the China National Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, and the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Detroit, Florida, Houston, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Oregon, North Carolina, Phoenix, and Seattle symphony orchestras. Mr. Kosower has collaborated as soloist with such eminent conductors as Herbert Blomstedt, Sir Andrew Davis, Christoph Eschenbach, Ton Koopman, and Franz Welser-Möst. Festival appearances include the Aspen, North Shore Chamber, Pacific, Ravinia, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Santa Fe Chamber music festivals. Mr. Kosower has recorded for the Ambitus, Delos, Naxos, and VAI labels, and is an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient. He is also a much-sought-after teacher and regularly appears on faculty for Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, Colorado College’s Summer Music Festival, and California’s Hidden Valley Music Seminars, in addition to working with the fellows at the New World Symphony in Miami.

Gijs Kramers

Viola

(Ruysdael Quartet)

1st Summer

As a soloist, Gijs Kramers has performed Béla Bartók’s and Hans Henkemans’s viola concerto and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. He is currently a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, and is regularly invited as guest principal in many orchestras across Europe. Gijs Kramers studied viola with Cees Dekkers, Vladimir Mendelssohn, and Hatto Beyerle. He is currently chamber music professor at Codarts University for the Arts in Rotterdam.

He is also a keen arranger, composer, and conductor. He was Artistic Director of the Ricciotti Ensemble and has founded Street Orchestra Live in London. His works have been included in programs by the Residentie Orchestra The Hague, National Youth Orchestra of Holland, the Ricciotti Ensemble, and the Tate Ensemble, and his arrangements have been performed in festivals all over the world.

Jessica Lee

Violin

YAI faculty, festival artist

3rd Summer

Violinist Jessica Lee has built a multifaceted career as soloist, chamber musician, and now as Assistant Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra since 2016. She was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and has been hailed as "a soloist which one should make a special effort to hear, wherever she plays.” Her international appearances include solo performances with the Plzen Philharmonic, Gangnam Symphony, Malaysia Festival Orchestra, and at the Rudolfinum in Prague. At home, she has appeared with orchestras such as the Houston, Grand Rapids, and Spokane symphonies.

Jessica has performed in recital at venues including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Ravinia “Rising Stars,” the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Kennedy Center.

A long-time member of the Johannes Quartet as well as of the The Bowers Program (formerly the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two), Jessica has also toured frequently with Musicians from Marlboro, including appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston's Gardner Museum, and with the Guarneri Quartet in their farewell season. Her chamber music festival appearances include Bridgehampton, Santa Fe, Seoul Spring, Caramoor, Olympic, and Music@Menlo. She also put together a six-video chamber music series during the pandemic which was a collaboration between the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Clinic to bring chamber music from iconic spaces in Cleveland to the greater Cleveland community.

Jessica has always had a passion for teaching and has served on the faculties of Vassar College and Oberlin College, and now is on violin faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen following studies with Weigang Li, and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree under Robert Mann and Ida Kavafian. She completed her studies for a Master’s degree at The Juilliard School.

Julianne Lee Violin/Viola

1st Summer Named one of the best string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine Julianne Lee joined the Dover Quartet as its violist in September 2023. She has forged a remarkable career as both a violinist and violist, frequently appearing as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. She holds the position of Assistant Principal Second Violinist at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has been a member of the BSO violin section since 2006, serving as Acting Assistant Concertmaster from 2013 to 2015.

Ms. Lee has toured nationally and internationally with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Marlboro Music Festival, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, where she held the title of Guest Principal Violist. She also served as the second violinist of the Johannes String Quartet from 2015 to 2018. Throughout her illustrious career, she has performed as a soloist

with orchestras in Germany, the United States, and South Korea, and as a chamber musician at numerous music festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music at the Banff Centre, and the Marlboro Music Festival.

Ms. Lee graduated with a unanimous first prize from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris in France. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, where she double majored in violin and viola. Ms. Lee holds a strong belief in the importance of teaching and shaping the next generation of musicians. She teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music and frequently gives masterclasses.

2nd Summer

Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses an effortless grace, poised authority, and brilliant virtuosity far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation and performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.

Li’s 2023-24 season begins with a recital at the Grand Teton Music Festival followed by his debut with the Aula Simfonia in Indonesia. He will tour China and Europe and will make his debut with the Prague Philharmonia. U.S. performances include the Cincinnati and Milwaukee Symphonies, Florida Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, and recitals across the country. A committed collaborator, George returns to the ECHO series with the Dover Quartet and Davies Symphony Hall with violinist Stella Chen.

Li is an exclusive Warner Classics artist, with his debut recital album released in 2017. His second recording in 2019 featured Liszt solo works and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic. His

third album with the label will include solo pieces by Schumann, Ravel, and Stravinsky, and will be released in the spring of 2024.

Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinway Hall at the age of ten, and in 2011 performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among Li’s many prizes, he was the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award, and the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory. When not playing piano, he is an avid reader and photographer, as well as a sports fanatic.

1st Summer

Paul Lueders, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, is the Principal Oboist of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra. He has made appearances with many of the orchestras in North America, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. While serving as Principal Oboe of the San Antonio Symphony, Paul was also a core member of the Olmos Ensemble, a chamber music organization consisting of the orchestra’s principal winds and concertmaster.

Paul completed his performance degrees at the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Boston Symphony Principal Oboist, John Ferrillo, as well as AnneMarie Gabriele of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

George Li Piano

Paul Lueders

Oboe

Mark Kosower Cello

5th Summer

“Known for her especially pure tone, flexible technique, and passionate performances,” ( Artslandia) flutist Amelia Lukas performs with “a fine balance of virtuosity and poetry” (The New York Times). A Powell Flutes Artist and Portland resident, she “excels at bringing drama and fire to hypermodernist works with challenging extended techniques” (Oregon ArtsWatch). In addition to her solo show "Natural Homeland" at the Alberta Rose Theatre and throughout Washington and Hawaii, her recent engagements include solo appearances for United for Ukraine, Siletz Bay Music Festival, Fear No Music, Makrokosmos Project, Kenny Endo, March Music Moderne, Portland Taiko, the Astoria Music Festival, and for All Classical Radio’s live radio broadcasts, with additional performances for the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Portland Piano International, TedX Portland, Friends of Chamber Music, 45th Parallel, and Oregon Music Festival. Lukas' career includes founding and directing the “truly original... impeccably curated” (Time Out New York) multimedia chamber series, Ear Heart Music, membership in the American Modern Ensemble, and performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Stone, Bargemusic, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Roulette, and New Music New York Festival. She holds degrees from the Royal Academy of Music (London), where she received three prizes for musical excellence, and from the Manhattan School of Music, where she was an inaugural class member for the Master's Degree in Contemporary Performance. Amelia is a Chamber Music Northwest Board Member and offers creative strategy and public relations services as the Principal and Founder of Aligned Artistry. Learn more at amelialukas.com.

4th Summer

Carin Miller is Principal Bassoon with the Oregon Symphony, and she previously held principal bassoon positions with the Jacksonville and Shreveport Symphonies. Ms. Miller has performed frequently as Guest Principal Bassoon with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Portland Opera and Oregon Ballet Theater. She recently toured as Guest Principal Bassoon with the Galilee Chamber Orchestra performing in Tel Aviv, Toronto, and New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Ms. Miller enjoys collaborating in Seattle with the Seattle Chamber Music Society and Orca Concert series, as well as locally with Chamber Music Northwest, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, Classical Up Close, and 45th Parallel Universe.

Under the umbrella of the Oregon Symphony Sounds of Home series, she curated and performed in a chamber music program with commissions from local composers and in conjunction with the Audubon Society of Portland to raise awareness of the impact of climate change. Ms. Miller has had the immense pleasure of performing duets with jazz sensation Wycliffe Gordon as part of her residency coaching with the National Youth Orchestra of Carnegie Hall.

