Chamber Music Northwest gets more interesting by the year...
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Jeff Winslow, Oregon ArtsWatch
The powerhouse artistic directors are top musicians as well as leaders…Chien and Kim were indefatigable. ‘‘ ‘‘
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Angela Allen, Oregon ArtsWatch
...such incredible variety…is one reason why CMNW is such an important part of the region’s cultural landscape... ‘‘ ‘‘
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James Bash, Northwest Reverb
CHAMBER MUSIC NORTHWEST MAJOR SPONSORS
Our 2024/25 Season is made possible by the generosity of individual, foundation, government, and corporate contributors, including grants from:
With a concert package enjoy a full year of music with all of the CMNW Family perks!
Join us for another season of musical discovery as we embark on a journey through exceptional performances, diverse programming, and the unmatched artistry that defines a Chamber Music Northwest experience. Our eight-concert series opens with a special concert featuring our beloved Artistic Director Emeritus David Shifrin, as we join him for duo and trio works by Brahms, Stravinsky, Ravel, and Bartók. We are thrilled to present the UK’s legendary baritone Roderick Williams OBE alongside Tigard-grown pianist Myra Huang for a gorgeous evening of Schubertiade. Our celebrated former Protégé Ensemble Dover Quartet makes its highly anticipated return with a new commission by Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate. In the new year, we welcome back chamber music powerhouses and Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, David Finckel and Wu Han, followed by a rare American appearance by Europe’s renowned Hagen Quartet. Our season culminates in monumental recitals by Artistic Director Soovin Kim, presenting Bach’s Complete Solo Works for Violin over two evenings. Stay tuned for more details revealing May’s special event featuring George Takei, Kenji Bunch, and Andy Akiho, in collaboration with Portland Japanese Garden.
Subscribe today—choose from a full season package, a bundle of five concerts, a make-your-own series, or a Flex Pass—to enjoy the benefits of best seats, free exchanges, and no fees.
Yours,
Gloria Chien & Soovin Kim
Artistic Directors TICKETS: CMNW.org 3
Saturday, October 5, 2024 @ 7:30pm
2024/25 SEASON
Chien-Kim-Shifrin Trio: Tremendous Triad
The Old Church VIOLIN + CLARINET + PIANO
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 @ 7:30pm
Roderick Williams OBE & Myra Huang: Sublime Schubert
First Presbyterian Church of Portland VOICE + PIANO
Saturday, November 23, 2024 @ 7:30pm Dover Quartet: Triumphant Return & Range
The Old Church STRING QUARTET
Thursday, February 6, 2025 @ 7:30pm
David Finckel & Wu Han: Russian Revelry
The Old Church CELLO + PIANO
TICKETS: CMNW.org 4
Thursday, February 27, 2025 @ 7:30pm Hagen Quartet: Pinnacle of Musicality
The Old Church STRING QUARTET
Thursday, April 3, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, April 5, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Soovin Kim: Bach’s Complete Solo Sonatas & Partitas
The Old Church SOLO VIOLIN
Saturday, May 31, 2025 @ 7:00pm SPECIAL EVENT
Lost Freedom: A Memory with George Takei Portland Japanese Garden STRINGS + PERCUSSION + PIANO
Saturday, October 5, 2024 @ 7:30pm
The Old Church
CHIEN-KIM-SHIFRIN TRIO
Tremendous Triad
CMNW ARTISTIC DIRECTORS & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS
UNITE FOR A LIVELY EVENING
Bring together three CMNW musical giants and the sparks will fly!
Artistic Directors Gloria Chien and Soovin Kim team up with Artistic Director Emeritus David Shifrin to offer a simply spectacular evening of their favorite duo and trio works. The vibrant evening includes Brahms’s gorgeous Clarinet Sonata No. 2, an abbreviated version of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, a soaring interpretation of Ravel’s violin sonata, and Bartók’s thrilling Contrasts. Is there a more stunning way to kick off our 55th season than with these fireworks?
