Music Mountain Opens 88th Summer of Chamber & Twilight Music

Chamber & Jazz music enthusiasts will want to mark their calendars for the start of Music Mountain's 88th Season! Music Mountain President, Nicholas Gordon announced America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival will kick off on June 11th with a summer featuring Beethoven and favorite Piano Quintets! The Summer Season will also welcome the award-winning clarinetist Oskar Espina-Ruiz as the new Artistic Director for the organization. Concerts are scheduled through September 17th. (see full chamber & twilight music schedules below)

The 88th Season launches on Sunday, June 11th with the Opening Concert & Reception featuring the incomparable pianist Peter Serkin along with Stefan Jackiw, Violin, and Jay Campbell, Cello performing Haydn: Piano Trio in G Major, Hob.XV:25, Opus 73 # 2 "Gypsy"; Schubert: Piano Trio in B Flat Major, Opus 99, D 898; and Beethoven: Piano Trio in B Flat Major, Opus 97, "Archduke."

The season continues with ten string quartets playing exceptional programs, including Cassatt String Quartet, Arianna String Quartet, Penderecki String Quartet, Ariel Quartet, Harlem String Quartet, Aeolus String Quartet, Daedalus String Quartet, Shanghai String Quartet, Amernet String Quartet, and The Juilliard String Quartet. The St. Petersburg Piano Quartet returns again with two noteworthy programs. Sixteen esteemed guest artists will also play this summer, including Alexander Fiterstein, Clarinet; Michael Brown, Piano; Nicholas Canellakis, Cello; Mihae Lee, Piano; Anna Polonsky, Piano; Victoria Schwartzman, Piano; Leopoldo Erice, Piano; Fei-Fei Dong, Piano; Geoffrey Burleson, Piano; Tanya Bannister, Piano; Qing Jiang, Piano; and Vivek Kamath, Viola. The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players open the Twilight Music series on Saturday, June 17 (6:30PM) with a delightful staged concert version of The Pirates of Penzance plus favorite selections from the rest of the G&S repertoire.

The season continues with some of the best jazz groups playing today, including The New Black Eagle Jazz Band, Swingtime Big Band, The Peter & Will Anderson Trio, Alexis Cuadrado Group, Anouman Gypsy Jazz Quartet, Alan Ferber Nonet, Ben Kono Group, Ryan Keberle & Catharsis, Todd Marcus Quintet, Michael Berkeley, The Galvanized Jazz Band, and Jive By Five.

Music Mountain is located in Falls Village, Connecticut on Music Mountain Road, where a short scenic drive will bring you to GorDon Hall atop Music Mountain. Free parking and picnic facilities are available. Music Mountain is supported, in part, by the Connecticut Commission On Culture & Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Specially Priced Concerts are as Follows: Tickets for the 88th Season Opening Concert & Reception on Sunday, June 11 (3PM) are $75. Tickets to the Sunday, July 2 (3PM) Piano 4 Hands Concert with Peter Serkin & Anna Polonsky are $60. Tickets for the Labor Day Benefit Concert & Reception on Sunday, September 3 (3PM) with The Shanghai String Quartet, guest artist Qing Jiang, piano, are $75. Tickets for the closing concert on Sunday, September 17 (3PM) with The Juilliard String Quartet are $60.

Twilight Series Concerts are $30. Pre-Concert Dinners (5pm) at The Fall Village Inn are $70 (includes dinner & concert). Regularly scheduled Chamber Music Concerts are $35. Children ages 5-18 are admitted FREE for ALL CONCERTS when accompanied by a ticket holder. Saturday evening Twilight Concerts are at 6:30pm. Sunday afternoon Chamber Music concerts are at 3pm. 4-Pak Pre-Season Ticket Vouchers are available for $100. Discounts apply through participating organizations.

For a complete summer schedule, special ticket prices, and to download a ticket order form visit www.musicmountain.org or call 860-824-7126.