A native of Queens, New York, Ms. Miller holds a BM from The Juilliard School, an MM from Rice University, and an Advanced Certificate from the University of Southern California. Her teachers include Whitney Crockett, Frank Morelli, Stephen Maxym, and Benjamin Kamins.

Ms. Miller is the Founder and Director of the online symposium, Bassoons Without Borders, and continues to connect communities across the globe and improve access to high-quality education for all through this work. As an educator, she has served on the faculty of the Sarasota Music Festival and has presented masterclasses for the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory, as well as being the featured guest for McGill University’s Bassoon Day. She coaches

for the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and Wallowa Lake Woodwind Camp. Ms. Miller had the great privilege of serving for a year as visiting Adjunct Associate Professor of Bassoon at Indiana University in 2021-2022, and has served on the board of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Ms. Miller is currently Adjunct Professor at Portland State University, Pacific University, Lewis and Clark College, and Reed College, as well as curating a private teaching studio from her home in Portland, Oregon.

Michael Müller

Cello

(Ruysdael Quartet)

1st Summer

Michael Müller was born in Gunzburg at the Donau. His father came from Transylvania and his mother from Austria. He studied cello at the Musikhochschule Muenchen and the Universitaet der Kuenste in Berlin, participating in masterclasses with Boris Pergamenschikof, David Geringas, and Heinrich Schiff. From 1987 till 1995 he was solo cellist of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Between 1995 and 2013 he was solo cellist of the Radio Kamerorkest resp. Radio Kamerfilharmonie. In 2013, he became solo cellist of the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest. He trained as a chamber musician with Walter Levin (Lasalle Quartet), Amadeus Quartet in Cologne, and with Sandor Vegh in Salzburg. From 1998 till 2012 he was cellist of the Párkányí Quartet (formerly the Orlando Quartet). In 2014, he became a member of the ensemble LUDWIG. From autumn 2019 he is a member of the Ruysdael Quartet. Michael Müller regularly appears as a chamber musician at many European festivals (Edingburgh Festival, Holland Festival, Salzburger Festspiele, Aldeburgh Festival). He recorded cello concertos by H. Andriessen, Georgi Minchev, and Henk Badings. He plays on a cello by Januarius Gagliano (Napoli, 1734), made available by the Dutch National Instrument Faoundation.

Chloe Mun

Piano

CMNW 2024 Protégé Artist 1st Summer

At the age of 18, pianist Chloe Jiyeong Mun was brought to the world’s attention in 2014 when she won first prize at the Geneva International Competition in Switzerland. In 2015, she also won the Busoni International Competition in Italy. Since then, she has gained a reputation as one of the most soughtafter musicians of her generation.

She has collaborated with the world’s leading conductors, including Myungwhun Chung, Alexander Shelley, Yuri Bashmet, James Judd, Roberto Beltran Zavala, Victor Pablo Perez, Mario Venzago, and Eiji Oue, with renowned orchestras such as Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Moscow Soloists, Asia Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Trieste Verdi Orchestra, Nuova Orchestra Ferruccio Busoni, St.Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Palermo Festival Orchestra, MAV Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid (ORCAM), Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, and Korean National Symphony Orchestra.

For recitals, she has appeared at the Gewandhaus, Wigmore Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic, Salle Cortot, Philharmonie Arthur Rubinstein in Bydgoszcz, and Seoul Arts Center, as well as performing at the prestigious festivals including Chopin and His Europe, Duszniki Chopin Festival, Arthur Rubinstein Piano Festival, Festival Omaggio di Michelangeli, and Pharos Music Festival. Chloe released her first album, Schumann Piano Sonata No.1 & Fantasie with Deutsche Grammophon.

Also as a committed chamber musician, she is annually invited to perform at Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber music and Seoul International Music Festival. In 2021, she gave the world premiere of Jeajoon Ryu's Sonata for Viola and Piano at the Seoul Arts Center with violist Sangjin Kim.

Born in Yeosu, South Korea in 1995, Chloe began studying piano at the age of five. She studied with Professor

Daejin Kim at the Korea National University of Arts from 2010 to 2020, then with Sir András Schiff as an Artist Diploma student at the Barenboim Said Academy.

Marc Neikrug

CMNW co-commissioned & West Coast Premiere composer 4th Summer

Marc Neikrug has been the Artistic Director of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival since 1998. An internationally renowned pianist, he’s well known for his 35-year partnership with violinist Pinchas Zukerman, which produced highly acclaimed recitals and recordings. Also widely recognized as one of today’s leading composers, Neikrug has had his works performed at the Aspen, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hollywood Bowl, Ravinia, Schleswig-Holstein, and Tanglewood music festivals, among many others; by the Berlin State Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin; and by ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and the Atlanta, BBC, Boston, Houston, Jerusalem, Milwaukee, National, Pittsburgh, and Polish National Radio symphony orchestras. He’s served as Composer-in-Residence for Music from Angel Fire and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Marlboro Music Festival, and La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest.

Recent compositions by Neikrug include his Fourth Symphony, commissioned by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, which premiered the work in Hamburg in May 2022, and A Song by Mahler, a theater-and-music work that premiered at Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon in July 2021. The work was co-commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the support of the CMNW Commissioning Fund, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the La Jolla Music Society for SummerFest, and the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival.

Neikrug was born in New York City in 1946. In the 1980s, he moved to Santa Fe, where he lives with his wife, Dolly Naranjo, and their family, which now includes two great-grandchildren. His honors include receiving a 2019 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

Paul Neubauer Viola

40 th Summer Violist Paul Neubauer's exceptional musicality and effortless playing led The New York Times to call him “a master musician.” He recently made his Chicago Symphony subscription debut with conductor Riccardo Muti and his Mariinsky Orchestra debut at the White Nights Festival. He also gave the U.S. Premiere of the newly discovered Impromptu for viola and piano by Shostakovich with pianist Wu Han. At age 21, Mr. Neubauer was appointed Principal Violist of the New York Philharmonic and he held that position for six years. He has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras, including the New York, Los Angeles, and Helsinki Philharmonics, National, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco, and Bournemouth Symphonies, and Santa Cecilia, English Chamber, and Beethovenhalle Orchestras. He’s also premiered viola concertos by Béla Bartók (a revised version of the Viola Concerto), Reinhold Glière, Gordon Jacob, Henri Lazarof, Robert Suter, Joel Phillip Friedman, Aaron Jay Kernis, Detlev Müller-Siemens, David Ott, Krzysztof Penderecki, Tobias Picker, and Joan Tower. He performs with SPA, a trio with soprano Susanna Phillips and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, with a wide range of repertoire, including salon-style songs. He has been featured on CBS's Sunday Morning A Prairie Home Companion and in Strad Strings and People magazines. A two-time Grammy nominee, he has recorded on numerous labels including Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, RCA Red Seal, and Sony Classical. Mr. Neubauer appears with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and is the Artistic Director of the Mostly Music series in New Jersey. He is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and Mannes College.

Amelia Lukas Flute

Carin Miller Bassoon

1st Summer

Cellist Clancy Newman has enjoyed an extraordinarily wide-ranging career, not only as a cellist, but also as a composer, producer, writer, and guest lecturer. He received his first significant public recognition at the age of twelve, when he won a Gold Medal at the Dandenong Youth Festival in Australia, competing against contestants twice his age. He went on to win first prize at the Naumburg International Competition, and he has performed as soloist throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. A recipient of an Avery Fisher career grant, he can often be heard on APM’s Performance Today and has been featured on A&E and PBS. As a composer, he has expanded cello technique in ways heretofore thought unimaginable, particularly in his "PopUnpopped" project, and he has been featured on series by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Chicago Chamber Musicians. In March 2019 his piano quintet was premiered at the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC, and in 2021 he was commissioned by the Kingston Chamber Music Festival to produce four educational videos to assist school teachers as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Newman is a graduate of the five-year exchange program between Juilliard and Columbia University, receiving a M.M. from Juilliard and a B.A. in English from Columbia.

