Polina Leschenko, piano
We were pleased, but not surprised, to see a full page of coverage on pianist Polina Leschenko in the October issue of Gramophone. Leschenko was identified as “One to Watch.” Close readers of Gramophone also saw the announcement of Leschenko’s new recording of piano music by Franz Liszt (a sonata of his is the centerpiece of her Middlebury recital). We heard Leschenko’s debut disc and fell in love with her Bach playing—the largo from a trio sonata. Evidently her playing has appealed to another presenter at prestigious Spivey Hall near Atlanta, where she will open the concert season. At Middlebury she will play works by Bach-Busoni, Bach, Liszt, and Chopin.
Friday, October 26, at 8:00 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall. Reserved seating. Tickets: $15/12/5
Pre-performance dinner: Rehearsals Cafe, 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $15
Emerson String Quartet
In 2004 Newsday announced, “The Emerson has staked its claim to being the one indispensable quartet in a world that is constantly creating more, excellent ensembles.” Of course, we’ve known this ever since they began performing at Middlebury, more than 25 years ago. It seems fitting, therefore, that they play this special concert (a gift from generous donor and friend Bill Sunderman) in Mead Chapel, where they made their first mark on Middlebury. Ever challenging themselves, they received their eighth Grammy in February and recently released a series of podcasts entitled The String Quartet Revealed, in celebration of their 20th anniversary with Deutsche Grammophon. Their Middlebury program includes Haydn, Shostakovich, and Beethoven—the first Razumovsky quartet. This free concert is made possible with generous support from the Institute for Clinical Science and Art, established by the late Dr. F. William Sunderman of Philadelphia.
Friday, November 2, at 8:00 p.m., in Mead Chapel. Free
Nugent+Matteson Dance
(See the Dance page for full information on the residency and performances by these Bessie-award-winning dancers/choreographers.)
Master Class in Intermediate/Advanced Dance Technique and Partnering
Wednesday, November 7, at 2:45 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre. Free
Master Class in Advanced Beginning Dance Technique
Thursday, November 8, at 9:30 a.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre. Free
Master Class in Beginning Technique and Partnering
Thursday, November 8, at 3 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre. Free
Nugent+Matteson Performance
Friday–Saturday, November 9–10, at 8 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre. Tickets: $15/12/5
Claremont Trio*
Emily Bruskin, violin
Julia Bruskin, cello
Donna Kwong, piano
The award-winning Claremont Trio, whose playing has been called “positively spellbinding” (Palm Beach Daily News), offers a unique blend of soulful insight into works of the standard repertoire along with an enthusiastic appetite for performing the greatest 20th and 21st century works and commissioning new ones as well. The Trio spent a busy summer with return engagements at such prestigious festivals as the Bard Music Festival, Mostly Mozart, and the Chappaquiddick Summer Music Festival, adding debut appearances at the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival and the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. This young trio, first recipients of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award, will perform in major venues throughout the country in the 2007-08 season. The group has been invited to present the complete piano trios of Schumann and Brahms in a 3-concert series at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; they will tour Hawaii and the Midwest, and will appear at prominent concert halls in Buffalo, St. Paul, Providence, Tulsa, and New York, among others.
Twin sisters Emily Bruskin and Julia Bruskin formed the Trio with Donna Kwong in 1999 at The Juilliard School. After winning the 2001 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the Claremont Trio launched their touring career with an acclaimed New York debut at the 92nd Street Y. The Claremonts are based in New York City near their namesake: Claremont Avenue.
At Middlebury the Claremont Trio will perform works by Claude Debussy, Frank Martin, and Anton Arensky. Reserved Seating.
*This concert is presented in lieu of the formerly scheduled performance on the same date/time by Baiba Skride, violin, and Lauma Skride, piano. Tickets sold for the previously announced concert will be honored normally for this updated performance. There is no need to exchange previously-purchased tickets.
Friday, November 16, at 8 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $15/12/5
Pre-performance dinner: Rehearsals Cafe, 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $15
*CANCELLED--SEE ABOVE*
November 16, Friday
Baiba Skride, violin
Lauma Skride, piano
8:00 P.M., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
The concert appearance by Baiba and Lauma Skride will not take place due to artist health concerns. A new concert event has been scheduled for this date and time-- see above for details.
Paul Jacobs
“Paul Jacobs, with a rigorous slate of concerts in addition to his work as chairman of Juilliard’s organ department, has become one of the most prominent organists in the United States.”— The American Organist, 2007
The first notes of Paul Jacobs’s recital here last December swept me away. It brought back a flood of memories: of the first music I ever heard performed, organ and choral music in a Lutheran church in Iowa; of my abandoned project to study organ in college and become a church musician; and of glorious organ playing heard at services and concerts in Mead Chapel spanning four decades. Paul Jacobs is one of the most gifted and accomplished musicians of our age. We warmly welcome him back to play a program of music by Felix Mendelssohn, Maurice Duruflé, Louis Vierne, and Julius Reubke.
Sunday, December 2, at 3 p.m., in Mead Chapel. Tickets: $15/12/5