Clarinet Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 120, No. 2
IGOR STRAVINSKY
L'Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale)
MAURICE RAVEL
Violin Sonata No. 2, M. 77
BÉLA BARTÓK
Contrasts, Sz. 111
TICKETS: CMNW.org
BRAHMS
VIOLIN + CLARINET + PIANO
Willkommen und abschied” (Welcome and Departure), D. 767
Schwanengesang (Swan Song), D. 957
“Ganymed” (Ganymede), D. 544
“Rastlose Liebe” (Relentless Love), D. 138
“Der Musensohn” (The Son of the Muses), D. 764
“Auf dem See” (On the Lake), D. 543
“Wandrers Nachtlied” (Traveller’s Night Song), D. 768
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 @ 7:30pm First Presbyterian Church of Portland
RODERICK WILLIAMS OBE & MYRA HUANG Sublime Schubert
VOICE + PIANO
TICKETS: CMNW.org 6
A BREATHTAKING RECITAL OF SCHUBERT LIEDER
From King Charles’s coronation and the Royal Opera House, to the renowned Wigmore Hall and the London Philharmonic, baritone Roderick Williams is among the UK’s and world’s most sought-after voices. He is an officer of Britain’s illustrious Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), a distinction for his contributions to the arts and sciences. This recital is an immersion into a powerfully moving evening of Schubert’s full Schwanengesang (Swan Song) cycle, along with Williams-selected Schubert favorites. Joining Williams is Tigard’s own two-time Grammy-nominated pianist Myra Huang in her first Portland appearance.
Saturday, November 23, 2024 @ 7:30pm
The Old Church
DOVER QUARTET
Triumphant Return & Range
STRING QUARTET
2013
PROTÉGÉ
ENSEMBLE RETURNS WITH A JEROD
IMPICHCHAACHAAHA' TATE COMMISSION
Since their summer at CMNW as our 2013 Protégé Ensemble, the dynamic precision and power of the two-time Grammy-nominated Dover Quartet has made them one of the world’s most lauded chamber ensembles. After being named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the Dovers return to Portland for the first time since 2019. We will take in their masterful performances of Mendelssohn and Dvořák string quartets, as well as the West Coast Premiere of a new CMNW co-commissioned work by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, written especially for them. This is a not-to-be-missed, rare opportunity to experience the fully astonishing Dover Quartet!
JEROD IMPICHCHAACHAAHA' TATE
Abokkoli' Taloowa' (Woodland Songs)
West Coast Premiere • CMNW Co-Commission
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
String Quartet No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 44, No. 2
DVOŘÁK
String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96
NIKOLAI MYASKOVSKY
Cello Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 81
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 119
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF
Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19
TICKETS: CMNW.org 8
Thursday, February 6, 2025 @ 7:30pm The Old Church
DAVID FINCKEL & WU HAN
Russian Revelry
+ PIANO
A DUO OF THE MOST ESTEEMED CLASSICAL MUSICIANS IN THE WORLD
When it comes to the greatest chamber musician pairings, few can hold a candle to the incomparable powerhouse duo of the esteemed cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han! Indefatigable titans of American chamber music as the Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2004, and Music@Menlo founders and artistic co-directors since 2003, this irrepressible husband and wife team (like our own artistic directors) are rock stars of the chamber music world. Their exquisite lyricism, superb virtuosity, theatrical flair, and musical insight will make for an evening of simply unforgettable mid-century Russian music.
CELLO
Thursday, February 27, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Old Church
HAGEN QUARTET
Pinnacle of Musicality
VENERATED AUSTRIAN STRING QUARTET COMES TO PORTLAND
Like American 21st century superstars, the Emerson Quartet, Europe’s Hagen Quartet has attained an unparalleled position among the finest chamber ensembles in the world. Declared “the pinnacle of musicality” (Die Presse) their European preeminence is resolute. Comprised of siblings Lukas, Veronika, and Clemens Hagen, with violinist Rainer Schmidt, this four-decades-strong Austrian sensation has performed throughout the world and amassed a storied discography of nearly 50 acclaimed recordings. For those who love the best-of-the-best, you’ll not want to miss one of the greatest string quartets of our time in this rare U.S. appearance, right here in Portland!