3rd Summer

Monica Ohuchi’s “commanding pianism” (The New York Times Anthony Tommasini), performing “with beauty, clarity and drive…[offering a] warmth…expressiveness [that’s] irresistible and deeply moving” (Barre Montpelier Times Argus) allows her an active career as a piano soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. “Dutifully and gracefully” (San Francisco Classical Voice) attentive to musical depth and detail, Ohuchi is the pianist and Executive Director of Fear No Music,

and performs locally with Chamber Music Northwest, Classical Up Close, 45th Parallel, and the Chintimini Chamber Music Festival, among many others. Ohuchi’s engagements include collaborations with David Parsons Dance Company and the Oregon Ballet Theater, and soloing with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Symphony Orchestra, and Newport Symphony Orchestra. She is a frequent guest clinician and adjudicator for the Oregon State and Washington State Music Teacher Associations, as well as the Oregon state chapter of the National Federation of Music, and a regular performer on All Classical Radio. Her solo album released on Helicon Records, Monica’s Notebook , is a series of piano études written expressly for her by her husband, Kenji Bunch. Ohuchi is currently the Program Director of Music Performance at Reed College, where she also teaches piano and chamber music. Ohuchi holds advanced degrees from the Juilliard School in Piano Performance. She most enjoys spending her time with her husband, their two children, and two pitbull-mix rescue dogs.

Opus13

CMNW 2024 Protégé Ensemble

SONOKO MIRIAM WELDE violin

EDVARD ERDAL violin

ALBIN UUSIJÄRVI viola

DANIEL THORELL cello

1st Summer

The SwedishNorwegian string quartet, Opus13, is one of Europe's most promising, upand-coming young string quartets. Formed in 2014, the ensemble now comprises Sonoko Miriam Welde, Edvard Erdal, Albin Uusijärvi, and Daniel Thorell. They were 2nd prize winners of the prestigious Banff International String Quartet Competition 2022. In 2023, they received the Norwegian Equinor Classical Music Award, a coveted prize of one million Norwegian Crowns (approx. $96,000). Previous recipients of the award include Leif Ove Andsnes, Lise Davidsen, and Vilde Frang. They have guested concert series and festivals such as the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht in the Netherlands, Yeulmaru

and Yonsei Chamber Music Festivals in South Korea, Rusk Festival in Finland, Swiss Chamber Concerts, and most of the major chamber music festivals in Norway, including Bergen International Festival, Stavanger, Rosendal, Trondheim, and Risør Chamber Music Festivals. Highlights in 2024 include debuts in Scotland and the United States.

Opus13 has collaborated with international top musicians such as Janine Jansen, Olli Mustonen, Julian Bliss, Alisa Weilerstein, Tabea Zimmermann, Jonathan Biss, and Konstantin Heidrich. They are mentored by Berit Cardas and Bjørg Lewis of the Vertavo Quartet, and have benefitted from masterclasses with many of the world's leading chamber musicians, including members of the Belcea Quartet, Quatuor Ébène, Artemis Quartett, Oslo String Quartet, and Quatuor Mosaïques.

In their early years, Opus13 received invaluable support and performing experience from the Oslo Quartet Series' Talent Program and the Crescendo Mentoring Program.

The Opus13s are Founders and Artistic Directors of Vinterspill på Lillehammer, a chamber music festival in the winter town of Lillehammer.

Emi Ohi Resnick Violin (Ruysdael Quartet)

1st Summer

A native of New York City, Emi Ohi Resnick made her debut in Carnegie Hall at the age of fifteen and has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan since then. Ms. Resnick has had numerous works written for her and performs regularly in various chamber music groups, including the Blaeu string quartet, the Ruysdael string quartet, the Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt), the Context Ensemble (with Sergiu Luca), and the contemporary music group, Möbius, currently Ensemble-in-Residence at Columbia University in New York City.Ms. Resnick studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Szymon Goldberg, The Juilliard School with Louise Behrend and Robert Mann, the Prague Mozart Academy with

Sàndor Vègh, and the Mozarteum of Salzburg with Thomas Riebl and Ruggiero Ricci, and has worked closely with the composer György Kurtàg. She has been regularly invited to the Marlboro Music Festival and the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, England. Ms. Resnick currently divides her time between the United States and Europe, where she is Concertmaster of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and was Professor of Violin at the North Netherlands Conservatory. Ms. Resnick plays a Francesco Ruggieri violin made in Cremona in 1692. This violin was previously part of the Costa collection and was used by Zino Francescati.

Kyle Rivera CMNW co-commissioned & World Premiere composer

1st Summer

The ever-evolving artistic perspective of Kyle Rivera (b. 1996) makes his music a space for intrigue and exploration. Kyle is fascinated by visual imagery in sound and the way it can create windows into his mind. Sound and time are malleable objects with which he sculpts vivid sonic landscapes. He often draws upon the diverse sonic and cultural environments he grew up in to craft the soundscapes of his music. Interests in linguistics, spirituality, and media all influence the way he creates music. One of Kyle’s goals as an artist is to offer a perspective on the world through his personal experiences. Some of his music has focused on topics relating to social justice, equality, and racialized matters. Alongside that, his music explores the conceptual limits of psychology, spirituality, and consciousness in sound. As a composer, his music has been performed across the United States and internationally in Russia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China. Past collaborations include the Houston Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Yale Philharmonia, Albany Symphony, Musiqa Houston, EnSRQ, Tacet(i), KINETIC Ensemble, Houston Grand Opera, and the Chelsea Music Festival. Kyle was the 2023 Anne Spencer Fellow with the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He received a 2024 MacDowell Fellowship and an Aaron Copland House Residency. Kyle attended the University of Houston and Yale University where he earned the Woods Chandler Memorial Prize.

Ian David Rosenbaum Percussion (Sandbox Percussion)

5th Summer Praised for his “spectacular performances” ( Wall Street Journal ), and his “unfailing virtuosity” (Chicago Tribune), Grammy-nominated percussionist Ian David Rosenbaum has developed a musical breadth far beyond his years.

As a passionate advocate for contemporary music, Mr. Rosenbaum has premiered over one hundred new chamber and solo works. He has collaborated with and championed the music of established and emerging composers alike.

Mr. Rosenbaum was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2021 for his performances on albums of music by Andy Akiho and Christopher Cerrone, including two nominations for Seven Pillars, an album by Sandbox Percussion released on Aki Rhythm Productions, a record label that Mr. Rosenbaum and Mr. Akiho founded in 2021.

In 2012, Mr. Rosenbaum joined the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two) as only the second percussionist they have selected in their history, and has performed regularly with CMS since then.

Mr. Rosenbaum is a founding member of Sandbox Percussion, the Percussion Collective, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. He has recorded for the Bridge, Innova, Naxos, and Starkland labels, and is on faculty at the Mannes School of Music and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Mr. Rosenbaum endorses Pearl/Adams instruments, Vic Firth mallets, and Remo drumheads.

Frank Rosenwein Oboe

1st Summer

Frank Rosenwein joined The Cleveland Orchestra as Principal Oboe at the beginning of the 2005-06 season. He made his solo debut with the orchestra in February 2007, in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Since then, he has performed many times as soloist, including playing the Richard Strauss Oboe Concerto in 2012 and the first Cleveland Orchestra performances of the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto in 2017.

Since 2006, Mr. Rosenwein has served as head of the oboe department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where in 2015 he was given the Alumni Achievement Award. He also teaches at the Kent Blossom Music Festival, and is in demand as a guest artist and masterclass clinician in schools all over the world. An avid chamber musician, he has spent many summers at the Marlboro Festival and has performed with the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Mr. Rosenwein holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with John Mack (Cleveland Orchestra Principal Oboe, 1965-2001), and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School where he studied with Elaine Douvas. Prior to coming to Cleveland, he served as Principal Oboe (2002-05) of the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera.

