Pacifica Quartet Launches Its Shostakovich Cycle;
Till Fellner Concludes Beethoven Sonata Series;
Ensemble Galilei Offers Program of Words, Music & Images from Met Museum's
Photographic Collection; David Kadouch Kicks Off Season's Piano Forte Series, and More
For tickets, call the Concerts & Lectures Department at 212-570-3949, or visit
www.metmuseum.org/tickets, where updated schedules and programs are available.
Tickets are also available at the Great Hall Box Office, which is open
Tuesday-Saturday 10-5:00, and Sunday noon-5:00.
Student and group discount tickets are available for some events; call 212-570-3949.
Tickets include admission to the Museum on day of performance.
Saturday, October 2, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. -
"Two Timeless Tales: Aesop's Fables & The Chess Game" – New York Chamber Soloists
The New York Chamber Soloists–Jennifer Grim, flute; Melvin Kaplan, oboe and narration; Sharon Moe, French horn; Curtis Macomber, violin; Ynez Lynch, viola and narration; Adam Grabois, cello; and Elizabeth Metcalfe, piano–perform a family program of musical interpretations of two classics of children's literature: Aesop's Fables for French horn, piano, and narration, with music by Anthony Plog; and The Chess Game, based on Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, here a work for chamber ensemble narrated by Gerald Fried, a composer best known for his work for film and television, including scores for Stanley Kubrick's films.
Acclaimed as an ensemble of distinguished virtuosi, performing widely diverse repertoire in creatively programmed concerts, the New York Chamber Soloists have maintained a unique niche in the chamber music world for nearly five decades. Founded in 1957, this 12-member ensemble of strings, winds, and keyboard can increase to as many as 20 with the addition of guest artists, giving it the flexibility to offer many works that are seldom heard due to the unusual instrumental combinations for which they were written.
With more than 250 works in their repertoire, the Chamber Soloists have made a valuable contribution to the musical life of this country, and have helped to expand the audience for chamber music. Their programming innovations have included "Paris in the '20s;" an American Classics program; the complete Mozart horn concerti; and song cycles, cantatas, and operas from Monteverdi to Aitken.
They have added substantially to the catalog of 20th century chamber works, with the more than 25 compositions written for them by such significant composers as Gunther Schuller, Mario Davidovsky, Ezra Laderman, and Mel Powell. New York Chamber Soloists management page
Tickets: $30
Friday, October 15, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. - Till Fellner
Austrian pianist Till Fellner concludes his critically acclaimed three-year traversal of the complete piano sonatas of Beethoven with a recital–his only in New York this season–featuring Sonatas Nos. 30 in E Major, Op. 109; 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110; and 32 in C Minor, Op. 111.
This marks the final year of a three-year period during which Fellner has focused on Beethoven: from October 2008 he has played all of the Beethoven piano sonatas in a cycle that will be presented in New York, Washington, Tokyo, London, Paris, Vienna, and other cities. In the spring of 2008, he began performing and recording all of the Beethoven piano concertos with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony. In November 2008 he performed the Beethoven Trios Op. 1 with Lisa Batiashvili and Adrian Brendel.
This summer Mr. Fellner has been performing the last leg of the Beethoven cycle and as well as Schubert's Die Winterreise with Mark Padmore. He joins Kent Nagano and the Montréal Symphony for performances at the Orford Festival International de Musique; their 2010 ECM recording of the Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 4 and 5 has been praised for its clarity and impeccable beauty. Recent engagements include performances with the Orchestre National de France with Kurt Masur, the Philharmonia Orchestra of London under Sir Charles Mackerras, and the Munich Philharmonic with Lothar Zagrosek at the podium.
Born in Vienna, Till Fellner studied with Helene Sedo-Stadler before going on to study privately with Alfred Brendel, Meira Farkas, Oleg Maisenberg, and Claus-Christian Schuster. He first gained international recognition by winning first prize at the prestigious Clara Haskil International Competition in 1993. Since then Till Fellner has performed with many of the world's most famous orchestras and conductors, and has appeared in major concert halls and at important festivals in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Till Fellner plays regularly in a trio with Lisa Batiashvili and Adrian Brendel and appears in song recitals with tenor Mark Padmore.
