Spoleto Festival USA announces 2017 Bank of America Chamber Music Series programs

Geoff Nuttall, The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Director for Chamber Music for the Bank of America Chamber Music series, announced details of the 11 programs—33 concerts total—that will be performed during the 2017 Spoleto Festival USA season, May 26 to June 11.

Filled with considerable wit, enthusiasm, and a vast range of compositions spanning more than 300 years, the Bank of America Chamber Music series begins on Friday, May 26, at 1:00pm. Concert pieces are interspersed with Nuttall’s signature spiritedness, and each program reflects the director’s mission of removing chamber music from its oft-perceived stiff and antiquated connotations. In addition to pieces from the likes of Schubert, Beethoven, and even Roy Orbison, this year’s programming includes a world premiere by Jarosław Kapuściński. As the 2017 composer-in-residence, his new work, Side Effects, will be performed during Program IV on May 31 at 11:00am and 1:00pm and June 1 at 11:00am. This premiere features a video installation by aerial photographer Kacper Kowalski. The concert series will also include two of Kapuściński’s other compositions: Juicy, a multimedia work created in collaboration with animator John Edmark, and Alikeness, a work for two violins, viola, cello, and percussion commissioned for the St. Lawrence String Quartet’s 25th anniversary in 2015. Kapuściński will play the piano during both Side Effects and Juicy.

An intermedia composer and pianist, Kapuściński’s work has been presented at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Modern Art Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and the International Festival of New Cinema and New Media in Montréal. A native of Poland, the pianist first studied classical performance and composition at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. He completed his doctoral studies in music composition at the University of California, San Diego, in 1997, and his work today often explores how musical instruments can control multimedia content. He is currently an associate professor of composition at Stanford University.

Since 1977, the Bank of America Chamber Music series has been known for championing up-and-coming musical talents and showcasing them on an international stage. This year, Festival debuts include cellist/composer Joshua Roman, whose work Riding Light can be heard during Program VII; acclaimed pianist Gilles Vonsattel; violist Meena Bhasin, a co-founder of New York-based chamber music society Decoda; and the Rolston String Quartet. This young Canadian ensemble won the 2016 Banff International String Quartet Competition and is currently the String Quartet-in-Residence at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas. During the Festival, they will perform works by composers including Ravel, Haydn, Handel, and Mendelssohn.

Each of the 11 chamber programs in the 2017 series features Nuttall’s signature eclectic tastes. Among the many program highlights (though audiences are frequently advised by Nuttall that the concert they have chosen to attend is the best) are works by Antonio Vivaldi, celebrating the Festival’s premiere of Farnace, which stars eminent countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo in the title role. Program II features Costanzo in “Non ti lushinghi la crudeltade” from Vivaldi’s Tito Manilo. He will also sing “Vedro con mio diletto” from Vivaldi’s Giustino during Program VI, and oboist James Austin Smith will take the lead for the performance of Vivaldi’s Oboe Concerto in D Minor during Program I.

Assembling distinguished musicians from around the world, the Bank of America Chamber Music series is known for its engaging and virtuosic performers who share an onstage camaraderie. Returning artists include pianists Pedja Muzijevic and Stephen Prutsman, flutist Tara Helen O’Connor, violinists Benjamin Beilman, Daniel Phillips, and Livia Sohn, clarinetist Todd Palmer, double bassist Anthony Manzo, percussionist Steven Schick, oboist James Austin Smith, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

Outside the Bank of America Chamber Music series, select chamber musicians will perform during other Festival events: Pianist Pedja Muzijevic takes center stage at the Simons Center Recital Hall during the popular Music in Time series for the program entitled Dialogues with Pedja Muzijevic (June 1). Cinema and Sound, which premieres at the Woolfe Street Playhouse on Wednesday, June 7, features three new works by pianist and composer Stephen Prutsman set to silent films from the early 20th century. Additionally, Geoff Nuttall, Livia Sohn, Pedja Muzijevic, and Christopher Costanza will perform a Vivaldi concerto during the Spoleto Celebration Concert on May 30.