Mr. Rosenwein is married to Cleveland Orchestra Associate Concertmaster, Jung-Min Amy Lee. They live in Beachwood with their three sons, Joshua, Julian, and Benjamin, and their dog, Rosie.

Clancy Newman Cello

Monica Ohuchi Piano

Ruysdael Quartet

1st Summer

The Ruysdael Quartet, one of the top Dutch string quartets for over 25 years, started their journey winning prizes at the Charles Hennen and Bordeaux competitions, as well as the prestigious Dutch Kersjesprijs. They perform regularly on all Dutch stages and tour frequently abroad, including recent appearances at the Brighton Festival in the UK and the Zunfkonzerte Lavatertage Festival in Zurich. Highlights of the last few seasons include the honor of be invited to accompany their majesties the King and Queen of the Netherlands on their state visit to France, as well as a Wigmore Hall debut and tours of Japan and Turkey.

The Ruysdael Quartet’s repertoire spans from Purcell to contemporary works and many composers have written especially for them, including Jörg Widmann, whose 9th quartet they premiered in 2023. For their 25th anniversary, no fewer than 25 Dutch composers wrote miniatures for the quartet in celebration. The Ruysdael Quartet often collaborates with prominent artists such as Nino Gvetadze, Jörg Widmann, Charles Neidich, Lenneke Ruiten, and Thomas Riebl. They also have their own festival, the Zoom! Chamber Music Festival, which takes place annually in and around Rheden. The quartet’s recordings have been praised in the national and international press, and they have frequently been selected as a favorite in the Dutch radio program Diskotabel’s blind comparisons.

JONNY ALLEN

TERRY SWEENEY

VICTOR CACCESE

2nd Summer Described as “exhilarating” (The New York Times) and “utterly mesmerizing” (The Guardian), Grammy-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion is dedicated to artistry in contemporary chamber music. The ensemble was brought together in 2011 by a love of chamber music and the simple joy of playing together. Today, Sandbox Percussion captivates worldwide audiences with visually and aurally stunning performances.

Sandbox Percussion’s 2021 album, Seven Pillars, was nominated for two Grammy Awards—Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance and Best Contemporary Classical Composition. The ensemble performed the piece more than 15 times throughout the United States and Europe last season, including at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

In the 2023-24 season, Sandbox Percussion performs Seven Pillars at the VIVO Music Festival (Columbus, OH), the New School (New York), APERIO, Music of the Americas (Houston), the Frost School of Music (Miami), Brown University (Providence, RI), and the Peace Center (Greenville, SC), among other venues.

This season, Sandbox Percussion also releases their fourth album, Wilderness featuring the piece of the same name by experimental composer Jerome Begin. Other season highlights include two performances at the Park Avenue Armory (New York), featuring premieres by Chris Cerrone and Viet Cuong, a performance at the 92nd Street Y with pianist and new-music champion Conor Hanick featuring the New York premiere of two works composed for them by Christopher Cerrone and by Tyshawn Sorey, and an appearance at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Sandbox Percussion will also continue to champion Viet Cuong’s acclaimed concerto for percussion quartet, Re(new)al, including

performances with the Des Moines Symphony and with the Albany Symphony, which commissioned the piece.

Besides maintaining an international performance schedule, Sandbox Percussion holds the position of Ensemble-in-Residence and percussion faculty at the University of MissouriKansas City and The New School’s College of Performing Arts. In 2016, Sandbox Percussion founded the Sandbox Percussion Seminar, introducing percussion students to the leading percussion chamber music of the day.

Sandbox Percussion endorses Pearl/ Adams musical instruments, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Remo drumheads, and Black Swamp accessories.

David Shifrin

Clarinet

CMNW Artistic Director Emeritus

47th Summer Clarinetist

David Shifrin graduated from the Interlochen Arts Adademy in 1967 and the Curtis Institute in 1971. He made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra having won the Orchestra’s Student Competition in 1969. He went on to receive numerous prizes and awards worldwide, including the Geneva and Munich International Competitions, the Concert Artists Guild auditions, and both the Avery Fisher Career Grant (1987) and the Avery Fisher Prize (2000).

Shifrin received Yale University’s Cultural Leadership Citation in 2014 and is currently the Samuel S. Sanford Professor in the Practice of Clarinet at the Yale School of Music where he teaches a studio of graduate-level clarinetists and coaches chamber music ensembles. He is also the artistic director of Yale’s Oneppo Chamber Music Society and the Yale in New York concert series. Shifrin previously served on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the University of Southern California, the University of Michigan, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Hawaii.

Shifrin served as Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of

Lincoln Center from 1992 to 2004 and Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon from 1981 to 2020. He has appeared as soloist with major orchestras in the United States and abroad and has served as Principal Clarinet with the Cleveland Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra (under Stokowski), the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestras of New Haven, Honolulu, and Dallas. Shifrin also continues to broaden the clarinet repertoire by commissioning and championing more than 100 works of 20th and 21st century American composers. Shifrin’s recordings have consistently garnered praise and awards including three Grammy nominations and “Record of the Year” from Stereo Review

Shifrin is represented by CM Artists in New York and performs on Backun clarinets and Légère reeds.

Peter Stumpf

Cello

YAI faculty, festival artist

3rd Summer

Peter Stumpf is Professor of Cello at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Prior to his appointment, he was the Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for nine years, following a twelveyear tenure as Associate Principal Cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He received a Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and an Artist’s Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music.

A dedicated chamber music musician, he is a member of the Weiss-KaplanStumpf Trio and has appeared at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and in Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Cologne. He has performed with the chamber music societies of Boston and Philadelphia, and at numerous festivals including Marlboro, Santa Fe, Bridgehampton, Spoleto, and Aspen. He has toured with Music from Marlboro, and with pianist Mitsuko Uchida in performances of the complete Mozart Piano Trios. As a member of the Johannes Quartet, he collaborated with the Guarneri String Quartet on a tour including premieres of works by Bolcom and Salonen.

Concerto appearances have included the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Aspen Music Festival, among others. Solo recitals have been at Jordan Hall in Boston, on the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society series, on the Chamber Music in Historic Sites series in Los Angeles, and at the Philips and Corcoran Galleries in Washington, D.C. His awards include first prize in the Washington International Competition.

He has served on the cello faculties at the New England Conservatory and the University of Southern California.

Terry Sweeney Percussion (Sandbox Percussion)

2nd Summer

Grammy-nominated percussionist Terry Sweeney is an avid chamber musician and collaborator. In addition to Sandbox Percussion, Terry is a member of quaquaqua and The Percussion Collective, and has performed over 250 concerts across the United States. Recent projects include a world premiere of Seven Pillars, a percussion quartet by Andy Akiho, QUIXOTE–a multi-year collaboration with the theatrical ensemble HOWL, and a world premiere piano/percussion quintet by Chris Cerrone.

Sandbox released their debut album, And That One Too on Coviello Classics in 2020. In 2021, Sandbox released Seven Pillars which was subsequently nominated for two Grammy Awards.

As an educator, Terry directs the percussion studies for the Yellow Barn Young Artist Program, is a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, co-directs the NYU-Sandbox Seminar, and during the 2019 Spring semester was a Visiting Artist at the University of Massachusetts. Terry holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and the Yale School of Music, and endorses Pearl/Adams musical instruments, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Remo drumheads, and Black Swamp accessories.

Burchard Tang

Viola

1st Summer

Burchard Tang joined The Philadelphia Orchestra viola section in September 1999. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in May 1999 from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Joseph dePasquale, retired Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Viola, and ChoongJin Chang, the Orchestra’s current Principal Viola. Mr. Tang has served as Principal Viola with the Curtis Symphony and the New York String Seminar, and has performed with the Brandenburg Ensemble.