Till Fellner has recorded numerous CDs; his latest release was Bach's Well-Tempered Klavier, Book I (ECM Records). www.tillfellner.com or Till Fellner management page
Tickets: $50
Saturday, October 16, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. -Ensemble Galilei – "First Person: Seeing America"
The strings, winds, and percussion group Ensemble Galilei, narrator Neal Conan of NPR, and actress Lily Knight collaborate to present a program combining words and music with iconic images from the Photographic Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, including Mathew Brady's searing pictures of the Civil War and Walker Evans's haunting portraits from the Great Depression, as well as photographs by Edward Curtis, Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Weegee, and Thomas Eakins. These images are accompanied by the words of Langston Hughes, Carson McCullers, Damon Runyan, John Muir, Frederick Douglass, and others. The soundtrack is the evocative music of Ensemble Galilei–Bach, traditional music from Scotland and Ireland, and new compositions featuring fiddles, harp, viola da gamba, percussion, whistles, and oboe.
Music winds around the text as images are projected on a large screen in the center of the stage. In their second touring project with Ensemble Galilei, NPR's Neal Conan and actress Lily Knight bring people, events, and places to life.
Ensemble Galilei is an ensemble of players from both classical and Celtic traditional backgrounds, playing Irish and Scottish airs and dance tunes, early and medieval music, and original compositions. From its inception in 1990, Ensemble Galilei has redefined the boundaries of chamber music, created new work, and seized opportunities for collaborative relationships to create a series of innovative projects that explore combinations of images, words, and music. The ensemble's programs have taken audiences into space through the lens of the Hubble Space Telescope ("A Universe of Dreams") and on journeys of exploration and discovery with pictures from the National Geographic Image Collection ("First Person: Stories from the Edge of the World").
Ensemble Galilei features Hanneke Cassel, fiddle; Ryan McKasson, fiddle and viola; Kathryn Montoya, recorders, whistle, oboe; Jackie Moran, percussion; Sue Richards, Celtic harp; Carolyn Anderson Surrick, viola da gamba; and Neal Conan, narrator, and Lily Knight, actor. Brian Doser is technical director. www.egmusic.com
Tickets: $40
Friday, October 22, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.-"An Evening with Christine Ebersole"
The singer and actress presents a cabaret-style show with pianist and arranger John Oddo in which she shares anecdotes about her life in Hollywood and the New Jersey suburbs, and sings classical ballads and pop songs.
Christine Ebersole has enchanted audiences throughout her performing career, from the Broadway stage to television series and specials, films, concert appearances, and recordings. Ms. Ebersole received virtually every Off-Broadway award and her second Tony Award in the category of leading actress in a musical for dual role as Edie Beale and Little Edie Beale in Grey Gardens.
Other memorable New York stage performances include her Tony Award-winning performance as Dorothy Brock in the smash hit revival 42nd Street, Steel Magnolias, On the Twentieth Century, Oklahoma, Dinner at Eight (Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations), The Best Man, and the recent revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. She has starred in five City Center Encores! productions, most recently receiving praise for her starring role as Margo Channing in Applause. Ms. Ebersole has also appeared in many hit movies, including Tootsie, Richie Rich, Black Sheep, Amadeus, Dead Again, Folks!, Ghost Dad, True Crime, My Girl 2, Mac and Me, and Confessions of a Shopaholic.
