Saint Paul, MN, February 23, 2014 – The Schubert Club, Minnesota’s oldest arts organization, announces its 132nd 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. Subscriptions are on sale today for both series and single tickets will be available on August 4, 2014.
Nathan Gunn, baritone & Julie Jordan Gunn, piano
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Richard Goode, piano
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Hilary Hahn, violin
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano & David Zobel, piano
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
All concerts 7:30 PM at the Ordway
MUSIC IN THE PARK SERIES
Danish String Quartet
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Miami String Quartet with Lydia Artymiw, piano
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Ensemble Caprice
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Schubert Ensemble of London
Sunday, February 15, 2015
St Lawrence String Quartet
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Assad Brothers, guitar duo
Sunday, May 10, 2015
All concerts 4:00 PM at Saint Anthony Park United Church of Christ
About the 2014-2015 International Artist Series
The 2014-15 International Artist Series opens with husband and wife duo Nathan Gunn, baritone, and Julie Jordan Gunn, piano. Nathan Gunn has made a reputation as one of the most exciting and in-demand baritones of the day.
An international opera star, distinguished concert performer, and frequent recitalist, Gunn makes his International Artist Series debut this season. He performed for The Schubert Club once before at the 2004 Summer Song Festival. This coming September he will present a program of German Lieder and American art song.
Pianist Richard Goode has been hailed for music-making of tremendous emotional power, depth, and expressiveness, and has been acknowledged worldwide as one of today’s leading interpreters of Classical and Romantic era music. In an extensive profile in The New Yorker, David Blum wrote: “What one remembers most from Goode’s playing is not its beauty—exceptional as it is—but his way of coming to grips with the composer’s central thought, so that a work tends to make sense beyond one’s previous perception of it … The spontaneous formulating process of the creator [becomes] tangible in the concert hall.” Richard Goode last performed on the International Artist Series in 1993.
British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is internationally recognized for his electrifying performances and penetrating interpretations. Grosvenor first came to prominence as the outstanding winner of the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age of eleven. An exquisite technique and ingenious flair for tonal color are the hallmarks which make him one of the most sought-after young pianists in the world. Grosvenor makes his International Artist Series debut this season with a program which includes works by Rameau, Chopin, Franck, and Granados.
Violinist Hilary Hahn’s probing interpretations, technical brilliance, and commitment to performing and commissioning new music have not only made her one of the most sought-after artists of our time, but also brought her love of classical music to a diverse audience. Still just 34 years old, her international fame and recognition, which include two Grammies and multiple awards such as the Diapason d’Or of the Year, the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the 2008 Classic FM / Gramophone Artist of the Year, are a testament to her talent and drive. Hahn last performed on the International Artist Series in 2004, and more recently on the eclectic new concert series, Schubert Club Mix, in January 2014. We are thrilled to welcome her back to the Ordway stage.
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato enchants audiences and critics alike across the globe. With a voice “nothing less than 24-carat gold” as proclaimed by The Times, she is among the world’s most entrancing performers and the winner of many honors including the 2010 Gramophone Artist of the Year and a 2012 Grammy Award. DiDonato makes her long awaited International Artist Series debut this season.
About the 2014-2015 Music in the Park Series
“The Music in the Park Series reminds us that chamber music once was the favorite focus of an audience of friends – intimate, familiar, welcoming. Those qualities still exist in St. Anthony Park.” —Saint Paul Pioneer Press
The 2014-15 Music in the Park Series in Saint Anthony Park features some of the greatest ensembles and performers in the chamber music world. Embodying the quintessential elements of such an ensemble, the young Danish String Quartet has quickly established a reputation for its integrated sound, impeccable intonation and judicious balance. The New York Times selected the group’s 2012 Scandinavian House concert as a highlight of the year: “One of the most powerful renditions of Beethoven’s Opus 132 I’ve heard live or on disc.” The Danish String Quartet makes its Twin Cities and Music in the Park Series debut in the 2014-15 season.
