Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Spring Series' Returns For Fifth Year

By: Jan. 04, 2019
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Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Spring Series' Returns For Fifth Year

The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival's spring series is turning five. BCMF Spring 2019, three 5:00 pm concerts - Saturdays in March and May, a Sunday in April - is marking this first milestone on the heels of the 35th anniversary this past summer of BCMF, the longest-running classical music festival on Long Island.

"When we started our spring series five years ago, we knew that there were music lovers looking for more opportunities to hear excellent chamber music year round, and we have been thrilled by the overwhelming response from the community," said BCMF Artistic Director Marya Martin. "We've put together a terrific set of programs and can't wait to present them to our East End audience!"

Watch Alan Alda's introduction and the first movement of Mendelssohn's Octet from BCMF 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=83JA-dxv6Og

Watch the second movement of Kenji Bunch's Summer Hours for Piano & Wind Quintet from BCMF 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=Vmo7Kimdvxk

In true BCMF fashion, the 2019 spring series features new guests and "old" friends. On March 23, pianists Orion Weiss and Shai Wosner - BCMF favorites both - become a piano duo to perform a program combining masterpieces by Schubert and Brahms with two works for piano four-hands by David Lang. On April 14, the acclaimed Jerusalem Quartet makes its BCMF debut with a program combining the two masterpieces of French quartet repertoire, those by Debussy and Ravel, with Bartók's Fifth String Quartet. And on May 11, a rich program of German Baroque chamber music is played by flutist Marya Martin and BCMF returning artists James Austin Smith, oboe; Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; and Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord. (See complete programs below.)

Pianist Orion Weiss has a particular attachment to the East End: "I've been coming out to the Hamptons regularly since I was 14 years old," he said. "Many of my most inspiring and formative musical experiences took place in that magical part of the world. Pianofest in the Hamptons, The Perlman Music Program and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival were major sites in my musical youth and are now some of the happiest parts of my musical middle-age! In the off-season, when it's both colder and quieter, the Hamptons have a really special sort of excitement - being there feels like walking around in a museum after hours or maybe like being the first guest at a party."

The BCMF's 36th summer season, which will take place in July and August 2019, will be announced in May.

Subscribers receive a discount for the three-concert BCMF Spring series, and a student ticket price of $10 will be available. For subscriptions, single tickets priced at $40 and $60, and information on student tickets, visit www.bcmf.org or call 212-741-9403.

"This longtime East End festival, directed by the flutist Marya Martin," said The New Yorker, "has flourished by offering concerts both effervescent and distinguished." In the 35 years since its founding, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival has become known for presenting a broad range of music performed by some of the best musicians in the world in one of the most beautiful seaside settings on the East Coast. Currently comprising more than a dozen events over four weeks, BCMF has developed a loyal core audience among the local residents and summer visitors to this East End town since the festival debuted with four artists in two concerts in the intimate setting of the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church. The festival is still based in the graceful 1842 church-which boasts glowing acoustics-and has gradually expanded to include other special event venues, including the Channing Sculpture Garden and Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton and the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill.

In October, Sony Masterworks released a recording of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale performed by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters and musicians from the BCMF, the result of a years-long collaboration between Waters and Marya Martin. Of the CD, NPR's Lloyd Schwartz said, "When I first heard about this recording, I was suspicious that it was going to be just a gimmick to cash in on Waters' fame. But Waters is surrounded by the terrific musicians of the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, including Colin Jacobsen, one of the founding members of the popular string quartet Brooklyn Rider, playing the devilishly difficult solo violin part. This is a seriously enjoyable addition to the Stravinsky catalog." http://www.bcmf.org/media/Soldiers_tale/

Committed to presenting a wide variety of music with emphasis on American composers, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival has commissioned works from Pulitzer Prize-winners Paul Moravec, Kevin Puts, and Ned Rorem, in addition to works by composers Bruce Adolphe, Kenji Bunch, Bruce MacCombie, and Mark O'Connor, and features each season between 10 and 15 contemporary works.