Each of the Bank of America Chamber series 11 programs are performed three times with two performances daily at 11:00am and 1:00pm in the 463-seat Dock Street Theatre, located at 135 Church Street. The series is also recorded and broadcast by South Carolina ETV Radio and syndicated nationally and internationally by the WFMT Radio Network.

Information regarding tickets and Chamber Music Series Subscriptions follow the program details, which can also be found here.

2017 BANK OF AMERICA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

PROGRAM I
Friday, May 26, at 1:00pm; Saturday, May 27, at 11:00am and 1:00pm
Oboe Concerto in D Minor, RV 454 | Antonio Vivaldi

James Austin Smith, oboe; Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

Juicy | Jarosław Kapuściński; animation in collaboration with John Edmark

Jarosław Kapuściński, piano and computer-controlled image and sound

Trans for Percussion Solo and Audience | Lei Liang

Steven Schick, percussion

Divertimento brillante on themes from Bellini’s La sonnambula | Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka

Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass

PROGRAM II
Sunday, May 28, at 11:00am and 1:00pm; Monday, May 29, at 11:00am
Wendell’s History for Steve: Part 1 | Gustavo Aguilar

Steven Schick, percussion

“Non ti lusinghi la crudeltade” from Tito Manlio, RV 738 | Antonio Vivaldi

Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; James Austin Smith, oboe; Christopher Costanza, cello; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

Piano Quintet in A Major, D 667, “The Trout” | Franz Schubert

Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass

Wendell’s History for Steve: Part 2 | Gustavo Aguilar

Steven Schick, percussion

PROGRAM III
Monday, May 29, at 1:00pm; Tuesday, May 30, at 11:00am and 1:00pm
Alikeness | Jarosław Kapuściński

Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello; Steven Schick, percussion

“l’onde della non vostra” | Suzanne Farrin

James Austin Smith, oboe

Piano Trio no. 2 in C Minor, op. 66 | Felix Mendelssohn

Pedja Muzijevic, piano; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Christopher Costanza, cello

PROGRAM IV
Wednesday, May 31, at 11:00am and 1:00pm; Thursday, June 1, at 11:00am
Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor, BWV 1060 | Johann Sebastian Bach

James Austin Smith, oboe; Livia Sohn, Geoff Nuttall, and Owen Dalby, violin; Meena Bhasin, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

WORLD PREMIERE
Side Effects | Jarosław Kapuściński; video by Kacper Kowalski

Jarosław Kapuściński, piano

Piano Trio in D Minor, op. 63 | Robert Schumann

Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Christopher Costanza, cello

PROGRAM V
Thursday, June 1, at 1:00pm; Friday, June 2, at 11:00am and 1:00pm
Piano Trio no. 1 in C Minor, op. 8 | Dmitry Shostakovich

Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Livia Sohn, violin; Joshua Roman, cello

String Quartet in F Major | Maurice Ravel

Rolston String Quartet (Luri Lee and Jeffrey Dyrda, violin; Hezekiah Leung, viola; Jonathan Lo, cello)

Gumboots: Dances I – VI | David Bruce

Owen Dalby and Geoff Nuttall, violin; Meena Bhasin, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello; Todd Palmer, clarinet

PROGRAM VI
Saturday, June 3, at 11:00am and 1:00pm; Sunday, June 4, at 11:00am
Waltz, op. 437, “Emperor” | Johann Strauss

Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Hezekiah Leung, viola; Jonathan Lo, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass

Quintet for Oboe and Strings | Arnold Bax

James Austin Smith, oboe; Rolston String Quartet

“Vedro con mio diletto” from Giustino, RV 717 | Antonio Vivaldi

Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; Luri Lee, Jeffrey Dyrda, Geoff Nuttall, and Owen Dalby, violin; Hezekiah Leung, viola; Jonathan Lo, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

PROGRAM VII
Sunday, June 4, at 1:00pm; Monday, June 5, at 11:00am and 1:00pm
String Quartet, op. 20 no. 1 | Franz Joseph Haydn

St. Lawrence String Quartet (Geoff Nuttall and Owen Dalby, violin; Lesley Robertson, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello)

Sonata for Clarinet and Piano | Francis Poulenc

Todd Palmer, clarinet; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Riding Light | Joshua Roman

