We are very pleased to share with you our 136th season, featuring the International Artist Series at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and the Music in the Park Series at Saint Anthony Park United Church of Christ.
We are also excited to introduce our first annual Featured Artist of the Season, the remarkable Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti. Nicola will come to Saint Paul twice during the 2018-2019 season. She will perform a pair of recitals in the International Artist Series (January 2019) and will present a pair of concerts focused on Johannes Brahms as part of Schubert Club Mix (October 2018). In addition to these four performances, Nicola will spend time in the Twin Cities meeting and working with children in various community settings, something she has a strong passion for.
Subscriptions will be on sale Monday, February 19 at 8:30am. Single tickets will be on sale Wednesday, August 1, at 11am.
The best way to guarantee tickets to these very popular series is to purchase a subscription.
2018-2019 INTERNATIONAL ARTIST SERIES
Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 7:30pm
Ordway Music Theater
Winner of Gramophone’s “Recording of the Year 2016” award and most recently named the 2018 recipient of the prestigious Gilmore Artist Award, a $300,000 international piano prize conferred every four years, Igor Levit has now progressed from rising star to “one of the essential artists of his generation” (The New York Times). Born in Nizhni Nowgorod in 1987, Levit moved with his family to Germany at the age of eight where he currently resides. As the youngest participant in the 2005 Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv, Igor Levit won the Silver Prize, as well as the Prize for Best Performer of Chamber Music, the Audience Favorite Prize, and the Prize for Best Performer of Contemporary Music. After making his U.S. debut in 2015 and his International Artist Series debut in 2016, the Schubert Club enthusiastically welcomes this phenomenal young artist back, this time to the larger Ordway Music Theater, for a predominantly Germanic recital program featuring the music of Bach, Busoni, Schumann, Wagner and Liszt.
Thursday, November 29, 2018, 7:30pm
& Saturday, December 1, 2018, 10:30am
Ordway Concert Hall
Young German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn won first prize in the 2017 Das Lied International Song Competition in Heidelberg, Germany and in doing so established himself as an outstanding interpreter of art song in the tradition of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Thomas Quasthoff. Recognized for his charismatic stage presence and stunning vocal ability, his performances have been praised for offering “moments of emotion and pure musicality that will not soon be forgotten” (Crescendo Magazine). Having recently made his U.S. debut and still a relative newcomer to American concert halls, the Schubert Club is pleased to be among the first U.S. presenters to welcome this fast rising vocal talent. For his Twin Cities debut performance in the Ordway Concert Hall, Hasselhorn will be joined by the pianist he collaborates with regularly, Renate Rohlfing.
Friday, January 18, 2019, 7:30pm
& Sunday, January 20, 2019, 3:00pm
Ordway Concert Hall
The Schubert Club is honored to announce Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti as its first Featured Artist, giving us an opportunity to develop a deeper relationship with an artist or ensemble over the course of a season. Nicola’s residency includes a recital on the International Artist Series. She is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation and performs on the Gariel Stradivarius (1717). Her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and dynamic presence, coupled with her wide appeal as a high-profile advocate for classical music, has made her one of the most influential classical artists of today. Born in Scotland of Italian heritage, Nicola began violin lessons at the age of five. She has since gone on to collect many awards and titles including “Best Female Artist” at both the 2012 and 2013 Classical BRIT Awards and the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2017, the youngest ever recipient. In addition to her busy orchestra and recital schedule, Benedetti is fiercely committed to music education and has her own education initiative called “The Benedetti Sessions” that give young string players the opportunity to rehearse, undertake and observe masterclasses culminating in a performance alongside Nicola. For her International Artist Series debut in the Ordway Concert Hall, she will give the U.S. premiere of a new work for solo violin written for her by Wynton Marsalis and will be joined for the rest of the program by her regular duo partner, pianist Alexei Grynyuk.
Monday, February 25, 2019, 7:30pm
Ordway Music Theatre
“Perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation” (the New Yorker), multi GRAMMY Award winner Joyce DiDonato returns to the Schubert Club’s International Artist Series to perform a song recital in the Ordway Music Theater. With a voice that is “nothing less than 24-carat gold” as proclaimed by The Times, she is among the world’s most entrancing performers. Born in Kansas, Joyce has soared to the top of the industry both as a performer and a fierce advocate for the arts, gaining international prominence in operas by Handel and Mozart, as well as through her wide-ranging, acclaimed discography. Joyce’s program for this concert will feature music from her upcoming recording, SONGPLAY. In her own words, “this is a project of experimentation and play, aimed at giving a joyful (playful!) experience to the listener.” We expect this concert to sell out quickly and encourage you to get your tickets early!