A 1993 winner of the Philadelphia Orchestra Albert M. Greenfield Student Competition, Mr. Tang performed with the orchestra as a soloist. As a chamber musician, he has performed at festivals across the country including Marlboro, Seattle, Lake Champlain, Angel Fire, Caramoor, Kingston, and Ravinia.

Mr. Tang plays on a viola made for him in 2022 by Samuel Zygmuntovicz.

Daniel Thorell Cello (Opus13) CMNW 2024 Protégé Artist

1st Summer

Daniel Thorell is a cellist from Stockholm, Sweden. Though only 25-years-old, he has already had great success as a soloist and chamber musician, both nationally and internationally. Praised for his mature and expressive music making, he is currently regarded as one of Scandinavia’s most promising young cellists. He is a first prize winner in no less than nine international competitions, most notably Rovere D'oro (2017), where he was also awarded a gold medal. In May of 2019, he was a major prize winner in the 54th Markneukirchen International Cello Competition. He is also a laureate at the sixth season of La Classe d'Excellence de Violoncell with Professor Gautier Capucon.

JORIS VAN RIJN violin

EMI OHI RESNICK violin

GIJS KRAMERS viola

MICHAEL MÜLLER cello

IAN ROSENBAUM

Born into a family of musicians, Daniel began playing the cello at the age of five. He made his debut as a soloist at the age of eleven, performing SaintSaëns’s Cello Concerto in A Minor with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has performed regularly as a soloist with orchestras around Sweden, including the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. The 2018/19 season included performances as a soloist playing Rococo Variations, Schumann’s Cello Concerto, and Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto, as well as chamber music in festivals around Scandinavia and Germany.

Daniel is also an experienced chamber musician and since 2019 is a member of the Norwegian-based string quartet, Opus13. In 2022, they were awarded second prize in the Banff international string quartet competition and have performed at festivals such as Kamermuziek festival Utrecht, Risør kammermusikkfest, Valdres sommersymfoni, Midtåsen kulturfestival, and many more. In 2021, they made their debut at the Oslo Quartet Series.

Daniel recently finished his soloist diploma studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Professor Torleif Thedéen and is often attending masterclasses around the world with a number of renowned professors, including Jens-Peter Maintz, Danjulo Ishizaka, Maria Kliegel, Claudio Bohorquez, and Antonio Meneses, among others. He is a recipient of numerous scholarships from foundations such as SWEA International Scholarship for the Arts and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

Joan Tower

CMNW co-commissioned & World Premiere composer

11th Summer

Joan Tower's (b. 1938) music is noted by a number of defining qualities: driving rhythms and colorful orchestrations influenced by the sounds and sensations of a childhood spent in South America; approachability for listeners and players alike, resulting from her engagement with the performers of her music (often written with specific musicians in

mind) and her own performances as a pianist. Early works were serial in conception. In the 1970s she moved toward more tonal, Messiaen-like sonorities. She has written a number of works paying homage to composers such as Beethoven (Concerto for Piano), Stravinsky (Petroushskates), and Copland (Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman). She was the first composer chosen for a Ford Made in America consortium commission, Made in America which was performed by 65 orchestras in the USA. Its top-selling recording won three 2008 Grammy Awards, including Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

She received the highest awards from Musical America (Composer of the Year in 2020), Chamber Music America (the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award in 2020), and the League of American Orchestras (Gold Baton Award in 2019).

Recent commissions were from the Cleveland, National, and Detroit symphonies, the Colorado Music Festival (soloists Alisa Weilerstein, Steven Banks, and the Cassatt Quartet), and Yale University.

New recordings have come out on Naxos, Albany Records, and BMOP Recordings.

Albin Uusijärvi Viola (Opus13)

CMNW 2024 Protégé Artist

1st Summer

Albin Uusijärvi, born in 1995 in Nyköping, Sweden, started his musical education in Stockholm and switched from violin to viola at the age of twelve. He studied under Göran Fröst at Lilla Akademien in Stockholm, with Walter Küssner and Tabea Zimmermann at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, and later with Ulrich Knörzer at the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic. Mentors such as Eberhard Feltz, Oliver Wille, and Mats Zetterqvist have also had a great influence on his passion for chamber music.

In 2014, he was awarded first prize in the Polstjärnepriset competition in Gothenburg, Sweden, which led to him

representing Sweden at the Eurovision Young Musician Competition, performing live with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne.

After working as solo violist of the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, he won the audition for Principal Violist of his hometown orchestra, the Swedish Radio Orchestra, where he currently collaborates under the leadership of chief conductor, Daniel Harding. He divides his time between his role in the orchestra and as violist of the string quartet, Opus13.

Joris van Rijn

Violin

(Ruysdael Quartet)

1st Summer

After having passed with distinction for both Bachelor’s (1998) and Master’s (2000) degrees in The Hague, Joris van Rijn entered The Juilliard School in New York, studying with Glenn Dicterow (Concertmaster of the N.Y. Philharmonic) and Robert Mann.

In 2001, he obtained a Professional Studies degree for solo violin, chamber music, and orchestra. Since September 2002, Joris is 1st Concertmaster of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Radio Chamber Philharmonic (Holland). He regularly performs as Concertmaster in several Dutch orchestras.

As a soloist, Joris played with the Residentie Orchestra (The Hague), the Noord Holland Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Radio Symphony Orchestra (Holland).

In September 2002, his debut CD was released, containing contemporary caprices for solo violin written by 24 Dutch composers. He is frequently invited to chamber music festivals throughout Europe as a member of the Ruysdael Quartet and Ensemble Cameleon.

Radovan Vlatković Horn

1st Summer

Born in Zagreb in 1962, Radovan Vlatković completed his studies with Professor Prerad Detiček at the Zagreb Academy of Music and Professor Michael Höltzel at the Music Academy in Detmold, Germany. He is the recipient of many first prizes in national and international competitions, including the Premio Ancona in 1979 and the ARD Competition in Munich in 1983— the first to be awarded to a horn player in fourteen years. This led to numerous invitations to music festivals throughout Europe including Salzburg, Vienna, Edinburgh, and Dubrovnik to name but a few, the Americas, Australia, Israel, and Korea, as well as regular appearances in Japan.

In 1998, he became Horn Professor at the renowned Mozarteum in Salzburg. Since 2000, he holds the Horn Chair “Canon” at the “Queen Sofia” School in Madrid.

Radovan Vlatković has appeared as soloist with many distinguished symphony and chamber orchestras including the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Munich Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, Mozarteum Orchestra, Camerata Academica Salzburg, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Santa Cecilia Orchestra Rome, Rotterdam Philharmonie, the orchestras of Berne, Basel, and Zürich, the Lyon and Strassbourg Orchestras, NHK Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan and Yomiuri Orchestras, and Adelaide and Melbourne Orchestras.

Very much in demand as a chamber musician, he has performed at Gidon Kremer’s Lockenhaus, Svyatoslav Richter’s December Evenings in Moscow, Oleg Kagan and Natalia Gutman’s Kreuth, Rudolf Serkin’s Marlboro, András Schiff’s Mondsee, Vicenza and Ittingen Festivals, as well as Kuhmo, Prussia Cove, and Casals Festival in Prades.

In 2014, Vlatković was awarded an Honorary Membership of the Royal

Academy of Music (Hon RAM), an honor bestowed upon only 300 distinguished musicians worldwide.

Radovan Vlatković plays a full double horn Model 20 M by Paxman of London.

Paul Watkins

Cello

7th Summer

Acclaimed for his inspirational performances and eloquent musicianship, Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career as concerto soloist, chamber musician, and conductor. He is the Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit (since 2014), the cellist of the Emerson String Quartet (2013-2023), and Visiting Professor of Cello at Yale School of Music (since 2018). He took first prize in the 2002 Leeds Conducting Competition, and has held the positions of Music Director of the English Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra.