String Quartet in A Major, Hob. III:60, Op. 55, No. 1
Thursday, April 3 & Saturday, April 5, 2025 @ 7:30pm The Old Church
SOOVIN KIM
Bach’s Complete Solo Sonatas & Partitas
TICKETS: CMNW.org 10
TWO CONCERT EVENINGS OF INCREDIBLE SOLO VIOLIN WORKS
When the world shut down in 2020, one of the first musicians in the nation to step onto a stage to share desperately needed music with the world was our own Artistic Director, acclaimed violinist Soovin Kim. CMNW streamed his monumental performance of Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin from Massachusetts’s majestic Jordan Hall for thousands of home-bound viewers. Now, it is finally our honor and privilege to have him perform them LIVE! This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a marathon performance over two concert evenings, of some of Bach’s most moving works…and by CMNW’s own violinist extraordinaire.
SOLO VIOLIN
Saturday, May 31, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Portland Japanese Garden
SPECIAL EVENT
Lost Freedom: A Memory with George Takei
STRINGS + PERCUSSION + PIANO
A CMNW & PORTLAND JAPANESE GARDEN COLLABORATION
Inspired by autobiographical accounts of the incarceration of JapaneseAmerican citizens in World War II, Lost Freedom: A Memory weaves together music and spoken word in a profound exploration of a chilling time in American history. Actor, author, and activist, George Takei (Star Trek), narrates his own story as one of the citizens forced from their homes and made to live in desolate camps thousands of miles away. Set to music by Oregon composer Kenji Bunch, this poignant program will also include music by Oregon’s Japanese-American composer/ percussionist Andy Akiho.
KENJI BUNCH
Lost Freedom: A Memory
With additional repertoire by Andy Akiho
Lost Freedom: A Memory is a co-presentation with Portland Japanese Garden, and is part of a weekend-long festival remembering and celebrating the rich legacies of Portland’s Japanese and Vanport communities through visual art, music, theater, and dance, in collaboration with the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Resonance Ensemble, and The Vanport Mosaic.
NOTE: Lost Freedom: A Memory is not currently on sale. CMNW season subscribers and Portland Japanese Garden members will receive a special invitation to purchase tickets in the Spring.
Your Support Means Musical Excellence & SO MUCH MORE...
Our sincere thanks to everyone who shares our passion for the intimate and exhilarating experience of chamber music!
When you love something this much, you have to share it. That’s why we prioritize access for all and go beyond the concert hall to build our musical community. Donations make our programs possible—from concerts to musician training programs to our Education & Community Engagement offerings—which we share absolutely free.
Did you know that CMNW is one of the foremost commissioners of new chamber music in the country? We are a launchpad for classical music careers through the Protégé Project, Artists-in-Residence, and the Young Artist Institute.
Are you aware that we host a free online library of masterclasses that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere?
Photos by Owen Carey, Tom Emerson, Liana Kramer, Nicole Lane, Shawnte Sims, and Lauren Watt.
And, of course, there are the unforgettable concerts. The caliber of musicians we program throughout the Year-Round Season, and curate into our Summer Festival, is truly impressive.
We hope you consider adding a gift to your next ticket order as an investment in building community through music. Together, we can open doors and welcome everyone to experience the beauty and connection that our music has to offer.
Did you enjoy one of last season’s 76 free CMNW events in a park, school, or community center near you? Learn more about how to make an impact at cmnw.org/give
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The ultimate in flexibility! Use your tickets as you wish—all at once, or mix and match evenings. You may reserve your seats in advance, or just show up at the concert for the best seats available. TICKETS: CMNW.org 14
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...it doesn’t get better than Chamber Music Northwest... ‘‘ ‘‘
