Orchestra Of St. Luke's Presents FACETS OF BRAHMS The 2nd Edition Of Its Chamber Music Festival

From June 5-24, 2018, Orchestra of St. Luke's will present Facets of Brahms, the second iteration of the Ensemble's chamber music festival. The three programs, featuring the Orchestra's core 23-member St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, are curated to highlight different perspectives on the musical life of the composer and include Seasons of Brahms, June 5, 6, and 10; Brahms & The Schumanns, with pianist Pedja Muzijevic, June 12, 13, and 17; and Brahms & the Search for a Symphony, June 19, 20, and 24. Discussions led by noted scholars, and musicians will take place prior to each Brahms program.

Brooklyn Museum (200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn), Merkin Concert Hall (129 West 67th Street), and The Morgan Library & Museum (225 Madison Avenue)
TICKETS: Three-concert subscriptions and single tickets are available at The Morgan Library & Museum for $120 and $50, at the Brooklyn Museum for $96 and $40, and at Merkin Concert Hall for $120 and $50. Members at The Morgan and Brooklyn Museum and past OSL subscribers receive an additional discount. Tickets may be purchased by calling 212.594.6100 or visiting OSLmusic.org.

TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2018, 7:30 PM Pre-concert discussion at 6:30 PM Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2018, 7:30 PM The Morgan Library & Museum Pre-concert discussion at 6:30 PM Richard Gilder Chamber Music Series

SUNDAY, JUNE 10, 2018, 2:00 PM Pre-concert discussion at 1:00 PM Brooklyn Museum BRAHMS Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 BRAHMS String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18

At this concert, chamber music masterpieces from Brahms's long career span a lifetime. The String Sextet No. 1, written when the composer was 27, is an utterly confident work reveling in the rich sonorities of two cellos, two violas, and two violins. In the Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, written post-retirement and inspired by the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, the music reflects on a life lived, ending enigmatically at its own beginning. A pre-concert discussion (60 minutes before performance) with WQXR's evening host Terrance McKnight and OSL Clarinetist Jon Manasse will introduce the range of Brahms's oeuvre represented in the works on the program, as well as the singular influence a performer can have on a musical artist, as was the case with the creation of Brahms's Clarinet Quintet. Brahms & The Schumanns

TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2018, 7:30 PM Pre-concert discussion at 6:30 PM Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018, 7:30 PM Pre-concert discussion at 6:30 PM The Morgan Library & Museum Richard Gilder Chamber Music Series

SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 2018, 2:00 PM Pre-concert discussion at 1:00 PM Brooklyn Museum

Soloist: Pedja Muzijevic, Piano BRAHMS "Scherzo" from Sonatensatz in C Minor ROBERT SCHUMANN Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 63 CLARA SCHUMANN Romances for Violin, Op. 22 BRAHMS Horn Trio, Op. 40 Two works by Brahms and two by Clara and Robert Schumann make up this intimate program recalling the complex emotional entanglements among the three composers. On the bill is Brahms's "Scherzo" from the Sonatensatz in C Minor - a collaborative creation that also includes contributions by Robert Schumann and Albert Hermann Dietrich; Robert Schumann's pathos-filled Piano Trio No.1; Clara Schumann's late Romances for Violin, imbued with invention and charm; and Brahms's Horn Trio, Op. 40, based on a theme dating from the year of his first encounter with the Schumanns. A pre-concert discussion, led by Deborah L. Cabaniss, M.D. (Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University) and Thomas Cabaniss (composer and faculty member, The Juilliard School), will explore the composers' intricate, psychologically-charged relationship.

Brahms & the Search for a Symphony

TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2018, 7:30 PM Pre-concert at 6:30 PM Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018, 7:30 PM Pre-concert discussion at 6:30 PM The Morgan Library & Museum Richard Gilder Chamber Music Series

SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2018, 2:00 PM Pre-concert discussion at 1:00 PM Brooklyn Museum

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in N*E*R*D Major, Op. 36, Arranged by Andy Stein BRAHMS Serenade No. 1 in N*E*R*D Major, Op. 11, Reconstructed by Alan Boustead.

The legacy of Beethoven informed much of Brahms's creative life. Beethoven's sunny second symphony - in an arrangement created by composer-violinist Andy Stein especially for St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble - is performed alongside Serenade No. 1 in D, an early work that Brahms considered calling his first symphony. The original nonet version was destroyed when Brahms adapted it into a symphonic version. It was restored in the 1980s by composer-author Alan Boustead. A pre-concert discussion will address the questions: what did Brahms learn from Beethoven?; why did he destroy his first version of the Serenade?; and what can we learn from the creative processes involved in the new versions of the works?

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) began in 1974 as a group of virtuoso musicians performing chamber music concerts at Greenwich Village's Church of St. Luke in the Fields. Now in its 43rd season, the Orchestra performs diverse musical genres at New York's major concert venues and has collaborated with artists ranging from Renée Fleming and Joshua Bell to Bono and Metallica. In fall 2018, celebrated expert in 18th-century music Bernard Labadie will begin his tenure as the Orchestra's fifth Principal Conductor.

OSL's signature programming includes a subscription series presented by Carnegie Hall, now in its 31st season; an annual multi-week collaboration with Paul Taylor American Modern Dance at Lincoln Center; an annual summer residency at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts; and a chamber music festival featuring appearances at The Morgan Library & Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center. The Orchestra has participated in 118 recordings, four of which have won Grammy Awards, has commissioned more than 50 new works, and has given more than 175 world, U.S., and New York City premieres. Nearly half of OSL's performances each year are presented free of charge through its education and community programs, reaching over 10,000 New York City public school students.

Additionally, OSL provides free instrumental coaching and presents student performances through its Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's and its Mentorship Program for Pre-Professional Musicians. OSL built and operates The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Hell's Kitchen, New York City's only rehearsal, recording, education, and performance space expressly dedicated to classical music. The Center serves more than 500 ensembles and more than 30,000 musicians each year. For more information, visit OSLmusic.org.

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