As a cellist, Watkins has given regular concerto performances with prestigious orchestras across the globe. Also a dedicated chamber musician, Watkins was a member of the Nash Ensemble (1997-2013) and the Emerson String Quartet (2013-2023). After 44 successful seasons, the Quartet decided to retire and undertook an extensive farewell tour, culminating in their final performances in New York’s Lincoln Center in October 2023. Their final recording of Berg, Chausson, Schoenberg, and Hindemith with prestigious guests, soprano Barbara Hannigan and pianist Bertrand Chamayou, was released September 2023.

As a conductor, Watkins has conducted all the major British orchestras and a wide range of international orchestras. In 2006 he made his opera debut conducting a critically praised new production of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine for Opera North.

Highlights of the 2023/24 season include a recording of the Richard Rodney Bennett cello concerto for Chandos with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Tippett’s Triple Concerto with the Halle orchestra, and Shostakovich with the Aalborg Symphony.

Sonoko Miriam Welde

Violin (Opus13)

CMNW 2024 Protégé Artist 1st Summer Norwegian violinist Sonoko Miriam Welde (b. 1996) is winner of the “Virtuos” competition, the Norwegian Soloist Prize 2014, and the Equinor Classical Music Scholarship 2016.

As a soloist she has performed with orchestras such the Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Bournemouth Symphony, and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and conductors including Andrew Litton, James Gaffigan, Han-Na Chang, Marta Gardolinska, Joshua Weilerstein, and Edward Gardner.

An enthusiastic chamber musician, Sonoko has been championed by Leif Ove Andsnes, with whom she performs regularly, and has also worked with Tabea Zimmermann, Clemens Hagen, Sergio Tiempo, Gidon Kremer, Alisa Weilerstein, Jonathan Biss, and Janine Jansen.

She is a founding member of the string quartet, Opus13, who took second prize in the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition.

In 2021, she released her debut album of Bruch and Barber violin concertos and The Lark Ascending with the Oslo Philharmonic on LAWO Classics. It was nominated for the Norwegian “Spellemannprisen” in the classical music category and received rave reviews from publications such as Gramophone BBC Music Magazine and The Strad

Sonoko studied with Janine Jansen in Sion, where she also had lessons with Denis Kozhukhin. She has also studied with Stephan Barratt-Due in Oslo and Kolja Blacher in Berlin. In 2018-2020 she was part of the Crescendo Mentoring Program.

Claire Wells Violin

CMNW 2024 Protégé Artist

1st Summer

American violinist Claire Wells is acclaimed by audiences and press for her expressive musicality and rich, singing quality of sound. Solo concert engagements have brought her to halls like the Wigmore Hall, the Meyerson Symphony Center, Bass Performance Hall, Teatro Degollado, and Konzerthaus Berlin. Having won major prizes in international competitions, Claire Wells is the Mendelssohn-Prize 1st Prize winner and Commission Prize winner at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Competition 2021, 2nd Prize winner at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition 2023, and has taken major prizes at the Indianapolis International Competition, Mirecourt International Competition, and Lynn Harrell Competition, among others.

Claire Wells grew up in a musical family, playing both violin and piano from the age of three. Today, Wells has performed with major orchestras such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jalisco Philharmonic, and the Shen Zhen Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Now studying at the Kronberg Academy with Mihaela Martin since 2022, Claire Wells studied privately with Brian Lewis, Sandy Yamamoto, and Emanuel Borok, and in 2017 attended the Yehudi Menuhin School with Lutsia Ibragimova.

A passionate chamber musician, Claire Wells has worked alongside artists such as Enrico Pace, Nobuko Imai, Frans Helmerson, Christian Tetzlaff, and Steven Isserlis. Wells has also taken coachings from the likes of Ana Chumachenco, Boris Kuschnir, Andras Schiff, and Robert Levin. Claire Wells has performed at festivals such as the International Holland Music Sessions, Music@Menlo chamber music festival, Chamber Music Connects the World, Gstaad Festival, the Verbier Festival, and others. Wells plays on a Nicola Amati, on loan from a generous donor.

Jörg Widmann

Clarinet

CMNW commissioned & U.S. Premiere composer, festival artist

1st Summer

Jörg Widmann is considered one of the most versatile and intriguing artists of his generation. The 2023/24 season sees him appear in all facets of his work, as a clarinetist, conductor, and composer, including as Composer in Residence of Berliner Philharmoniker and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, as Principal Guest Conductor of NDR Radiophilharmonie, Guest Conductor of Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Associated Conductor of Münchener Kammerorchester, Creative Partner of Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Artistic Partner of Riga Sinfonietta, and Artist in Focus at Alte Oper Frankfurt.

Jörg Widmann studied clarinet with Gerd Starke in Munich and Charles Neidich at the Juilliard School in New York and later became Professor of Clarinet and Composition, first at University of Music Freiburg and since 2017 as Chair Professor for Composition at the Barenboim-Said Academy Berlin. He is a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin and a full member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, Free Academy of the Arts in Hamburg (2007), German Academy of Dramatic Arts, and Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz (2016), and received an Honorary Doctorate from University of Limerick, Ireland in February 2023.

This season sees the world premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Schumannliebe für Bariton und Ensemble with Matthias Goerne, Peter Rundel, and the Remix Ensemble at Casa da Música. Currently, he is writing a Horn Concerto, commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker, to be premiered by Stefan Dohr and the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle at Philharmonie Berlin in May 2024.

Afendi Yusuf Clarinet

1st Summer Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Afendi Yusuf was recently appointed Principal Clarinet of The Cleveland Orchestra. He has appeared as guest principal with several North American orchestras, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, and the Toronto and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras. As a guest musician, he has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and KitchenerWaterloo Symphony, under the batons of Gustavo Dudamel, Gianandrea Noseda, Edo de Waart, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Robert Spano, and Leon Fleisher.

A winner of numerous competitions, Mr. Yusuf has made solo appearances with the Colburn Orchestra, the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, and the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has collaborated with the likes of Charles Neidich, Ronald Leonard, Martin Beaver, and with renowned composers George Friedrich Haas, John Adams, and Anders Hillborg. Mr. Yusuf is a grant recipient from the Canada Council for the Arts and received the Vincent Wilkinson Foundation Fellowship from the Aspen Music Festival and School. He is an alumnus of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Brott Music Festival, the National Arts Centre’s Young Artists Program, and is a recent participant of the Marlboro Music Festival.

Mr. Yusuf holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, as a student of Ross Edwards, and an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School in Toronto, Ontario, as a full-scholarship student of Joaquin Valdepeñas. He also holds a Master of Music degree and Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School’s Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California, where he was a student of Yehuda Gilad.

2024 YOUNG ARTIST INSTITUTE

Institute Faculty

Institute Staff

Alyssa Tong Institute Manager

Alyssa Tong is the Executive Director and Founder of String Insiders, an educational nonprofit that focuses on providing pre-professional string students access to teachers, resources, and information. String Insiders hosts the Online Solo Strings Intensive (OSSI) every summer, created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the first ever online music festival. OSSI gives 100-130 students annually the opportunity to work closely with top professors and teachers from around the country. Alyssa formerly hosted the Strings Virtual Summit, an online conference with over 1,000 attendees at each iteration that provided access to interviews with leading music professionals free of charge. Through her work with String Insiders, she has worked with faculty members such as Clive Greensmith, Soovin Kim, Paul Kantor, Ani Kavafian, Paul Katz, Carol Rodland, and many others. She is passionate about increasing accessibility to classical music by revitalizing the concert stage, providing quality music education to youth, and opening conversations around careers and holistic musicianship. In addition to her work with String Insiders, Alyssa is currently the Assistant Director of Enrollment Management at the New England Conservatory. She obtained her Master’s degree in Violin Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying under Simon James. Previously, she studied under Nelson Lee of the Jupiter String Quartet at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Music. She has managed the CMNW’s Young Artist Institute since 2022. When she’s not working or practicing, you can find her exploring Boston where she lives or cooking something new.

program

Katie Danforth Operations Associate

Originally from Indianapolis, IN, Katie Danforth is a versatile performer, educator, and arts administrator.

