Sherman Chamber Ensemble Masterpiece Series Kicks Off July 13 and 14

 

Sherman Chamber Ensemble Masterpiece Series

Kicks Off July 13 and 14

Since 1982, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, under the artistic direction of Eliot Bailen, has inspired audiences with creative programming and brilliant performances.

On Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14 its Signature Summer Concert Series kicks off as the Ensemble and friends celebrate with The Great Schubert Quintet, featuring a trio of musicians from Holland.

The program includes: Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” flute, violin, viola (Beethoven); Voyage for Flute and Strings (Corigliano); Impresiones de la Puna (Ginastera) and Quintet in C Major (Schubert).

Returning to the Ensemble that evening are special guests Elisabeth Perry (violin), Concertmaster Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Richard Wolfe (viola), Principal Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Matthias Naegele (cello) , International Soloist and Chamber Musician.  All are members of The Rietveld Ensemble based in Utrecht,

The Netherlands.

Executive Director Liba Furhman said, “This year we are adding new venues and programs to our Summer Series.”

The 7:30 pm Friday evening concert will take place in Amenia, NY at the historic Smithfield Church.  The Greek-revival building dates to 1847.  On Saturday the Ensemble will perform at 8 p.m. at RT Facts Gallery in the Kent Barns complex in Kent, CT – surrounded by classical antiques and bold custom furniture.  Both venues will make for magical evenings of fine music.

A “Meet and Greet” the artist’s reception will follow the performances.

Concerts venues are Friday, July 13, 7:30 p.m. at The Smithfield Church, 656 Smithfield Valley Road, Route 83, Amenia, NY and Saturday, July 14, 8 p.m. – RT Facts Gallery,

8 Old Barn Road, Kent Barns, corner of Main Street (Route 7) and Maple Street, (Route 341), Kent, CT,

General Admission to the concerts is $30.  Senior and Student admission is $25.   Children 15 and under receive free admission when accompanied by an adult purchasing a regular admission ticket.  Tickets may be purchased at ShermanChamberEnsemble.org or by calling 860-355-5930.  Tickets may also be purchased at the door subject to availability.

 

The Chamber Ensemble’s concert schedule continues on August 10 and 11 with The Heart and Soul of Beethoven, Op. 132. Susan Rotholz (flute), Jill Levy (violin), Doori Na (violin), Michael Roth (viola) and Eliot Bailen (cello) perform.

The program includes: Eyeglass duo for viola and cello (Beethoven), East Wind – flute solo (Ran), Quartet arr. for flute and strings, Op. 77, No. 1 (Haydn) and String Quartet, Op. 132 (Beethoven.)

Saturday’s concert is dedicated to the memory of Mary Rindfleisch, long-time Sherman Chamber Ensemble volunteer and executive director, and a lover of music, family and friends.

The season culminates with Israeli-born pianist Benjamin Hochman. Described by the New York Times as a “gifted, fast-rising artist” his eloquent and virtuosic performances

blend colorful artistry with poetic interpretation exciting audiences and critics alike. The Kansas City Star said of him, “Such breathless perfection that time seemed to stand still.” He’ll be joined by Susan Rotholz (flute), Jill Levy (violin), Doori Na (violin), Michael Roth (viola) and Eliot Bailen (cello).

The program includes: Piano Trio (Bernstein), Duo for Flute and Piano (Copland), West Side Story Medley Arr. Moss (Bernstein) and Piano Quartet No. 2 in Eb Major, Op. 87, (Dvořák).

The August and September Friday evening concerts will be at the intimate and acoustically excellent St. Andrew’s Church on Main Street in Kent, CT and the August and September Saturday evening performances will take place at the Lake Mauweehoo Clubhouse, Leach Hollow Road in Sherman, CT.

All performances start at 8 p.m. and are followed by a reception offering light refreshments and an opportunity to meet the performers.

General admission is $30 and $25 for students and seniors. Children 15 and under are free when accompanied by an adult purchasing admission ticket.  Reservations are strongly recommended and may be made by calling 860-355-5930.  Tickets may also be purchased online at www.shermanchamberensemble.org.

Discounted subscription tickets are now available for the full summer concert series.  For a season brochure or more information, contact the Sherman Chamber Ensemble at 860-355-5930 or info@shermanchamberensemble.org.

 

The Sherman Chamber Ensemble was founded in 1982 to bring world-class live classical music performance to Western Connecticut and nearby New York State.  Its summer chamber music series has been described in The New York Times as “about as close as it gets to the Platonic ideal of a chamber music concert.” Additional events coming later this year include Labor Day weekend bluegrass jamborees; the annual “Live at the Lake” coffeehouse; and Thanksgiving weekend classical-jazz matinee performances.

 

Elisabeth Perry

 

The versatile British violinist Elisabeth Perry is widely acclaimed for her contributions to all facets of the musical métier. Applauded for her virtuosity in the standard repertoire, an avid proponent of contemporary music, a committed chamber musician, dedicated pedagogue and an internationally renowned concertmaster, Ms. Perry has reaped unanimous praise for her ability to convey urgency while emphasizing the distinctive lyrical and dramatic qualities in a large repertoire.

