SEATTLE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL 2014: DEREK BERMEL WORLD PREMIERE AND MORE

by Maggie Stapleton

The Seattle Chamber Music Society, founded by the late Toby Saks in 1982, is gearing up for the 2014 Summer Festival, running July 7-August 2 with twelve performances at the intimate Nordstrom Recital Hall (and one at Volunteer Park!).  Artistic Director James Ehnes does a fantastic job of bringing together musicians of the highest caliber from all over the globe to present world class performances.  A handful of the shows particularly stand out for Second Inversion:

  • Monday, July 7, 7pm (FREE): Augustin Hadelich performs David Lang’s Mystery Sonatas
  • Wednesday, July 9, 8pm (tickets): The tour-de-force that is Stravinsky’s Octet for Winds opens a program also offering a Mendelssohn trio and Beethoven quartet.
  • Friday, July 11, 8pm (tickets): The complete version of The Soldier’s Tale by Stravinsky will be narrated by Jeff Kready, currently in the Broadway hit A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. The concert also features a Mozart flute quartet and a Brahms piano quartet.
  • Monday, July 14, 8pm (tickets):  While chamber music staples of Brahms, Mozart, and Beethoven are at the forefront of SCMS programming, James Ehnes is passionate about programming new music and a commissioning club funds a new work every year.  This year’s featured composer is Derek Bermel, and his piano trio, Death with Interruptions for Violin, Cello and Piano will be premiered on this July 14 concert.

Outreach and accessibility to the community is another area SCMS is passionate about, and these events are well worth exploring:

I hope you’ll take advantage of at least one of SCMS’ offerings.  Happy summer listening!

 

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