Announcing an Isaac Stern Centennial Event
and the Launch of the Explorers Series
Music@Menlo is delighted to announce the Explorers Series, the most extensive year-round programming to date. As the festival awaits the opportunity to move into its new home, Menlo School’s magnificent Spieker Center for the Arts, we have assembled a digital season, newly-created by a wide ensemble of Music@Menlo artists. From October through May, Music@Menlo will present specially programmed concerts and discussions to be enjoyed by listeners at home and around the world. This series is preceded by an open-access digital celebration of violinist Isaac Stern.
Tribute to Isaac Stern in Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of his Birth
Before the premiere of the Explorers Series, Music@Menlo is presenting a special virtual gathering to remember celebrated violinist and San Francisco native Isaac Stern. 2020 marks the centenary of Mr. Stern’s birth, a fitting opportunity to honor one of the giants of the musical world whose passion for teaching and championing young artists influenced generations of musicians. We will also present a glimpse of Isaac Stern as a chamber musician in historic films of his performances with the Istomin-Stern-Rose trio. This free event is open to all and takes place via Zoom on Sunday, October 4, at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET.
PANELISTS:
Ara Guzelimian, host; Artistic and Executive Director of the Ojai Music Festival, Artistic Consultant, Marlboro Music Festival and School. Former faculty member of Mr. Stern’s chamber music workshops.
Wu Han, Co-Artistic Director of Co-Artistic Director of Music@Menlo; Co-Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
David Finckel, Co-Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; Co-Artistic Director of Music@Menlo; former cellist of the Emerson String Quartet
Michael Stern, Son of Isaac Stern; music director and lead conductor of the Kansas City Symphony; founding artistic director and principal conductor of IRIS Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee.
Presented in partnership with:
October 25, 2020: Vuelta a España
Dmitri Atapine, cello; Hyeyeon Park, piano
Spanish culture holds a place of importance equal to those of the world’s most artistically developed countries. From the composers on this program to the painters Velázquez and Goya to the authors Cervantes and Garcia Lorca, the flavors of Spain are so powerfully distinct that the country of origin is never in question. Spanish culture has for centuries exerted a powerful pull on artists from other lands, and in this program of quintessential Spanish music, the French patriot Debussy can be heard referencing the Spanish guitar. This unique program, designed by pianist Hyeyeon Park with cellist Dmitri Atapine (who grew up in Spain) also includes works by Albéniz, Granados, Cassadó, and Falla.
November 22, 2020: Homage to Beethoven
Wu Han, piano; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; David Finckel, cello
In 2020, the classical music world is celebrating the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth. The composer would struggle through a life and career of severe personal and professional challenges to literally change the art of music and how it was perceived and consumed by the public. This concert pays tribute to his art with a two slices of his rich output for violin and piano, and for piano trio: his daunting “Kreutzer” Sonata from his “heroic” period, and his first published work, the effervescent Piano Trio in E-flat major.
January 17, 2021: Mutual Admiration – Gershwin and Ravel
Kristin Lee, violin; Orion Weiss, piano
Maurice Ravel’s American tour of 1928 took him across this country to major cities, where he was greeted as a celebrity. He had already become fascinated with America after hearing jazz in Paris and was eager to absorb the essence of American musical culture first-hand. His New York activities included hearing jazz at the Cotton Club, and perhaps most famously meeting the great George Gershwin. In this program, we’ll hear the best of France and America in musical synergy with Ravel’s Violin Sonata no. 2 in G major, his Tzigane for Violin and Piano, and George Gershwin’s Five Selections from Porgy and Bess.
February 14, 2021: The Emerson String Quartet
The Emerson String Quartet, formed at the Juilliard School in 1976, continues to be the defining quartet of our time, with an unrivaled history of international concerts, unprecedented repertoire projects, and standard-setting recordings that have garnered nine Grammy Awards. With a program crafted uniquely for Music@Menlo, the Emerson returns to share the time-honed skill and artistry that places the ensemble among history’s greatest. Program to be confirmed.
March 14, 2021: Les Parisiennes
Gilles Vonsattel and Wu Han, piano
Swiss-born pianist Gilles Vonsattel has carved himself an international career as a concerto soloist, recitalist, recording artist and especially as a chamber musician. One of today’s most thoughtful and articulate performers, he has crafted this unique program inspired by love, infatuation, and the women that surrounded fin-de-siècle French composers. Gabriel Fauré’s Dolly Suite, written for the daughter of his mistress, Emma Bardac, features alongside the Petite Suite written by another of Bardac’s lovers, Claude Debussy. Also included is D’un vieux jardin by one of classical music’s most celebrated women composers, Lili Boulanger.
April 18, 2021: Inspired By Menlo – A Benefit
Clara Neubauer, Oliver Neubauer, violins; Laura Liu, viola;
Elena Ariza, cello; Benjamin T. Rossen, piano
Among Music@Menlo’s proudest achievements is the new generation of stellar chamber musicians which has emerged from its Chamber Music Institute. This program, conceived and curated by a quintet of extraordinary young artists, is the first of its kind. The works chosen all relate to formative Music@Menlo experiences, a fitting and inspiring testament to the far-reaching influence of the Institute. (This event is not part of the Explorers Series; tickets will be sold separately and proceeds will benefit the Ann S. Bowers Young Artist Fund.)
May 16, 2021: The String Quartet in America
The Calidore String Quartet
This program celebrates the influence of American culture on the string quartet canon. Erich Wolfgang Korngold, a Viennese-Jewish immigrant, went on to become one of the star composers of Hollywood. In America, he also continued his prolific production of classical works, including his third string quartet which is included in this final Explorers Series concert. Paired with Antonín Dvořák’s American quartet, composed in Spillville, Iowa, this concert pays heartfelt tribute to the inspiration found on our shores.
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