MN's Accordo Presents A TRIBUTE TO DEBUSSY ON HIS 150th Concert Tonight

The second concert of Accordo’s 2012-13 season is a celebration of the great composer Debussy on his 150th birthday and includes works by Janácek, Ravel, Debussy, and Fauré, selected by members of the ensemble. Special guest Benjamin Hochman, acclaimed pianist and winner of 2011's prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, will join the "chamber music supergroup" (TC Daily Planet) for tonight's December 3 program.

“We wanted to honor Debussy's creative legacy next to his younger colleague Ravel's amazing string quartet (inspired by Debussy's own ten years before) and Ravel's teacher Fauré’s lush, romantic c minor piano quartet,” said Accordo member Steven Copes. “Incidentally, both Debussy and Fauré had widely divergent opinions about Ravel's 1903 quartet! Czech composer Janácek's eclectic violin sonata is, of course, the odd man out, but his harmonic daring and use of sound colors and effects feel a natural fit next to progressive musical innovator such as Claude Debussy.”

“The presenting partners continue to be thrilled by their involvement with Accordo,” said Northrop Concerts & Lectures Director Ben Johnson. “In light of what is happening in the classical music scene in the Twin Cities, I am heartened by the fact that we are doing our part to support and sustain our community’s best artists.”

Accordo, established in 2009, is a Minnesota-based chamber group made up of some of the very best instrumentalists in the country, eager to share their love of classical and contemporary chamber music in intimate and unique performance spaces. Its fourth season (2012-13) will be presented by The Schubert Club, Northrop Concerts and Lectures, and Kate Nordstrum Projects at the National Historic Landmark Christ Church Lutheran, one of the Twin Cities’ great architectural treasures designed by the esteemed architect Eliel Saarinen and his son Eero Saarinen.

Accordo includes a string octet composed of Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra principal players Rebecca Albers, Ruggero Allifranchini, Steven Copes, Erin Keefe, Kyu-Young Kim, Maiya Papach, and Anthony Ross; and former SPCO principal cellist Ronald Thomas.

Program
A Tribute to Debussy on his 150th
TONIGHT, December 3, 2012, 7:30pm
Janá?ek: Sonata for Violin & Piano
Ravel: String Quartet in F major
Debussy: Selected Preludes for Solo Piano
Fauré: Piano Quartet in C minor, Opus 15

Upcoming programs
In the Footsteps of Bach
Monday, February 4, 2013, 7:30 pm
Bach/Mozart: Prelude & Fugue for String Trio, K. 404a
Hindemith: String Quartet No. 4, Opus 22
Brahms: String Sextet in B flat, Opus 18

Intimate Voices
Monday, May 6, 2013, 7:30 pm
Sibelius: String Quartet in d minor, Opus 56, ‘Voces Intimae’
Kodály: Duo for Violin & Cello, Opus 7
Dvorák: Viola Quintet in E flat Major, Opus 97

Event details
Concerts: Mondays at 7:30pm
Venue: Christ Church Lutheran, 3244 34th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55406
Tickets: $24 adult, $22 senior/U of M Alumni, $12 student

Box office:
Online: www.schubert.org/accordo
By phone: 651-292-3268
Day of concert: Christ Church Lutheran, 3244 34th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55406
Mon, 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Pending availability.

Post concert: Musicians and patrons gather in the Luther Lounge after each Accordo concert for complimentary drinks courtesy of Alliance Française and small bites courtesy of the Seward Co-op.