Performing Arts Series

Learn more about this concert’s music in a free pre-concert lecture by Professor Emeritus of Music Larry Hamberlin.

We close our 105th season with the dynamic duo of violinist Alina Ibragimova and pianist Cédric Tiberghien. The two developed a tremendous rapport during their term as individual BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, where their unique partnership was observed by The Times of London: “Both of these players have the potential to conquer the world.” During this Middlebury return, Ibragimova and Tiberghien will play Janácek, Enescu, Gerald Barry’s vivacious Triorchic Blues, and Beethoven’s iconic “Kreutzer” sonata.

Faculty musicians from the Music Institute of Long Island (MILI) treat us to an evening of chamber music including Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Turina, Mendelssohn, and more!  Established in 1990, MILI is a classical music school staffed by exceptional instructors from many of the most prestigious conservatories and graduate music schools in the United States and Europe. This performance is the culminating event of their current Rothrock Residency working with Middlebury students.

About the Artists: 

Pianist Steven Osborne, OBE is one of Britain’s most treasured musicians. His performances exude an immense depth of musicality and exceptional refinement of expression across diverse repertoire, be it in Beethoven or Messiaen, Schubert or Ravel, Prokofiev, or jazz improvisations. His many honors include The Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year, two BBC Music Magazine Awards, and two Gramophone Awards.

Making their Middlebury debut, the Isidore String Quartet are winners of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition. Their concert program “Unrequited” explores the intersection of treasured classics and contemporary perspectives, providing a winding path into the complicated labyrinth that is human compassion and love, featuring works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Billy Childs. Thanks to the Sunderman Family Concert Endowment Fund, this concert is free and open to all.