Joshua Roman, cello

Concerto Grosso in D major, op. 6 no. 5 | George Frideric Handel

Owen Dalby, Geoff Nuttall, Luri Lee, Jeffrey Dyrda, and Livia Sohn, violin; Lesley Robertson and Hezekiah Leung, viola; Christopher Costanza and Jonathan Lo, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

PROGRAM VIII
Tuesday, June 6, at 11:00am and 1:00pm; Wednesday, June 7, at 11:00am
Introduction and Variations on “Trockne Blumen,” D 802 | Franz Schubert

Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Stephen Prutsman, piano

Piano Quartet in A Minor | Gustav Mahler

Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Benjamin Beilman, violin; Daniel Phillips, viola; Joshua Roman, cello

Octet in E-flat Major, op. 20 | Felix Mendelssohn

St. Lawrence String Quartet and Rolston String Quartet

PROGRAM IX
Wednesday, June ,7 at 1:00pm; Thursday, June 8, at 11:00am and 1:00pm
Duetto for Clarinet and Double Bass with Piano | Giovanni Bottesini

Todd Palmer, clarinet; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Sonata for Violin and Cello | Maurice Ravel

Benjamin Beilman, violin; Joshua Roman, cello

Suite for Two Violins and Piano, op. 71 | Moritz Moszkowski

I. Allegro energico

Daniel Phillips and Livia Sohn, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Symphony no. 100 in G Major, “Military” | Franz Joseph Haydn

Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Daniel Phillips, violin; Joshua Roman, cello; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

PROGRAM X
Friday, June 9, at 11:00am and 1:00pm; Saturday, June 10, at 11:00am
Musical Offering Trio Sonata in C Minor, BWV 1079 | Johann Sebastian Bach

Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Daniel Phillips, violin; Joshua Roman, cello; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

Sonata no. 3 “Ballade” for Solo Violin, op. 27 | Eugène Ysaÿe

Benjamin Beilman, violin

Das Dreyblatt for Six Hands | Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach

Gilles Vonsattel, Stephen Prutsman, and Pedja Muzijevic, piano

String Quartet in A Minor, op. 132 | Ludwig van Beethoven

III. Molto adagio; andante, “Heiliger Dankgesang”

St. Lawrence String Quartet

Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 | Franz Liszt

Stephen Prutsman, piano

PROGRAM XI
Saturday, June 10, at 1:00pm; Sunday, June 11, at 11:00am and 1:00pm
Sinfonia in B-flat Major, Wq 182/2 | Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Geoff Nuttall, Owen Dalby, Livia Sohn, and Benjamin Beilman, violin; Lesley Robertson and Daniel Phillips, viola; Christopher Costanza and Joshua Roman, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass; Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord

“Crying” | Roy Orbison

Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Geoff Nuttall, Owen Dalby, Livia Sohn, and Benjamin Beilman, violin; Lesley Robertson and Daniel Phillips, viola; Christopher Costanza and Joshua Roman, cello; Anthony Manzo, double bass

Catch | Thomas Adès

Todd Palmer, clarinet; Benjamin Beilman, violin; Joshua Roman, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

Piano Quintet in A Major, op. 81 | Antonín Dvořák

Pedja Muzijevic, piano; St. Lawrence String Quartet

 

Chamber Music Series Subscriptions

Spoleto Festival USA offers three chamber music subscription packages that include benefits such as premium reserved seats, access to Patron Services Manager Sally Lovejoy, and free exchanges.

 SUBSCRIPTION A: $210 (six odd-numbered chamber concerts, 1:00pm)
 SUBSCRIPTION B: $175 (five even-numbered chamber concerts, 1:00pm)
 SUBSCRIPTION C: $385 (first performance of each chamber concert, times vary)

Subscriptions are available by calling Patron Services Manager Sally Lovejoy at 843.720.1114.

Tickets

Tickets to all Bank of America Chamber Music series performances are available online at spoletousa.org or by phone at 843.579.3100. Beginning May 1, tickets will be available from the Festival box office at the Charleston Gaillard Center (95 Calhoun Street).