2012 Summer Festival Program Highlights
July 27-Aug 4—our 17th season!
Our ten-day summer festival includes five major concerts, plus other events held around the Methow Valley region. Here we are, relaxing in the lawn outside the theater before a concert. Come join us.
Welcome, from our Artistic Director, Kevin Krentz
Our 2012 Festival will have some of the most exciting programming we have ever produced. The Opening Night concert will feature two short chamber operas by beloved composers Jake Heggie and Daniel Felsenfeld. Programmed for their effectiveness and audience accessibility, this performance should not be missed. Come experience the power of story, text, and music as they combine in what some say is the very highest form of art.
In our tradition of incorporating a theme that runs through all of our concerts each year, a selection by Beethoven in each concert will bring the depth and power that only his works can.
In addition to the standard repertoire masterworks we will feature, as always, hidden gems and more recently penned works that are sure to excite.
Our artists have all won honors in important competitions or won chairs in major orchestras and are invited because of a demonstrated ability to connect with their audiences. We welcome back both old favorites like Jing Wang, Craig Sheppard, Mara Gearman, Christopher Hahn, Travis Gore, Neil Miskey, Gale Odom and Deanne Meek as well as welcoming some new personalities in Elisa Barston, Serena McKinney, Paul Wiancko, Brittany Boulding and John Michel. Full artist biographies...
Come be a part of one of this country’s most special festivals. With our spectacular location, local wine beer and catering, hot-blooded artists, and thrilling programs more and more families are making us a yearly tradition.
I cannot wait to meet you at the AfterGlow party.
Program Highlights
Our complete schedule is not yet set, but we're getting close! Here's what we know so far. Please check back here for further updates about other artists and repertoire as the summer program takes shape.
Friday, July 27
5:30 pm - Concert grounds open
7:30 pm - Center-Stage Concert, featuring Chamber Opera
Two women: one slowly imprisoned by madness and one escaping from a prison of a loveless marriage. Recently receiving incredible reviews and popular acclaim of his now reknown full-length opera, Moby Dick, Jake Heggie’s chamber opera scenes follow the first famous French female sculptor and Rodin’s lover from the pinnacle of her work to her forced commitment in a mental institution. Nora in the Great Outdoors picks up immediately after Ibsen’s famous play, The Doll House, at the point where Nora walks out the front door of her house, leaving behind her loveless marriage and societal strictures. Mezzo-Soprano Deanne Meek and Soprano Gale Odom return to the festival by popular demand.
- Leos Janacek, Suite for Strings, JW 6/2
- Ludwig van Beethoven, String Trio in C minor, Op 9, No 3
- Jake Heggie, Camile Claudel, Into the Fire (2012), for mezzo-soprano and string, with texts by Gene Scheer; Deanne Meek, mezzo soprano
- Daniel Felsenfeld, Nora in the Great Outdoors, An opera scene for mezzo and piano trio; Gale Odom, soprano
Saturday, July 28
5:30 pm - Concert grounds open
7:30 pm - Center-Stage Concert
Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody was originally written for orchestra but the composer made this version after the piece became an international favorite for many years. The Dumky trio has everything we love about Dvorak, great Slavic folk-inspired melodies and the crafting of wonderful moments of high and low energy and is one of the most popular piano trios in the repertoire.
- Sergei Prokofiev, Sonata for Two Violins, Op.56
- Antonin Dvorak, Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90, “Dumky”
- Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quintet in E flat major (after the Octet, Op. 103), Op. 4
- George Enescu, Romanian Rhapsody for Piano Quintet
Tuesday, July 31
5:30 pm - Concert grounds open
7:30 pm - Center-Stage Concert
Zwillich’s Piano Quartet is a break-out hit with audiences in recent years and is quickly becoming a standard repertoire work with its bluesy sounds. Jalbert’s Dual Velocity is a short thrill-ride that is often the most popular selection on a program.
- Pierre Jalbert, Dual Velocity for Cello and Piano
- Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No.10 in E flat, Op.74 - "Harp"
- Franz Schubert, Quartet Movement in C minor D 103
- Ellen Paaffe Zwillich, Piano Quintet with Bass
Thursday, August 2
5:30 pm - Concert grounds open
7:30 pm - Center-Stage Concert
These two masterpieces are timeless and widely-loved. This version of Mozart’s concerto for violin and viola and orchestra was penned in Mozart own day and has been a hit since. Mozart’s most mature and profound voice is brilliantly re-imagined with all the instruments sharing the spotlight in sometimes unexpected ways. Any chance to experience Tchaikovsky’s epic trio should not be missed. The melodies are sure to spin in your ears for weeks.
- W. A. Mozart, Grande Sinfonia Concertante for String Sextet, arr. unknown in E flat, K.364
- Peter Tchaikovsky, Piano Trio No.2, Op.67
- This program is not yet complete.
Saturday, August 4
5:30 pm - Concert grounds open
7:30 pm - Center-Stage Concert
One of Shostakovich’s most beloved works, the Piano Quintet has an emotional impact that is rare and truly profound. Infused with Bach-inspired counterpoint and the first composition to win the Stalin Prize, this masterpiece is accessible to all.
- Dmitri Shostakovich, Quintet For Piano And Strings In G Minor Op. 57
- This program is not yet complete.
More about the festival... | Get your tickets now
Thanks for your interest in the Festival!
Methow Music Festival Association, aka Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival, is a 501(c)(3) organization supported by grants, donations, dedicated volunteers, and sponsors. Without donations the festival would not exist. Your support, in its many forms, is more than appreciated, it is essential. Thanks very much!
| Board of Directors |
|---|
| Robert Nelson, President |
| Lotty Ekblad, Vice President |
| John Ehrenberg, Treasurer |
| Michael Brady, Secretary |
| Dave Chandler |
| Howard Johnson |
| Michael Real |
| Sandy Mackie |
| Advisory Board |
|---|
| Karen Edwards |
| Sue Betts |
| Sonya Campion |
| David Ebenger |
| Dick and Nancy Gode |
| Jerry Sparling |
| Lynette Westendorf |
| Irmgard and Herbert Wimberger |
Donors
We would like to acknowledge and thank all the donors to the festival, without whose support we would not be able to continue the tradition of world-class music in this most beautiful place we all love. It is never too late – or too early – to support the arts! Support our festival
Other Program Guides
2012 Summer Festival | 2012 February Concert | 2011 Summer
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