As an orchestral musician, Katie has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Texas Sinfonia. Also a dedicated teacher, Katie leads a large private studio and masterclasses in the greater Houston area and is passionate about creating a comfortable and accessible environment for students to cultivate a love for music.

She recently graduated with her Master of Music in Oboe Performance from Rice University, where she studied with Robert Atherholt. Previously, she studied with Robert Walters at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and graduated with a B.M. in Oboe Performance. In her free time, Katie can often be found cycling and running outdoors; she also loves to relax with a cup of coffee and a great book. Katie is very excited to be back in Portland for her third summer with Chamber Music Northwest’s YAI program!

Maureen Sheehan

Resident Mentor & Production Assistant

Maureen Sheehan is a freelance violist and student in Boston, earning a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory (NEC) under the mentorship of Nicholas Cords and Wenting Kang. Around the northeast area, she has appeared as a performer

with A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra, Palaver Strings, and the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra. She also plays Irish fiddle in NEC's Ceol Ensemble, led by renowned Irish musician Liz Knowles-O'Hare. In addition to performing, Maureen enjoys the opportunity to work with younger musicians, and has spent time teaching at Harpa International Music Academy in Lakeside Chautauqua, OH and at Madison Conservatory near her hometown in Wisconsin. Maureen holds Bachelor degrees in Anthropology and Viola Performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she was a student of Peter Slowik.

J. Alexander Smith

Resident Mentor & Production Assistant

Toronto-born cellist Alexander Smith started lessons at the age of 3. Today, he has appeared in venues across the United States and Canada as well as The Violin Channel, Interlochen Public Radio, and National Public Radio as a From The Top artist. He has studied with musicians such as Anssi Kartunnen, Edgar Meyer, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Johannes Moser, Marc Coppey and Paul Watkins, among others.

He is currently pursuing a Master of Music at The New England Conservatory, studying with Blaise Déjardin and Yeesun Kim. He previously attended Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music on a full-tuition scholarship, where he studied with Dr. Felix Wang. He held the principal seat of the Vanderbilt University Philharmonic from his sophomore year until his graduation. He was a recipient of the 2019 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Young Artist Award, and the 2021 Jean Keller Heard Prize for Excellence in String Performance.

He has attended Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, ScotiaFest, Madeline Island Chamber Music, the Chautauqua Institute, and Orford Musique. As an orchestral musician, Alexander is currently a member of the New England Conservatory Philharmonic and the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra.

Alexander previously received a diploma with honours from the Interlochen Arts Academy. That year, he was a finalist in the Interlochen Concerto Competition. Alexander has been an avid chamber musician his whole life. As the cellist of the Eunoia String Quartet between 2019 and 2023, he performed a recital as part of a residency at Southern Illinois University. They participated in many competitions, obtaining the First Prize of MTNA’s National Chamber Music Competition, and laureate distinctions at the Coltman and Plowman Chamber Competitions. He was selected to participate in the Harold I. Pratt Early Music Fellowship, studying baroque performance and participating in a 17th-century ensemble overseen by Guy Fishman.

Alexander is passionate about contemporary music. He has actively participated and performed in contemporary music ensembles, performing works such as George Crumb’s Vox Balaenae, appearing with conductor Hugh Wolff and collaborating closely with musicians such as Pascal Leboeuf. He has premiered works adapted to silent film by Maria Newman, and commissioned new music for solo cello by composers Nicholas Edwards and Hao Zhen. He currently performs on a 2021 Ruggieri model made by Andrew Carruthers in Santa Rosa, and a bow made in 2018 by Bernard Walke in Ottawa.

2024 Collaborative Piano Fellows

Yandi Chen Piano

Hometown: Shanghai, China

Degrees from Previous Schools: Bachelor of Music in Piano at Juilliard School, Master of Music in Piano at Yale School of Music

Current Program: Doctor of Musical Arts in Chamber Music Piano at New England Conservatory

Yandi Chen has been the staff pianist at the 2024 Perlman Music Program Israel Residency, the 2023 Heiftz International Music Institute, and the 2022 Chamber Music Northwest Young Artist Institute. He is currently serving as the staff pianist at New England Conservatory (NEC). He also coaches chamber music ensembles at NEC’s Preparatory School. In-demand as a collaborator, he regularly plays in recitals, faculty studio classes, and lessons at NEC. He has performed for community engagement events for communities in Boston, New Hampshire, and Shelter Island.

As a passionate chamber musician, Yandi has been an active participant of the inspirational Perlman Chamber Music Workshop. He has also been heard at music festivals such as Piano Texas International Academy and Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Virtuoso and Belcanto Music Festival, and Fontainbleau Summer Music Program. He has collaborated with renowned artists including Itzhak Perlman, Donald Weilerstein, Donald Palma, Molly Carr, Patrick Romano, and the members of the Borromeo String Quartet. He has also performed in Music for Food, Core Memory Music Series, and Wellesley Chamber Players concerts in the Boston area.

Pualina Lim Mei En Piano

Hometown: Singapore Degrees from previous schools: Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Master of Music in Collaborative Piano, New England Conservatory

Current program: Graduate Diploma in Collaborative Piano, New England Conservatory

Singaporean pianist Pualina Lim Mei En is hugely passionate in collaborative music-making. As an avid collaborative pianist, she has diverse experience and was Collaborative Piano Fellow at the 2022 Chamber Music Northwest Young Artist Institute, and the 2023 Bowdoin International Music Festival. She loves sharing her knowledge and serves on the core team of staff pianists at New England Conservatory’s (NEC) Preparatory School. She has also been a part of Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras’ Intensive Community Program, and NEC’s Community Performances & Partnerships Fellowship program. In her undergraduate years, she was a part of WAN Trio (clarinet-violinpiano), and they represented Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST) at the chamber music festival Musical Chairs 2020, in Canada. As piano soloist, Pualina received 3rd Prize in Singapore’s 2019 National Piano and Violin Competition (Senior Category). She also won both 2nd Prize and Best Accompanist Award in the piano category of the YST Concerto Competition in 2020, and subsequently emerged as Top 3 Prize Winner across all instrument categories, leading to a concerto soloist performance with the YST Conservatory Orchestra. She was also a President’s Young Performer, and had the opportunity to perform with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 2022. Pualina completed undergraduate studies in Singapore at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. She is currently pursuing her Graduate Diploma in Collaborative Piano at the New England Conservatory, after completing her Master of Music degree with Pei-Shan Lee and Cameron Stowe under full scholarship. She is a repeated recipient of the Francis W. Hatch, Sr. Presidential Scholarship and was also kindly supported and sponsored by Singapore’s Trailblazer Foundation. In her free time, she finds peace in nature, a cosy café trip, and loves good sushi.

Soovin Kim (violin) • Jessica Lee (violin) • Nicholas Cords (viola) • Peter Stumpf (cello) Please see their biography listings in the Festival Artists & Composers section of this

Young Artists

Inés Maro Burgos

Babakhanian (14)

Violin

Hometown: Madrid, Spain

My favorite pieces of music: It varies from time to time, but a piece I really want to play is the Sibelius violin concerto.

What I do when I'm not playing music: I love to watch and play sports, particularly tennis and soccer. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends, either talking or playing games with them. I also love playing chess from time to time and love to eat good food, which I get lots of coming from Spain!

Eunsuh Ella Park (16)

Viola

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Favorite piece of music: Paul Hindemith Viola Sonata in F Major, Op. 11, No. 4

What I do when I'm not playing music: I play table tennis, take a nap, watch movies, study math, and hang out with my friends.

Caitlin Enright (16)

Cello

Hometown: Chatham, NJ

Favorite piece of music: Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 1

What I do when I'm not playing music: I enjoy reading and going for walks with my dog.