Praised in The New York Times as having “everything one wants in a quartet: a rich, precisely balanced sound, a broad coloristic palette, real unity of interpretive purpose and seemingly unflagging energy,” the Miami String Quartet has established its place among the most widely respected quartets in America. For over twenty years, their diversity in programming, poise in performance, keen sense of ensemble and impeccable musicality has made this string quartet one of the most sought after in chamber music today. The Miami String Quartet returns to Music in the Park Series with long-time collaborating pianist Lydia Artymiw, a leading American pianist whom we are fortunate to have living in the Twin Cities.
Early music specialist Ensemble Caprice is renowned for its innovative and expertly informed interpretations of baroque music. Based out of Montreal, Ensemble Caprice has received national and international acclaim for its performances under the artistic direction of recorder and baroque flute virtuosi Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivière. This will be Ensemble Caprice’s first appearance in Music in the Park Series debut as well as its Twin Cities debut.
The Schubert Ensemble of London has established itself over 30 years as one of the world’s leading exponents of music for piano and strings. Regularly giving over 50 concerts a year, the ensemble has performed in over 40 different countries. It has over 80 commissions to its name, has recorded over 30 critically acclaimed CDs and is familiar to British audiences through regular broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. In 1998 the Schubert Ensemble’s contribution to British musical life was recognized by the Royal Philharmonic Society when it presented the group with the Best Chamber Ensemble Award, for which it was shortlisted again in 2010. The Schubert Ensemble makes its Music in the Park Series debut this season.
The St. Lawrence String Quartet has established itself among the world-class chamber ensembles of its generation. Since winning both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1992, the quartet has delighted audiences with its spontaneous, passionate, and dynamic performances. Alex Ross of The New Yorker magazine writes, “the St. Lawrence are remarkable not simply for the quality of their music making, exalted as it is, but for the joy they take in the act of connection.” Frequent performers on the Music in the Park Series, the St. Lawrence String Quartet will return with a program including works by Joseph Haydn and John Adams.
Brazilian-born brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad have set the benchmark for all other guitarists by creating a new standard of guitar innovation, ingenuity and expression. Their exceptional artistry and uncanny ensemble playing come from both a family rich in Brazilian musical tradition and from studies with the guitar/lutenist Monina Távora (1921-2011), a disciple of Andrés Segovia. In addition to setting new performance standards, the Assads have played a major role in creating and introducing new music for two guitars. Their virtuosity has inspired a wide range of composers to write for them including Astor Piazzolla, Terry Riley, Radamés Gnattali, Marlos Nobre, Nikita Koshkin, Roland Dyens, Jorge Morel, Edino Krieger and Francisco Mignone. The Assad brothers make their debut on Music in the Park Series this season.
Tickets and Subscriptions
International Artist Series five-concert subscription price are $95, $130, $165, or $225.
Music in the Park Series six-concert subscriptions are $132. Discounts are available for students.
Single tickets start at $25 for both series and will be on sale August 4, 2014.
More Info
More details can be found at schubert.org after February 23, 2014
About The Schubert Club
Founded in 1882, The Schubert Club maintains a highly regarded national and international reputation among leading classical music performers. Its International Artists Series has brought Jascha Heifetz, Arthur Rubinstein, Cecilia Bartoli, Isaac Stern, Beverly Sills and Yo-Yo Ma, among many others, to the Twin Cities to perform in recital for sold-out audiences.
Following decades of artistic collaboration, Music in the Park Series joined The Schubert Club in 2011. Founded 35 years ago, Music in the Park Series engages outstanding chamber music ensembles and solo artists to present concerts at the Saint Anthony Park United Church of Christ.
The Schubert Club is a member of the Arts Partnership, programming a vibrant future for the performing arts in downtown Saint Paul together with The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, the Minnesota Opera and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
The organization’s website is schubert.org