In concert, Ms. Ebersole has appeared in numerous halls throughout the country. Most recently, she performed in the concert version of the opera The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall. Previously, Ms. Ebersole participated in the opening night gala of Carnegie Hall's 118th season, appeared with the San Francisco Symphony in a tribute to Leonard Bernstein, and, after making her debut with the Boston Pops three years ago, returned to Symphony Hall and Tanglewood to star as Desirée Armfeldt in a concert version of A Little Night Music with the Pops. Ms. Ebersole has released such albums as Christine Ebersole: Live at the Cinegrill; In Your Dreams; and Sunday in New York. www.christineebersole.com
Tickets: $50
Saturday, October 23, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. – Pacifica Quartet
In 2009-2010, the Pacifica Quartet, called "one of the fastest rising ensembles today" by The New York Times, became the Metropolitan Museum's second quartet-in-residence, succeeding the Guarneri String Quartet. After a first season of programs of diverse repertoire, the ensemble is devoting its second season to the complete string quartets of Shostakovich in four programs that progress from early to late works.
This first program features the String Quartets No. 1 in C Major, Op. 49; No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68; No. 7 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 108; and No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73.
The ensuing programs take place December 4, January 22, and February 19.
Recognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often daring repertory choices, the Pacifica Quartet has carved out a compelling and critically lauded musical path. In addition to the Musical America and Grammy wins, the Pacifica Quartet has swept top awards in the U.S. and abroad, including the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2006, making the Pacifica only the second chamber music ensemble ever to be selected. Formed in 1994, the ensemble quickly won top prizes in leading international competitions, including the 1998 Naumburg Chamber Music Award.
Having given highly acclaimed performances of the complete Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Carter string quartets in recent seasons, the Quartet will present the monumental Shostakovich cycle in Chicago and New York during the 2010-2011 season. In the summer of 2011, the Quartet will present the complete Beethoven cycle at Tokyo's famous Suntory Hall, in an unprecedented presentation of five concerts in three days. And in 2011-2012, the Quartet will take the Shostakovich cycle to London's Wigmore Hall.
The members of the Pacifica Quartet live in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, where they were appointed to the faculty of the University of Illinois in 2004 and serve as Faculty Quartet in Residence. They are also resident performing artists at the University of Chicago and the Longy School in Boston. Reflecting its dedication to musicians and music lovers of the next generation, the Pacifica Quartet was instrumental in creating the Music Integration Project, an innovative program that provides musical performances and teacher training to inner-city elementary schools. Originating on the West Coast, where it played its earliest concerts together, the Quartet takes its name from the Pacific Ocean. Throughout their journey as a string quartet, its members continually strive to be Distinct as the billows/yet one as the sea (James Montgomery). www.pacificaquartet.com
Tickets: $45 (Series: $160)
Friday, October 29, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. – Musicians from Marlboro
The Marlboro Music School and Festival has been nurturing great artists since 1951, and since 1970 the Marlboro alumni – of all generations – have been performing concerts at the Metropolitan Museum as Musicians from Marlboro.
This first of three programs features Ida Levin and Yonah Zur, violin; Beth Guterman, viola; Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, cello; Zachary Cohen, double bass; Sivan Magen, harp; Jose Vicente Castello, horn; Sarah Beaty, clarinet; and Jennifer Johnson, mezzo-soprano performing Respighi's "Il Tramonto: Poemetto Lirico" for mezzo-soprano and string quartet; Dvorák's Two Waltzes; Der gayst funem shturem for mezzo-soprano and ensemble by Robert Cuckson, Marlboro's 2009 composer-in-residence; and Mozart's Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581.
Musicians from Marlboro offers exceptional young musicians from the summer festival together with seasoned artists in chamber music programs of rarely heard works and masterpieces of varied instrumentation. The program has introduced many of today's leading solo and chamber music artists to American audiences; among them are pianists Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, and András Schiff, violinists Pamela Frank, Jaime Laredo, and Shlomo Mintz, flutist Paula Robison, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and soprano Benita Valente. In addition to the performances at the Metropolitan Museum, each year more than 25 outstanding artists take time from their regular activities to bring Musicians from Marlboro concerts to venues throughout the country. Musicians from Marlboro management page
Tickets: $40 (Series: $105)
Saturday, October 30, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. - David Kadouch, Piano – New York Recital Debut
This 24-year-old pianist who is the third-prize-winner of the 2005 International Beethoven Competition for Piano, performed at the Metropolitan Museum with Itzhak Perlman and members of the Perlman Music Program in May 2008. He returns to the Museum for his New York recital debut, a program of Haydn's Variations in F Minor; Schumann's Grand Sonata in F Minor, Op. 14; the Wagner/Liszt "Spinning Chorus" from The Flying Dutchman; a selection of Debussy Preludes; and Shostakovich's 15 Preludes, Op. 34.