Griffin Frost (16)

Cello

Hometown: New York, NY

Favorite piece of music: Schubert Quintet

What I do when I'm not playing music: Soccer!

Jessica Kartawidjaja (18)

Violin

Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia

Favorite piece of music: Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor, 1st mvt.

What I do when I'm not playing music: Playing badminton, ride bikes, reading.

Christy Kim (18) Violin

Hometown: Mason, OH

Favorite piece of music: Beethoven

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61

What I do when I'm not playing music: Read mystery books, go on walks, and spend time with friends.

Michelle Koo (18)

Viola

Hometown: Palo Alto, CA

Favorite piece of music: Mahler Symphony 5 (especially the Rondo or Scherzo)

What I do when I'm not playing music: Read, watch Disney movies, play games or board games with my older sister, play with my dog.

Charles Lee (16)

Cello

Hometown: Bellevue, WA

Favorite piece of music: Schumann Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129

What I do when I'm not playing music: Reading and playing chess.

Katie Liu (16)

Violin

Hometown: Portland, OR

Favorite piece of music: Amy Beach Romance for Violin and Piano

What I do when I'm not playing music: Read.

Tokuji Miyasaka (17)

Violin

Jiyu Oh (18)

Violin

Hometown: Pullman, WA

Favorite piece of music: Beethoven Violin Concerto

What I do when I'm not playing music: Read.

Hometown: Seoul, South Korea

Favorite piece of music: Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2, 3rd mvt.

What I do when I'm not playing music: reading, hanging out with my friends, visiting bookstores.

Caleb Sharp (16) Cello

Hometown: Wilton, CT

Favorite piece of music: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3

What I do when I'm not playing music: Read Biology textbooks, study Astronomy.

Rebekah Sung (16)

Viola

Hometown: Fremont, CA

Favorite piece of music: Liebestraum by Liszt

What I do when I'm not playing music: Love to crochet, read, act!

Henry Woodruff (16)

Viola

Hometown: Solvang, CA

Favorite piece of music: Hard to say—it’s between Beethoven 7 and Brahms 2 symphony

What I do when I'm not playing music: When I’m not playing, I love to read, swim, go to the gym, and try different restaurants.

Hiro Yoshimura (18)

Violin

Hometown: Cupertino, CA

Favorite piece of music: Borodin’s 2nd String Quartet

What I do when I'm not playing music: I write music (pop or classical), watch videos on math/ physics (I’m a visual learner), and listen to J-pop and a Japanese podcast about linguistics when I have the time.

Kailey Yun (17)

Violin

Hometown: Irvine, CA

Favorite piece of music: Franck Violin Sonata in A Major

What I do when I'm not playing music: I’m a huge bookworm and use any free time to read books! I also love watching K-dramas and YouTube videos from time to time. I equally enjoy my personal time and time spent with friends; over the years, I’ve gotten better at extending my social battery.

Portland Chamber Orchestra

The Intimate Symphony W th Infin te Imaginat on You're nvited to Join us th s Fa l when Imagination Comes to Life portlandchamberorchestra.org

With its enduring and nationally significant legacy, PCO delivers bold, intimate, and enriching performances that uplift audiences while generating peace and harmony. As the country’s longest-standing chamber orchestra, PCO embraces programming that promotes personal and collective compassion.

The information you need The stories you

Oregon’s lifestyle magazine for people

50 to 80 and better.

Resources, stories, and expert insights to support living vibrantly.

Orchestra, winds, jazz, strings, flute, & percussion ensembles.

Small group coaching with Oregon Symphony musicians.

Saturday or Sunday rehearsals at sites in Portland and Hillsboro.

Five levels of innovative compositionbased Music Theory classes.

Tuition assistance and instrument loans available.

Rolling auditions accepted throughout the season.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER: PLAYMYS.ORG

ABOUT CMNW

Now in its 54th season, Chamber Music Northwest (CMNW) serves more than 50,000 people in Oregon and SW Washington with exceptional chamber music through over 100 events annually, including our flagship Summer Festival, year-round concerts, community activities, educational programs, broadcasts, and innovative collaborations with other arts groups. CMNW is the only chamber music festival of its kind in the Northwest and one of the most diverse classical music experiences in the nation, virtually unparalleled in comparable communities.

As one of the leading chamber music producers in the country, CMNW enriches our community by showcasing the world’s greatest musicians and composers. From world-renowned artists and exceptional local musicians to the established Artistsin-Residence ensembles to the rising young stars of our Protégé Project, they perform beloved classics and hidden masterpieces, contemporary works, and collaborations with other artists. Committed to sharing music in fun and accessible ways, our artists participate in extensive community outreach, including free concerts, conversations, and in-school, in-person, and online education programs.

CMNW also invests in the future of chamber music. Our Protégé Project artists perform and learn from veteran festival artists and work with young musicians in our community. Since 2022 the students of CMNW’s Young Artist Institute (YAI)— an intensive education program for 16 talented string players from around the world, ages 14-18—have enhanced and enlivened the summer festival while growing exponentially as musicians. CMNW commissions and presents 4–6 new works annually, primarily by American composers. A recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award, CMNW is among our region’s most acclaimed arts organizations. CMNW is proud to have balanced its budget in each of the past 43 years.

Mission

Chamber Music Northwest creates and shares the beauty, inspiration, intimacy and transformative power of small ensemble music through…

• Unforgettable concerts with the world’s greatest musicians in a welcoming environment

• Education and engagement programs that enrich the lives of our diverse and growing community

• Innovation that honors our past while fostering the artists, audiences, and musical experiences of the future

Board of Directors

Ravi Vedanayagam

President

David Greger

Vice President

Lori Irish Bauman

Secretary

Dan Boyce

Treasurer

Staff

Gloria Chien & Soovin Kim Artistic Directors

Peter J. Bilotta

Executive Director

Leslie Tuomi

Development Director

Sarah Taylor Incoming Development Director

Karen Deveney Member at Large

Richard Rogers Member at Large

Carl Abbott

Evelyn Brzezinski

Caroline Harris Crowne

Ronnie-Gail Emden

Beth Fry

Howard Greisler

Marian GutierrezCuriel

James Kahan

Amelia Lukas

Kate Lyons Hugh Porter

Marc Therrien

Peter van Bever

Davida Wilson

Immediate Past President

Lauren Watt

Operations & Community Programs Director

Nicole Lane

Marketing & Communictions Director

Barbara Bailey

Finance & Administration Director

Young Artist Institute Staff

Alyssa Tong Young Artist Institute Manager

Festival Staff

Megan Thorpe

Production Manager

Hayley Ferrell

Stage Manager

Erin Tallman

Stage Manager

Lucy Devlaeminck

Production Assistant

Branic Howard

Audio Engineer

Michael Johnson

Lead AV Technician

Alec Meichtry

Tanner Watrous

AV Technicians

Eric Leatha

Piano Technician

Katie Danforth Young Artist Institute Operations Associate

Jillian Fischer Artistic & Community Programs Coordinator

Jessie Bodell Marketing & Communications Coordinator

Benjamin Rosenthal

Ticketing & Data Manager

Jen Kim Volunteer Coordinator

Maureen Sheehan J. Alexander Smith Young Artist Institute Resident Mentors & Production Assistants

Chris Brecht

Videographer

Genevieve Larson

Lead House Manager

Micki Selvitella House Manager

Anais Batiz-Fischetti House Manager

Katherine Curry

Sawyer VanVactor-Lee Box Office Associates

Trisha Ganesh

Development Intern

Hugo Romero

Artistic Operations Intern

Melanie Scambray

Merchandise & Marketing Intern

Jeff Hayes Festival Brand & Graphic Designer

Elizabeth Schwartz Chief Program Annotator

Ethan Allred Program Annotator

Tom Emerson

Shawnte Sims

Liana Kramer

Gary Norman Photographers

This