Music Mountain Opens 89th Chamber Season with Full Beethoven String Cycle

Chamber music aficionados will want to mark their calendars for the start of Music Mountain's 89th Season! America's longest running summer chamber music festival kicks off on June 10th with an extremely rare summer event - the Complete Beethoven String Quartet Cycle! The Chamber Music Series will also feature Music Mountain premieres and welcome first time guests and returning favorites! Concerts are scheduled through September 23rd.

The 89th Season launches on Sunday, June 10th with the Opening Concert & Reception featuring the outstanding Shanghai String Quartet performing Beethoven Quartet Cycle Program #1: String Quartet in E Flat Major, Op. 127; String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18 #2; and String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59 #3.

The Shanghai Quartet will perform the complete Six-Concert Beethoven String Quartet Cycle in five consecutive Sundays fromJune 10 through July 8, plus a final concert and reception onSeptember 9 to celebrate the completion of the full cycle.

The season continues with nine quartets playing exceptional programs, including Escher String Quartet, Penderecki String Quartet, Harlem String Quartet, Avalon String Quartet, Amernet String Quartet, St. Petersburg Piano Quartet, Cassatt String Quartet, American String Quartet, and Ariel String Quartet. Fourteen stellar guest artists will also perform this summer, including 2017 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Yekwon Sunwoo, Piano; Victoria Schwartzman, Piano; Fei-Fei Dong, Piano;Soyeon Kate Lee, Piano; Cynthia Phelps, Viola; Ronald Thomas, Cello; Paul Katz, Cello; Peter Serkin, Piano; Amy Cassiere, Oboe;Caitlin Beare, Clarinet; Shannon Hagan, Horn; Adam Romey, Bassoon; Robert McDonald, Piano; and Oskar Espina-Ruiz, Clarinet.

"This is a one-of-a-kind season," stated Music Mountain Artistic Director Oskar Espina-Ruiz. "In addition to the Beethoven Cycle, it includes the complete set of three brilliant Beethoven piano quartets from 1785; the complete Mozart "Prussian" string quartets, the last string quartets Mozart composed; the great piano quintets by Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak, Dohnanyi and Shostakovich; the Mozart and Beethoven quintets for piano and winds featuring Peter Serkin; Shostakovich string quartet numbers 3, 7 and 8; and beloved master works such as Tchaikovsky's String Sextet "Souvenir de Florence;" Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" and "Rosamunde" string quartets, and the Cello Quintet in C Major; as well as Mozart's Clarinet Quintet.

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 89thSeason Opening Concert & Reception featuring Shanghai String Quartet on Sunday, June 10 (3PM) are $75.

Tickets for the Labor Day Benefit Concert & Reception on Sunday, September 2 (3PM) with Peter Serkin, Piano, Amy Cassiere, Oboe, Caitlin Beare, Clarinet, Shannon Hagan, Horn, and Adam Romey, Bassoon, are $75. Tickets for the final Beethoven Quartet Cycle and Wine Reception on Sunday, September 9 (3PM) are $60.

Specially Priced Packages: Music Mountain Gold Pass, includes admission to all concerts and receptions with the artists, priority reserved seating and one $20 guest ticket available for any regularly priced concert, for $780 individual and $1,500 pair, transferable;Beethoven Cycle Package, includes admission to all 6 concerts and 2 receptions with the artists of the Beethoven Cycle, for $225, individual, transferable; Ted Nash VIP Event Pass for June 16, Music Mountain Jazz Series Opening Night, including Green Room Meet & Greet with the artists at 5:30 pm; autographed copy of artist's latest album (CD and vinyl); bottle of wine of artist's own Two Notes label; and priority seating at the concert, $75, individual, transferable.

Concert & Dinner Passes are available for all Twilight Series Concerts for $70, including Pre-Concert Dinner (5pm) at The Fall Village Inn, a Litchfield County landmark-Classic American comfort fare, seasonal-and 6:30 pm Twilight Concert at Music Mountain. Dinner reservations must be made no later than the Friday prior to concert date by calling the Music Mountain box office at 860-824-7126.

Regularly scheduled Chamber Music Concerts are $35. Twilight Series Concerts are $30. 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.

Photo: Shanghai String Quartet: Honggang Li, viola; Nicholas Tzavaras, cello; Weigang Li, violin; Yi-Wen Jiang, violin

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