David Kadouch, 24, is quickly becoming one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation. A prize winner at the Beethoven Bonn Competition in 2005 and Leeds International Piano Competition in 2009, Kadouch has become a regular guest of some of the most important orchestras, recital series and international festivals. In past seasons he has performed at the Contemporary Music Festival in Lucerne under the baton of Pierre Boulez, the Klavier-Festival Ruhr (Germany), Gstaad Festival, Montreux Festival, Santander Festival (Spain), Jerusalem Festival, Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims, La Roque d'Anthéron Festival, Tonhalle in Zürich, Louvre in Paris and the Verbier Festival, where in 2009 he was awarded the Verbier Festival Prix d'Honneur.
The 2010-2011 season features more than 50 recital and concerto engagements. Kadouch will make his debut with the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zürich with David Zinman on the podium, Orchestre Philarmonique de Monte Carlo with Yakov Kreizberg conducting, and the Orchestre National de Lille and the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra. He will also be on tour in Japan and will again make recital appearances throughout Europe, including in Verbier, Reims, Toulouse, among many other cities.
Kadouch is also an avid chamber musician collaborating with many ensembles and artists, including the Quiroga Quartet, Ebène Quartet, Ardeo Quartet, Radovan Vlatkovic, Frans Helmerson, Nikolaj Znaider, Antoine Tamestit and Renaud Capuçon.
Born in Nice, Kadouch began his studies at the Nice Conservatoire with Odile Poisson. At the age of 14 he entered the Paris Conservatoire where he participated in the classes of Jacques Rouvier. After receiving First Prize with Honors from the Paris Conservatoire he moved to the Reina Sofia School in Madrid in 2003 where he has been perfecting his artistry in the intense environment created by the legendary Dmitri Bashkirov.
In addition to Itzhak Perlman, Daniel Barenboim is another artist who has made an important contribution to Kadouch's artistic life. In 2004 Barenboim invited him to participate in his Beethoven Sonata DVD project which also featured Lang Lang and other artists in master classes with Barenboim. Barenboim invited him to take the place of an indisposed Murray Perahia in Jerusalem in 2008 and invited him to step in for Lang Lang in Ramallah (West Bank) in November 2009. Kadouch's recordings include a live recording of the Beethoven Concerto No. 5, "Emperor," with the Cologne Philharmonic for Naxos. In January 2010 TransArt Live released his recording of Shostakovich's Preludes.
Tickets: $45
Also in October 2010: The following music lectures:
Tuesdays, October 5 & 12, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. - June LeBell – "Crossing Over:
From Broadway to Cabaret"
Broadcaster, lecturer, and American musical theater aficionada June LeBell presents two lectures focusing on the great singers of American musical theater. Each session features special guest artists in conversation and performance.
October 5: Liz Callaway, Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winning actress and singer, and pianist Alex Rybeck
October 12: A special surprise guest who is also a Tony nominee, singer, and pianist
Single tickets: $25 (Series: $40)
Thursday, October 14, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. - Nimet Habachy - "A Chat with Frederica von Stade: A Legend in Her Own Time"
Lecturer and writer Nimet Habachy talks with the beloved opera star Frederica von Stade, who recently performed her farewell to the concert stage. They will discuss what lies ahead for one of the pre-eminent mezzo-sopranos of our time, and her efforts on behalf of inner-city children in the San Francisco Bay area.
Tickets: $25
September 10, 2010
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