Wednesday, April 3, 2019, 10:30am
& Thursday, April 4, 2019, 7:30pm
Ordway Concert Hall
The musical duo partnership of Gautier Capuçon and Yuja Wang is one to anticipate with real excitement. Gautier Capuçon is a true 21st century ambassador for the cello. Born in Chambéry, France in 1981, he performs each season with many of the world’s foremost conductors and instrumentalists, and is also founder and leader of the Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris – based in the stunning new Auditorium designed by Frank Gehry. Gautier is acclaimed internationally for his deeply expressive musicianship and exuberant virtuosity, as well as for the glorious sonority of his 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello. Joining him for this pair of recitals is the charismatic pianist Yuja Wang, the 2017 Musical America Artist of the Year. After she made her Schubert Club International Artist Series debut in 2011, the Star Tribune stated “Wang… is no mere ‘virtuoso’ — a word cheapened by overuse. Hers is demonic, more-than-human pianism, of the sort that gets you thinking about Faustian bargains.” Yuja’s way of making music connects with a strikingly broad demographic. It appeals to everyone, from classical music newcomers to devoted pianophiles, and has attracted an exceptionally youthful following. Her love for fashion, recognized by her induction into Giorgio Armani’s Sì Women’s Circle, has also contributed to the popular appeal of an artist who is armed with the ability to challenge the status quo and to welcome fresh converts to the concert hall. For their Ordway Concert Hall performances, this exceptional duo will present two different programs on April 3 and April 4, and we encourage you to attend both!
Read more at schubert.org
2018-2019 MUSIC IN THE PARK SERIES
Sunday, September 23, 2018, 4pm
The 2018-2019 Music in the Park Series will open with the return of Miró Quartet. Hailed by The New York Times as possessing “explosive vigor and technical finesse”, the dynamic Miró Quartet, one of America’s highest-profile chamber groups, enjoys its place at the top of the international chamber music scene. Founded in 1995 at the Oberlin Conservatory, the quartet met with immediate success winning first prize at the 50th annual Coleman Chamber Music Competition in April 1996, and taking both the first and grand prizes at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition two months later. In 2005, the Quartet received the Cleveland Quartet Award and was the first ensemble ever to be awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant. The quartet’s program comprises quartets by Schumann and Mendelssohn and, honoring their fierce devotion to contemporary music, Kevin Puts’ third string quartet entitled “Credo”. The Miró Quartet is named for the surrealist Spanish artist Joan Miró.
Sunday, October 14, 2018, 4pm
Making a welcome return to Music in the Park Series is the piano trio, Trio con Brio Copenhagen, hailed for their “unique sound and unity of interpretation” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). Founded in Vienna in 1999 with the concept of pairs coming together, the two Korean Hong sisters and Jens Elvekjaer (who is married to Soo-Kyung Hong) have been exploring the piano trio repertoire with freshness and curiosity as well as with respect and reflection. Their Mendelssohn CD was chosen by Britain’s Classic FM as its Chamber Disc of 2011. Their program features piano trios by Beethoven, Brahms, and the Piano Trio in G minor by Czech composer Bedrich Smetana written in response to the death of his daughter. Soo-Jin plays a violin built by Andrea Guarneri from the 17th century and Soo-Kyung plays a Grancino cello. Jens is Denmark’s first Steinway artist.
Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet
Elena Urioste, violin
Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Michael Brown, piano
Sunday, November 18, 2018, 4pm
Clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein, Twin Cities-based until recently, is considered one of today’s most exceptional performers of the instrument. He won first prize at the Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition and received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. As a Juilliard graduate, he won first prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and received awards from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Alex has invited his friends Elena Urioste (violin), Nicholas Canellakis (cello), and Michael Brown (piano) to join him for this program of Mieczysław Weinberg’s Clarinet Sonata and Olivier Messiaen’s much loved Quartet for the End of Time. Urioste, Canellakis, and Brown have established themselves as three of the most sought-after young virtuosos on the classical music scene today. Each are winners, like Fiterstein, of an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Among the various other prizes and recognition they have individually won are inclusion in the BBC New Generation Artist Scheme, Sphinx and Concert Artists Guild competitions, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center auditions. They have performed in many of the most prestigious venues across the United States and Europe.
