2008-2009 Season Schedule

You're hearing a clip from the third movement of Mendelssohn's Octet, Op.20 -- the third work on the program of the Musicians from Marlboro.

Concert 1. Saturday, October 4, 8 PM
Lincoln Middle School

Guarneri String Quartet

The Guarneri is recognized as one of the most revered and enduring ensembles of its kind, performing regularly in the most prestigious halls around the world. Since the Guarneri have announced their retirement at the close of the 2008-09 season, this will be your last chance to hear this renowned ensemble in Syracuse! Read more about the Guarneri

Program
Haydn: String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 74, No. 3, "The Rider"

Kodály: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10

Ravel: String Quartet in F Major

"... the Guarneri lends a peerless radiance to every note and phrase."
-- National Public Radio

"The musicianship, experience, and sophisticated intent of this group continue to grow..."
-- Boston Globe

The concert by the Guarneri Quartet is sponsored by the families of Drs. Peter and Frank Bruns in memory of their father, Dr. Hans Bruns.

Concert 2. Saturday, November 15, 8 PM
Lincoln Middle School

Jupiter String Quartet

Winners of the 2005 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and other prestigious prizes, this dynamic foursome has been selected to join Lincoln Center's Chamber Music Society Two for a three-year residency. Their concert at the 2007 Skaneateles Festival was a triumphant success. See the Jupiter's Web site.

Program
Haydn: Quartet in F Major, Op. 77, No. 2

Britten: Quartet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 36

Beethoven: Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2

"an unforgettable performance.... Their tone quality is pleasing, their style polished, their equilibrium secure, and their intonation superb."
-- The Boston Globe

"One of the strongest young string quartets in the country"
-- New York Sun

Sponsored by the
Renaissance Syracuse Hotel

Concert 3. Saturday, December 6, 8 PM
Lincoln Middle School

Musicians from Marlboro

Each summer at Vermont's renowned Marlboro Music Festival, seasoned artists join with exceptionally gifted young professionals to explore and perform the chamber music literature. Throughout the year, the Musicians from Marlboro touring program brings some of these concerts to venues countrywide. The Marlboro musicians' program for SFCM this year will be highlighted by the exquisite Mendelssohn Octet. See the Web site for Musicians from Marlboro.

Program
Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 ("Kreutzer Sonata")

Mozart: String Quintet in E-flat Major, K. 614

Mendelssohn: String Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

"Musicians from Marlboro is a virtual guarantee of musical excellence."
-- Washington Post

"Major figures on the American music scene -- including Yo-Yo Ma, Jaime Laredo, Murray Perahia, Paula Robison and Harold Wright -- had their careers launched in this series."
-- Los Angeles Times

Concert 4. Tuesday, February 3, 2009, 8 PM
Lincoln Middle School

The Concerto Grosso: Bach to Bloch

In each of Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, he combined string orchestra in a constantly changing pattern of give-and-take with a variety of solo instruments including violin, flute, and harpsichord. Musicians of the Syracuse Symphony past and present will be heard in these gems of contrapuntal music, along with the SSO String Quartet augmented by additional string players. The tuneful Concerto Grosso No. 1 of Ernest Bloch shows that this favorite Baroque form continues to inspire more contemporary composers.

Program
Ibert: Deux Interludes

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major

Bloch: Concerto Grosso No. 1 for Strings with Piano Obligato

Concert 5. Saturday, March 14, 8 PM
Lincoln Middle School

Belcea Quartet

The London-based Belcea Quartet has been taking the British and international chamber music circuit by storm, consistently receiving critical acclaim for their performances. Established at the Royal College of Music in 1994, the Belcea was subsequently named Resident Quartet of London's famed Wigmore Hall. They include music by Schubert, Brahms and Britten among their prize-winning recordings for EMI Classics. See the Belcea's Web site.

Program
Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 50, No. 6 ("The Frog")

Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 50

Schubert String Quartet in D Minor, D. 810 ("Death and the Maiden")

"This was sublime playing, elegantly and eloquently shaped."
-- The Independent, London

"...at once emotionally captivating and technically astounding ."
-- Los Angeles Times

Concert 6. Saturday, April 4, 8 PM
Lincoln Middle School

Claremont Piano Trio

Formed in 1999, the Claremont Trio was the first recipient of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award. Their performances of Beethoven's triple concerto with several symphony orchestras, their cycle of Beethoven's complete works for piano trio at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and their many other concerts have won praise around the country. See the Claremont's Web site.

Program
("Beethoven and Kirchner - Youth and Maturity")
Beethoven: Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op.11

Kirchner: Trio No. 1 (1954)

Kirchner: Trio No. 2 (1993)

Beethoven: Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2

"...they play with an uncommon ferocity."
-- New York Times

"...restores every listener's faith that chamber music is very much alive and has a vital future."
-- Berryessa (California) Sun

Concert 7. Saturday, April 25, 8 PM
Lincoln Middle School

Eliot Fisk and Richard Stoltzman

In this program featuring guitarist Eliot Fisk and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, we bring you two luminaries of the music world. Eliot Fisk has lived up to the prediction of his great mentor, Andres Segovia, that he is "at the top line of our artistic world." He has performed to critical and public acclaim in most of the great concert halls of the world. See Fisk's Web site. Richard Stoltzman's virtuosity, musicianship and sheer personal magnetism have made him one of today's most sought-after concert artists. As soloist with more than a hundred orchestras, as a captivating recitalist, and as innovative jazz artist, Stoltzman has defied categorization, dazzling critics and audiences. See/hear more on Stoltzman.

Program
Schubert: Sonatina in D major (guitar solo)

Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances*

Beaser: Mountain Songs*

J.S.Bach: Fantasy and Fugue for clarinet solo

Rossini: Aria,Theme and Variations*

*Performed by the duo of Fisk and Stoltzman

"When Fisk plays the classical guitar, it becomes an instrument of seemingly endless possibilities."
-- The Chicago Sun-Times

"His mastery of the clarinet and his impeccable musicianship are no secret by now. If Mr. Stoltzman is not one of a kind, who might the others be?"
-- New York Times

The Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music wish to thank the following for their support:

The New York State Council on the Arts
The CNY Community Foundation
The Rosamond Gifford Foundation
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP) through the office of Senator John A. DeFrancisco