BCMF features video excerpts from previous concerts-performances of complete works and select movements-on its website: www.bcmf.org/media


One of the most sought-after soloists in his generation of young American musicians, the pianist Orion Weiss has performed with the major American orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic. His deeply felt and exceptionally crafted performances and his technical mastery and have won him worldwide acclaim. www.orionweiss.com

Pianist Shai Wosner has attracted international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity, and creative insight. His performances of a broad range of repertoire - from Beethoven and Schubert to Ligeti and the music of today - reflect a degree of virtuosity and intellectual curiosity that has made him a favorite among audiences and critics. Mr. Wosner's latest solo recording, Impromptu (Onyx Classics), features an eclectic mix of improvisation-inspired works by composers from Beethoven and Schubert to Gershwin and Ives. www.shaiwosner.com

The Jerusalem Quartet is a regular and beloved guest on the world's great concert stages. The quartet records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi, and in the spring of 2019 will release a unique album exploring Jewish music in Central Europe between the wars and its far-reaching influence. The fall of 2018 featured a U.S. tour featuring string sextets by Strauss, Schoenberg and Tchaikovsky with Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth. After a second U.S. tour in April, Bartok's six string quartets will be presented at London's Wigmore Hall in May and then combined with Beethoven and performed in various venues in Bavaria. www.jerusalem-quartet.com

Marya Martin

Internationally acclaimed flutist Marya Martin enjoys a musical career of remarkable breadth and achievement. Gracefully balancing the roles of chamber musician, festival director, soloist, teacher, and supporter of musical institutions, she has performed throughout the world in such halls as London's Royal Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall, Sydney Opera House, Casals Hall in Tokyo, and other international venues.

A native of New Zealand, Ms. Martin studied at Yale University, and shortly thereafter moved to Paris to study with flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal. After winning top prizes in the Naumburg, Munich International, and Jean-Pierre Rampal International competitions, and the Concert Artists Guild and Young Concert Artists International Auditions-all within a two-year period-she returned to the U.S. and has since appeared as a soloist with major orchestras and at leading festivals and chamber music series throughout the country.

In 2006 she received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Auckland, and in 2011 received the Ian Mininberg Distinguished Service Award from Yale University. Committed to expanding the flute repertoire, she has commissioned more than 20 new works. She most recently commissioned eight works for flute and piano comprising Eight Visions, an anthology published by Theodore Presser, and recorded them for the Naxos label. In 2011, Albany Records released Marya Martin Plays Eric Ewazen. Ms. Martin has been a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music since 1996.


Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Presents

BCMF SPRING 2019

Saturday, March 23, 2019, at 5:00 pm

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

Orion Weiss and Shai Wosner, Piano Duo

BCMF's 2019 spring season kicks off with two titans of the piano, Orion Weiss and Shai Wosner. Both have appeared separately with BCMF in the past, but the duo has teamed up for a glorious program that pairs intimate gems by David Lang with masterpieces by Schubert and Brahms.

Lang gravity for Piano, Four Hands (2005)

Schubert Sonata in C Major D812 for Piano Four Hands, D812 "Gran Duo" (1824)

Lang after gravity for Piano, Four Hands (2008)

Brahms Sonata in F Minor for Two Pianos, Op. 34b (1864)

Orion Weiss, piano; Shai Wosner, piano

Tickets: $60, $40, $10 student tickets


Sunday, April 14, 2019, at 5:00 pm

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

Jerusalem Quartet

Among the world's finest string quartets, the Jerusalem Quartet will bring their passionate, precise, and warm performance style to Bridgehampton for the very first time. Seminal quartets by French masters are beautifully balanced by Bartok's Fifth String Quartet.

Debussy String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 (1893)

Bartók String Quartet No. 5 Sz. 102, BB 110 (1934)

Ravel String Quartet in F major (1902-03)

Jerusalem Quartet: Alexander Pavlovsky, violin; Sergei Bresler, violin; Ori Kam, viola; Kyril Zlotnikov, cello

Tickets: $60, $40, $10 student tickets


Saturday, May 11, 2019, at 5:00 pm

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

German Baroque Masterpieces

Germany stood at the center of musical thinking during much of the Baroque period. This program presents works from that heady time by some of the country's greatest composers: the masters Handel, Telemann, and J.S. Bach, as well as Dietrich Buxtehude and Johann Fasch.

Fasch Sonata in B-flat major for Flute, Oboe, Violin and Continuo, FaWV N:B1 (ca. 1740)

Handel Trio Sonata No. 6 in G minor for Violin, Oboe, and Continuo, Op.2, HWV 391 (1733)

J.S. Bach Violin Sonata in G major, BWV 1021 (ca 1730-1734)

J.S. Bach Trio Sonata for Flute, Oboe, and continuo in G major, BWV 1038

Buxtehude Sonata in A major for Violin, Cello, and Harpsichord, Op. 2, No. 5 (ca. 1696)

Telemann Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Violin and Continuo in D minor from Tafelmusik, Part II,

Two TWV 43:d1 (ca. 1733-60)

Marya Martin, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe; Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Kenneth Weiss, harpsichord

Tickets: $60, $40, $10 student tickets


For subscriptions, single tickets priced at $40 and $60, and information on student tickets, visit www.bcmf.org or call 212-741-9403.



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