Sunday, February 10, 2019, 4pm
Highly regarded in early music circles, Ensemble Caprice is renowned for its innovative and expertly informed interpretations of baroque music. The Montreal-based ensemble has received national and international acclaim for its performances under the artistic direction of recorder and baroque flute virtuoso Matthias Maute (who recently added the role of Artistic Director for the Bach Society of Minnesota to his musical activities). Ensemble Caprice, whose members play recorder, cello, guitar and percussion returns to the Music in the Park Series with a program titled ‘iLove baroque”. Their program weaves together eight short stories featuring music of two centuries from five countries. Music by Bach, Falconiero, Schmelzer, Purcell, and Vivaldi (among others) highlights the drama, tenderness, joy, humor, and melancholy of being in love. A perfect way to celebrate St Valentine’s Day.
Sunday, March 17, 2019, 4pm
Music in the Park Series is proud to debut the Horszowski Trio, joined for part of the program by Masumi Per Rostad, violist of the renowned Pacifica Quartet. Hailed by The New Yorker as “destined for great things,” the members of the Horszowski Trio, who are also long-time friends, are Jesse Mills (violin), Raman Ramakrishnan (cello), and Rieko Aizawa (piano). Two-time Grammy-nominated violinist Jesse Mills first performed with Raman Ramakrishnan, founding cellist of the prize-winning Daedalus Quartet, at the Kinhaven Music School when they were children. In New York City, they met pianist Rieko Aizawa, who, upon being discovered by the late violinist and conductor Alexander Schneider, had made her U.S. debuts at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Their musical bonds were strengthened at various schools and festivals around the world, including the Juilliard School and the Marlboro Festival. Ms. Aizawa was the last pupil of the legendary pianist, Mieczysław Horszowski (1892-1993), at the Curtis Institute. The Trio takes inspiration from Horszowski’s musicianship, integrity, and humanity. Like Horszowski, the Trio presents repertoire spanning the traditional and the contemporary. Their program features Schumann’s Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, a Brahms Piano Quartet, and Piano Trio by Charles Wuorinen.
Sunday, April 14, 2019, 4pm
Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. The New York Times extols its “luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism.” Within a few years of its formation, the Quartet garnered the first Cleveland Quartet Award and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award. The Quartet had its first European tour in 1997, and was honored in the U.K. with the Royal Philharmonic Award for Most Outstanding Debut. That debut recital was at London’s Wigmore Hall, and the Quartet has continued its warm relationship with Wigmore, appearing there regularly and serving as the hall’s Quartet-in-residence in the 2000-01 season. As of July 2014, the Brentano Quartet succeeded the Tokyo Quartet as Artists in Residence at Yale University, departing from their 14-year residency at Princeton University. The Brentano Quartet’s program is titled “Lamentations” and features music by Purcell, Haydn, Shostakovich, d”India, Carter, Lekeu, and Bartok. The Quartet is named for Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars consider to be Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”, the intended recipient of his famous love confession.
Read more at schubert.org
Subscriptions on sale Monday, February 19, 8:30am
Subscriptions are on sale starting Monday, February 19, 2018 at 8:30am and can be purchased online at
schubert.org/subscribe or by calling 651.292.3268.
International Artist Series five-concert subscription prices range from $101 to $226.50 for the daytime when available package option and from $113.75 to $243.75 for the evening package option. Student subscriptions are $55 (with valid I.D. and .edu email address).
Music in the Park Series six-concert subscriptions are $144. Student subscriptions are $66 (with valid I.D. and .edu email address).
Single Tickets on sale Wednesday, August 1, 11am
Igor Levit, piano
Samuel Hasselhorn, baritone
Nicola Benedetti, violin
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo soprano
Gautier Capuçon, cello
Miró Quartet
Trio con Brio, Copenhagen
Alexander Fiterstein and Friends
Ensemble Caprice
Horszowski Trio with
Brentano String Quartet
