Well-known for his 14-year tenure as a dancer with Mark Morris Dance Group, Artistic Director John Heginbotham creates work known for its “tight formal structure and inventive movement, bolstered by a disarming wit and strangeness” (The New Yorker). Founded in 2011, Dance Heginbotham has quickly established itself as one of the most adventurous and exciting new companies on the contemporary dance scene, and is celebrated for its vibrant athleticism, humor, and theatricality, as well as its commitment to collaboration. The company has shared the stage with music icons including Alarm Will Sound, Brooklyn Rider, Gabriel Kahane and Shara Nova, and members of The Knights orchestra.

Musicians:
Ethan Iverson, composer/pianist: Easy Win
Verona Quartet
Jerome Mouffe, guitar
Yosi Karahashi, flamenco artist

Well-known for his 14-year tenure as a dancer with Mark Morris Dance Group, Artistic Director John Heginbotham creates work known for its “tight formal structure and inventive movement, bolstered by a disarming wit and strangeness” (The New Yorker). Founded in 2011, Dance Heginbotham has quickly established itself as one of the most adventurous and exciting new companies on the contemporary dance scene, and is celebrated for its vibrant athleticism, humor, and theatricality, as well as its commitment to collaboration. The company has shared the stage with music icons including Alarm Will Sound, Brooklyn Rider, Gabriel Kahane and Shara Nova, and members of The Knights orchestra.

Musicians:
Ethan Iverson, composer/pianist: Easy Win
Verona Quartet
Jerome Mouffe, guitar
Yosi Karahashi, flamenco artist

Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven

String Quartet No.6 in B Flat Major. Op.18 
String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135
String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59, No. 3

Composer at Large: An Evening with Julia Adolphe
Music Style: New Music

With commissions already performed by the New York Philharmonic, and the LA Chamber Orchestra, this evening with the young and gifted American composer includes a sneak preview of selections from her new opera, A Barrel Of Laughs, A Vale Of Tears, co-commissioned by Boston Court.

COMPOSERS
Julia Adolphe

PERFORMERS
Soprano: Hila Plitmann
Mezzo-Soprano: Victoria Fox
Piano: Lisa Sylvester
Violin: Jonathan Ong
Violin: Dorothy Ro
Viola: Abigail Rojansky
Cello: Jonathan Dormand

REPERTOIRE
White Flag
If Only She
Moonlight Aria and Duet
A Laugh is No Kinging Matter
Sculpture Aria
Star-Crossed Signals
Footsteps
The Dastardly Divide (from A Barrel of Laughs)

PROGRAM
Mozart: Quartet, K.590
Janacek: Quartet No 2, “Intimate Letters”
Beethoven: Quartet, Op. 135
Dvorak: Cypresses

Guest Artists
Roeland Jagers, viola
Csaba Onczay, cello

Repertoire
W. A. Mozart: String Quartet in F Major, K.590
Janácek: String Quartet No. 2 (“Intimate Letters”) (1928)
Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence for string sextet, Op. 70 (1890/92)

Verona Quartet 
Jonathan Ong, violin
Dorothy Ro, violin
Abigail Rojansky, viola
Jonathan Dormand, cello

Repertoire
Dvorák: Cypresses (1865; version for string quartet, 1887)
Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73 (1946)
 

Faculty/Guest Recital

Verona Quartet with Chih-Yi Chen 

Verona Quartet
Jonathan Ong, violin
Dorothy Ro, violin
Abigail Rojansky, viola
Jonathan Dormand, cello

Chih-Yi Chen, piano

Repertoire
Brahms: String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51 No. 2
Julia Adolphe: New work for string quartet (t.b.a.)
R. Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major, Op. 44
 

Verona Quartet performs their summer Caramoor concert at the Venetian Theater as the 2018-2019 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence

Dvořák  Selections from Cypresses, B.152
Julia Adolphe  Star-Crossed Signals(2018) (World Premiere, commissioned by Caramoor)
Janáček  String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters”

Rejoice Greatly, O My Soul— Bach Trinity Cantatas II

5:30pm— Amy Pleasant Art Exhibition Opening Reception
6:30pm— Festival Talks I | Pleasant Variations
7:30pm— Performance

The second concert in our series of Bach’s Trinity Cantatas features Canadian Brass trumpet virtuoso Caleb Hudson on the majestic obligato parts. Both Cantatas are paired with new works by Nicolas Namoradze and 2018 Composer-in-Residence Aaron Jay Kernis, transforming some of Bach’s favored dance forms: the stately Chaconne and the upbeat Courante.

Namoradze’s Corrente is an original Chelsea Music Festival commission for triple quartet: the saxophone, string and vocal quartets.

Click here to see a previous Chelsea Music Festival performance of Bach featuring Caleb Hudson on trumpet.

Evening Reception of Sigmund’s Pretzels & Berlin Currywurst sponsored by Pittsburgh Oculoplastic Associates

333 Minutes Of Bach— Master Of The Banquet

6:00pm Part 1— Master of Keys
7:00pm Part 2— Master of Variation
8:00pm Part 3— Master of Dance
9:00pm Part 4— Master of Musical Debate
10:00pm Part 5— Master of Voices | Bach Trinity Cantatas I
11-11:33pm Part 6— Master of Transformation with the Rogério Boccato Ensemble

This evening features 333 Minutes of Bach‘s music including keyboard works, concertos & cantatas, as well as original arrangements & compositions of composers who continue to draw inspiration from Bach, including Kurtag, Gleichauf, Sitkovetsky, & the Barkada Quartet. Composer Eric Nathan’s two suites for orchestra, Dancing with J.S. Bach I and II, will be given their NY Premiere and World Premiere performances, and the evening also features an original cadenza written by 2018 Composer-in-Residence Aaron Jay Kernis for the performance of Bach’s beloved Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Festival favorite and master of percussion, Rogério Boccato, rings out the night with his stellar ensemble and rhythms and their take on Bach.  

BACH333 Culinary Interludes by Chef Eric Takahashi & Chef Daniela Gutstadt made possible by a generous gift from the Texas Friends of the Chelsea Music Festival

Festival Opening Night— There's No Holding Bach

It’s been undeniable for generations since Mendelssohn’s revival almost 200 years ago: there’s no holding Bach. His music engages us in the most unexpected and profound ways. Any way you look at it—craftsmanship, harmonic unfolding, melodic beauty and intent—Bach’s legacy continues to affect the ways we hear and create music today.

The 2018 Chelsea Music Festival's Opening Night launches nine days of celebration around the 333rd birthday of J.S. Bach and his influence on generations of musicians, composers, thinkers, worshippers, artists & listeners. Alongside Bach‘s 5th Brandenburg Concerto, the program features reflections and arrangements on Bach by Sofia Gubaidulina and Max Reger, as well as original works by 2018 Composer-in-Residence Aaron Jay Kernis.

This evening’s concert concludes with a themed reception by Chef Eric Takahashi where audience members can mingle with Festival artists

Memorial Day Concert
Remembering Nikki Langer: A Musical Soul

Haydn String Quartet Op. 50 No. 1

Elgar Piano Quintet (Slow Movement)

Intermission

Dvorak Cypresses no. 2,3,12,9,11

Janacek "Intimate Letters"