Close Encounters with Music Presents Grand Piano Trios
Press ReleasesMARCH 22, 2018 -- The remarkably versatile composer-pianist-conductor-painter-gymnast Felix Mendelssohn personifies genius and musical prodigy and his second Piano Trio in C minor (1845) is a true expression of the exquisite sensibility of his life and art. Bedřich Smetana’s profoundly moving Piano Trio in G minor of 1855 was composed after the death of his daughter; its style is close to that of Robert Schumann, with hints of Liszt, Wagner and Berlioz. Two of today’s brightest young performers join cellist Yehuda Hanani for a juxtaposition of these passionate works, written in classic mid-19th-century style, full of beauty and riveting melodies.
Close Encounters with Music Presents the Ariel String Quartet Performing Works by Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Leos Janacek – the String Quartet as Psychological Drama
Press ReleasesFEBRUARY 8, 2018 -- Three “storied” string quartets share the theme of a love triangle. The first three years of Schumann’s marriage to his beloved Clara Wieck were an exceedingly productive period for the young composer, and the time when he focused on the genre of the string quartet, producing the String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, one of the most poignant and satisfying of his works. Brahms, Clara’s platonic and cherished confidante and friend, reportedly destroyed some twenty string quartets before allowing the two Op. 51 quartets to be published, the achingly beautiful A minor No. 2 being one of these.
Close Encounters with Music Presents “A Close Encountertenor” — 2017 MET Audition Winner Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen Performs English Songs, Yehuda Hanani Plays Back Gamba Sonatas
Press ReleasesJANUARY 8, 2018 -- Three “storied” string quartets share the theme of a love triangle. The first three years of Schumann’s marriage to his beloved Clara Wieck were an exceedingly productive period for the young composer, and the time when he focused on the genre of the string quartet, producing the String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, one of the most poignant and satisfying of his works. Brahms, Clara’s platonic and cherished confidante and friend, reportedly destroyed some twenty string quartets before allowing the two Op. 51 quartets to be published, the achingly beautiful A minor No. 2 being one of these. Identified as one of opera's most promising rising stars, in 2017 he received a Richard Tucker Music Foundation grant, made his European debut at the Theater an der Wien and was named a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition.
Close Encounters with Music Presents “Souvenir De Florence-An Italian Holiday Celebration”– with the Amernet String Quartet
Press ReleasesNOVEMBER 9, 2017 -- The Italian fixation that runs deep in the collective artistic psyche is on musical display Saturday, December 9, 6PM. It was de rigueur for 19th century painters, musicians and literary types—Byron, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn—to make the Grand Tour to Rome and Florence, imbibe the classicism, passion, bel canto, and expressivity that are hallmarks of Italian art, and bring them home to their studios where memories of the sunshine sustained them in chilly northern Europe. The centerpiece of the program is Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, written as he recovered from a disastrous marriage and developed an infatuation with the city that spawned the Renaissance. Florence worked its magic on Tchaikovsky, and the result is one of the most delightful and charming pieces in the repertory for string sextet. This Italian showcase includes Chrysanthemums, the only chamber music Puccini ever wrote; works by the Venetian Vivaldi; Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade; and a Verdi string quartet. Bellissimo!
Close Encounters with Music Presents “The Politics of Opera” with Author and Scholar Mitchell Cohen Conversations with… Series of Talks Continues with Intimate and Stimulating Conversations About Music and Ideas
Press ReleasesOCTOBER 13, 2017 -- To what extent do operas express the political and cultural ideas of their age? How do story lines, harmonies and musical motifs reflect the composer's view of the changing relations among art, politics, and society? Mitchell Cohen, who combines his academic expertise in political science and lifelong interest in the spectacle of opera in his new book (The Politics of Opera—A History from Monteverdi to Mozart, Princeton Press), will underscore the political dimensions of libretti and ideological elements of opera, which absorbs and mirrors currents of the day in dramatic dress-up. Professor of political science at Baruch College and the Graduate School of CUNY, he has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, The Times Literary Supplement (London), Les Temps Modernes (Paris), and edited Princeton Readings in Political Thought (1995) and Rebels and Reactionaries: An Anthology of Great Political Stories (1992). Your next night at the opera won’t be the same!
Close Encounters with Music Launches 26th Anniversary with its Signature Mix of Innovative Programs- Season Starts Strong with Titans of Chamber Music October 21 Finishing with a Dazzling Leonard Bernstein Tribute June 9, Celebrity Talks, Mid-Winter Fireside Concert; Commissions, Collaborations, Celebrations All Season
Press ReleasesOCTOBER 6, 2017 -- Close Encounters returns with its customary artistic vigor, crystalline focus and fresh look at our great musical heritage, old and new. Artistic Director Yehuda Hanani has led the series since its founding, providing entertaining, erudite commentary that puts the composers and their times in perspective to enrich and enlighten the concert experience. “We have created a rare cultural zone we call Close Encounters With Music, with innovative concerts, outstanding colleagues, and a sumptuous menu of the best music of our classical canon.”
Close Encounters with Music Summers on a Mountain Top: Catskill High Peaks Music Festival August 6-17 Brings “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” to the Hudson Valley and Capital Region with Internationally Acclaimed Musicians and Young Artists Around the Clock Festivities at Carey Institute in Rensselarville with Additional Suffragette Themed Concerts at Basilica Hudson and New York State Museum in Albany
Press ReleasesJULY 5, 2017 -- “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” is the theme of the eighth edition of the Catskill High Peaks Festival, hosted by the Carey Institute for Global Good, August 6-17. A joint presentation of the Carey Institute and Close Encounters With Music, the Berkshire-based chamber music organization, High Peaks this year features remarkable composers who stormed the barricades and helped revolutionize the place of women in the arts as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in NY State.
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Great Barrington, MA 01230
Tel: 1-800-843-0778
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