Orchestra Of St. Luke's Begins 2019-20 Chamber Series In Nov. With 'Baroque Storytelling: Don Quixote'

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) 2019-20 Chamber Music Series opens this November with Baroque programmatic music and then turns to Beethoven's 250th birthday with two concerts in March and May 2020. The annual Chamber Music Series anchors every season, showcasing St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, the group that forms the artistic core of OSL. Concerts take place at The Morgan Library & Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Merkin Hall.

The series opens with a concert titled Baroque Storytelling: Don Quixote. Telemann's Don Quixotte Ouverture-Suite is the program's centerpiece. Written in seven movements, the overture takes the listener on Don Quixote's journey from his dreams of adventure and romance through his chivalrous love for Dulcinea and his battle with the windmill. Performances take place on November 24, Brooklyn Museum; December 3, Merkin Hall; and December 4, The Morgan Library & Museum.

In Spring 2020, pianist Paavali Jumppanen joins the Ensemble for the first of two all-Beethoven programs celebrating the composer's 250th birthday. Beethoven's Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major and Ferdinand Ries's arrangement of the "Eroica" Symphony for piano quartet are the featured works. A noted Beethoven expert, Jumppanen has recorded many of Beethoven's works for piano and has written extensively about the composer. Performances take place on March 24, Merkin Concert Hall; March 25, The Morgan Library & Museum; and March 29, Brooklyn Museum.

St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble's Beethoven celebration continues in the spring with one of the composer's grandest chamber works, the Septet in E-flat Major. Written in 1800, just before his First Symphony, the Septet is almost symphonic in its rich, varied texture created by the combination of strings and woodwinds-an ideal piece for the Ensemble to honor this great composer. Performances are on May 5, Merkin Hall; May 6, The Morgan Library & Museum; and May 10, Brooklyn Museum.

For a schedule of all Orchestra of St. Luke's performances through June 2020, visit OSLmusic.org.