Ms. Perry showed great musical talent at an early age. She was privileged to join the first class of pupils at Yehudi Menuhin’s school in Surrey. At the age of fourteen, Perry shared center stage with Lord Menuhin in a memorable Royal Albert Hall concert and subsequently recorded the Bach Double Violin Concerto for Teldec. Perry has been a welcome guest soloist with Britain’s leading orchestras including the London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Generous grants allowed her to continue her studies at the Juilliard School of Music in the famed classes of Dorothy Delay and Oscar Shumsky. Making her mark in the United States, Perry won New York’s prestigious Concert Artists Guild Competition and was invited to perform Bartok’s Second Violin Concerto in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall.

A passion for contemporary music and a commitment to expanding the violin repertoire led to many acclaimed premieres. Perry was the first to champion Alfred Schnittke’s quasi una sonata performing its US premiere at Alice Tully Hall. Critically acclaimed recordings bear testimony to her premieres of works by Michael Nyman and Andrew Poppy and her American Heritage series cd recording of Leon Kirschner’s Duo for violin and piano was released in 1984.

Renowned for her leadership skills in the orchestral sphere, Ms. Perry served as concertmaster of the Deutsche Kammerakademie from 1985 to 1990. She holds the position of First Concertmaster of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic with numerous recordings and concert tours to her credit.

Ms. Perry’s list of prestigious awards includes the Greater London Arts Award and the ISM Award.

 

Richard Wolfe

 

Richard Wolfe was born and raised in New York City. He studied violin with Aaron Shapinsky and Dorothy DeLay and graduated from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio in the class of Walter Levin (primarius of the LaSalle Quartet).

Richard then spent five years in Israel and was for three years a member of the Israel Chamber Orchestra.  It was during this time, and at the request of chief conductor Rudolph Barshai, that he began to play the viola as a serious endeavor.

In 1982 Richard moved to Amsterdam and joined the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (NKO) in 1984, where he was appointed solo violist in 1986.  Since then, he has appeared numerous times as soloist with the NKO, both in the Netherlands and abroad.  In the season 2016-17 Richard is scheduled to perform and record Mozart’s ‘Symfonie Concertante’ with the NKO and its artistic leader, Gordan Nikolić.

He teaches viola at the conservatories of Utrecht and Amsterdam, and he is a passionate chamber music player, having collaborated with artists such as Sergiu Luca and Roel Dieltiens, as well as being a member of the Bellamy String Quartet.

Richard plays on an anonymous Milanese viola built around 1800, and also owns, and is enjoying discovering, a new viola made by the Amsterdam luthier Bengt Widlund.

 

Matthias Naegele

 

Cellist Matthias Naegele has performed extensively as soloist and chamber musician in Europe, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Asia. He has participated in several music festivals including the Marlboro, Apple Hill, Dubrovnik, Jerusalem, Curagao, California State Summer Arts, Aspen, International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, and the Edinburgh Festivals.

Many of Naegele’s performances have been broadcast over National Public Radio and Public Television in the United States as well as on Dutch, French, Austrian, BBC radio, and BBC television.

Matthias has performed with numerous chamber music ensembles, including the Utrecht based Cugnon Project and the contemporary ensemble Insomnio, the Chamber Music Society of New York University, Anthony Newman’s Brandenburg Collegium, the Chamber Music Society of New Jersey, Sergio Luca’s Context, An Die Musik, and the New York based microtonal group New Band.

He has participated in many series including the Lincoln Center Great Performers Series in New York, and the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam. Matthias recordings include the New Jersey Chamber Music Society for Koch International, Prometheus Piano Quartet for Centaur Records, with soprano Dawn Upshaw for Nonesuch and with his father, violinist Philipp Naegele for Musical Heritage Society and Beyer Records.

Matthias plays on a Mateo Gofriller cello made in Venice in 1735. This cello was previously owned by Hermann Busch of the Busch Quartet.

 

Benjamin Hochman

 

Pianist Benjamin Hochman’s eloquent and virtuosic performances blend colorful artistry with poetic interpretation exciting audiences and critics alike. He performs in major cities around the world as a respected orchestral soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, working with a celebrated array of renowned conductors and colleagues.

An impassioned and intelligent exponent of diverse composers, from Bach and Mozart to Kurtág and Lieberson, he strives to express the essence of each composer’s works, resulting in interpretations that the Vancouver Sun described as “stylish and lucid, with patrician authority and touches of elegant wit where context allows.”  Possessed of an intellectual and heartfelt musical inquisitiveness, Mr. Hochman frequently juxtaposes familiar works with the unfamiliar in his concert programs to help illuminate each work for the listener, a talent further illustrated by his thoughtful recorded repertoire.

Winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2011, Mr. Hochman previously made his New York recital debut in 2006 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, proceeding to establish a vibrant and venerated musical presence in New York City through concerts with the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra, his Carnegie Hall debut with the Israel Philharmonic and a succession of prominent recital and chamber performances at 92nd Street Y.  Following his debut with the Chicago Symphony in a Mozart Piano Concerto project with Pinchas Zukerman and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, he performed his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut at the Hollywood Bowl and was engaged for three subscription series with the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Under the early influence of Otto Werner Mueller at Curtis and with a deep admiration for the rich orchestral repertoire, Mr. Hochman has recently pursued serious conducting studies. They resulted in Mr. Hochman’s appointment as the musical assistant to Louis Langrée and guest conductors at the 2016 Mostly Mozart Festival, including Thierry Fischer, Jeffrey Kahane, Matthew Halls and Paavo Järvi. He has served as assistant conductor at the Orlando Philharmonic, and led the Roosevelt Island Symphony, an ensemble consisting of New York’s top musicians and ensembles, in performance.

This season he conducts members of The Orchestra Now and serves as an assistant conductor to Leon Botstein for American Symphony Orchestra’s concerts at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Alice Tully Hall.

In 2009, Mr. Hochman’s debut solo recording of works by Bach, Berg, and Webern was released by Artek. He recorded his second solo album, titled Homage to Schubert, for Avie records in 2013. It features Schubert’s Sonata in A, D. 664, and Sonata in D, D.

850, alongside contemporary tributes to Schubert: Jörg Widmann’s Idyll und Abgrund: Six Schubert Reminiscences and Kurtág’s Homage to Schubert.

In 2014, Mr. Hochman performed a program of Variations by contemporary composers Luciano Berio, Oliver Knussen, Frederic Rzewski and the world premiere of Tamar Muskal’s Frédéric Variations presented by 92nd Street Y at SubCulture. Of this performance, Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times observed: “… as I listened to the pianist Benjamin Hochman’s sensitive, exciting renditions of four contemporary works that explore the form of theme and variation (including one premiere), I kept thinking that classical music doesn’t get better than this.”   This performance was also recognized by Mr. Tommasini as one of his top ten classical music events of that year.

In 2015, Mr. Hochman released Variations on the Avie Record label based on his recital of the same title. He has also recorded chamber music by Lawrence Dillon (with the Daedalus Quartet, Bridge Records) and by Lisa Bielawa (Innova Recordings).

Mr. Hochman has performed with the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Houston, Seattle, Vancouver, New Jersey, American and Portland Symphonies, the New York String Orchestra, IRIS Orchestra in Memphis, Prague Philharmonia, Istanbul State Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada under eminent conductors such as David Robertson, Gianandrea Noseda, John Storgårds, Pinchas Zukerman, Jun Märkl, Leon Botstein, Bramwell Tovey, Jahja Ling, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Kaspar Zehnder, Michael Stern, Jaime Laredo and Joshua Weilerstein. He has appeared in his native Israel with several orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, and the Tel Aviv Soloists.

Past festival highlights include Marlboro, Ravinia, Caramoor, Santa Fe, Bard, Gilmore, and Vail in North America, as well as international festivals such as Lucerne, Spoleto, Verbier, Ruhr, Israel Festival and Prussia Cove. Mr. Hochman has performed internationally at such major halls as the Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Konzerthaus, Concertgebouw, the Louvre, Liszt Academy in Budapest, Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Tivoli Theatre in Copenhagen, l’Auditori de Barcelona, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Kumho Art Hall in Seoul. A masterful collaborator, Benjamin Hochman has worked with the Tokyo, Shanghai, Mendelssohn, Casals, Prazak and Daedalus Quartets, Zukerman ChamberPlayers, members of the Guarneri, Juilliard and Orion String Quartets, Jonathan Biss, Cho-Liang Lin and Ani Kavafian, Miklós Perényi and Ralph Kirshbaum. A dedicated advocate for contemporary music, he has worked closely with composers Kaija Saariaho, Krzysztof Penderecki, Philippe Hurel, Brett Dean, Tamar Muskal, David Ludwig and Menachem Wiesenberg, among others.

Benjamin Hochman has been selected to participate in prestigious residencies around the world such as CMS Two at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Isaac Stern’s International Chamber Music Encounters in Israel and Carnegie Hall’s Professional Training Workshops with Osvaldo Golijov and Dawn Upshaw.

Mr. Hochman received the “Outstanding Pianist” citation at the Verbier Academy, the Festorazzi Award from the Curtis Institute of Music, second prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, the “Partosh Prize” awarded by the Israeli Minister of Culture for best performance of an Israeli work and first prize at the National Piano Competition of the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem.

His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio’s Young Artist Showcase and Performance Today, WNET’s Sunday Arts, WQXR, CBC (Canada), ABC (Australia), Radio France and Israel’s Voice of Music radio station, as well as on the European television network Mezzo.

Born in Jerusalem, Benjamin Hochman began his studies at the Conservatory of the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem and is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Mannes College of Music where his principal teachers were Claude Frank and Richard Goode. His studies were supported by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. He is currently on the piano faculty of Bard College Conservatory of Music. Benjamin Hochman is a Steinway Artist and lives in New York City.

Author: Harlem Valley News