Press Releases

Announcing the 2015-2016 Season

By Barry Kempton

We are pleased to share our 2015-2016 Schubert Club Season with you! 

 

2015-2016 International Artist Series

The Schubert Club’s International Artist Series engages the world’s great artists in recitals for audiences at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul. First presented 123 years ago, this highly sought-after recital series offers ticket prices that are among the lowest in America for comparable concerts. Beginning with the 2015-2016 season, The Schubert Club will present the majority of its International Artist Series concerts in the new Ordway Concert Hall. In addition, The Schubert Club will offer a new daytime series, a popular request from ticket buyers.
 

Han-Finckel-Setzer Trio

David Finckel, Wu Han & Philip Setzer, piano trio

Thursday, October 1, 2015, 7:30pm & Friday, October 2, 2015, 10:30am
Ordway Concert Hall

In recent seasons, cello/piano duo David Finckel and Wu Han have appeared frequently with violinist Philip Setzer–David Finckel’s former colleague in the legendary Emerson String Quartet–in performances of the piano trio literature. The trio has been met with critical acclaim worldwide. Of their recent performance of the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Utah Symphony, Edward Reichel wrote “It used to be the Beaux Arts Trio that other piano trios had to look up to and attempt to emulate. Now it’s the Han-Setzer-Finckel triumvirate that is the standard bearer.” For the first time, these leading figures of chamber music turn their attention to the piano trios of Beethoven and will perform six trios over the course of their two concerts, three in each program. Thursday’s program will feature Beethoven Piano Trios Opus 1, Nos.1 & 3 and Opus 70, No. 1 “Ghost” while Friday’s program will feature Beethoven Piano Trios Opus 1, No. 2; Opus 70, No. 2 and Opus 97 “Archduke”. Learn more

 
 

Bell PerformanceJoshua Bell, violin

Sunday, November 1, 2015, 3:00pm
Ordway Music Theater

Joshua Bell is at home as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and orchestra leader and is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era. With repertoire and performances ranging from Bach, to jazz standards, to world music, his restless curiosity, passion, and multifaceted musical interests have earned him the rare title of “classical music superstar.” Bell has spent time previously in the Twin Cities area as an Artistic Partner with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and The Schubert Club is delighted to welcome him back to the Ordway stage again for his first recital here since 2008.Learn more

 
 

levit400x250bIgor Levit, piano

Tuesday, February 16, 2016, 7:30pm & Wednesday, February 17, 2016, 10:30am
Ordway Concert Hall

In highly favorable profiles and reviews by The New Yorker andThe New York Times,  Igor Levit is regarded as a versatile young artist with the expression and understanding of music unseen in many young players. While taking wisdom from older traditions, Levit is unafraid to take risks, mixing his own alluring color and style into his performances. Alex Ross places Levit as one of “the most promising pianists of his generation,” and Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times writes about the “mature, commanding and richly detailed playing of this artist.” The Schubert Club is proud to introduce Levit as he makes his International Artist Series debut in the new Ordway Concert Hall. Learn more

 
 

CollinsMichael Collins, clarinet &
Michael McHale, piano

Friday, March 18, 2016, 10:30am & Saturday, March 19, 2016, 7:30pm
Ordway Concert Hall

Michael Collins’ dazzling virtuosity and sensitive musicianship have earned him recognition as one of today’s most distinguished artists and a leading exponent of his instrument. BBC Music Magazine claims that “no clarinetist around today is capable of floating a purer, smoother, more beautifully contoured melodic line than Michael Collins.” In great demand as a chamber musician and a Wigmore Hall Resident Artist, Michael Collins will perform with the young Irish pianist, Michael McHale. McHale has developed an international career as a solo recitalist, concert pianist, and chamber musician, and, according to Der Tagesspiegel is “a magician who glides across the keys.” The program will include a new work for clarinet and piano by Schubert Club composer-in-residence Abbie Betinis, commissioned by the Minnesota Commissioning Club. Learn more
 

 

bryn400x250Bryn Terfel, baritone &
Natalia Katyukova, piano

Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 7:30pm
Ordway Music Theater

Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel is one of the most sought after international voices of our time. He first became well known for his portrayal of Figaro and Falstaff, but in recent years, has been acclaimed for his performances of the Wagner roles of Wotan, Hans Sachs and Der Fliegende Höllander. His recordings have earned him two Grammy Awards and four Classical Brit Awards. Mr. Terfel ranks among the very favorite recitalists of Schubert Club audiences and returns after an absence of 8 years. Learn more


 

 

2015-2016 Music in the Park Series

Music in the Park Series presents a six-concert chamber music series at the acoustically and architecturally superb Saint Anthony Park United Church of Christ, home to the series since 1979. This intimate setting allows a connection between performers and audiences that distinguishes it from performances in larger venues. It is this special quality of the series founded by Artistic Director Julie Himmelstrup that draws chamber music lovers (performers, composers and audience members alike) to the Sunday afternoon presentations.

 
 

BSQlibrarycorner150150Borromeo String Quartet with
Kim Kashkashian, viola

Sunday, September 27, 2015
Featuring Nicholas Kitchen, violin; Kristopher Tong, violin; Mai Motobuchi, viola and Yeesun Kim, cello with guest violist Kim Kashkashian.

Now celebrating their 25th anniversary, the Borromeo String Quartet – “a fearless ensemble who appear to savour every sonic and and atmospheric challenge” (Gramophone) – have performed a vast repertoire worldwide and collaborated with many of today’s outstanding composers and instrumentalists. They have been the faculty ensemble-in-residence at the New England Conservatory of Music for 22 years and work extensively with the Library of Congress, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Audiences and critics alike have championed the Borromeo’s ability to bring back a contemporary fire to often-heard repertoire, while making even the most challenging new music approachable. For their Music in the Park Series concert they will be joined by violist Kim Kashkashian, winner of the 2012 “Best Classical Instrumental Solo” Grammy for her ECM disc of Kurtág and Ligeti. Detroit-born Kim Kashkashian has been called the pre-eminent viola player of our time, celebrated as a soloist as well as in chamber music on an instrument not typically associated with stardom. Learn more
 

 
trioconbrio150150

Trio con Brio Copenhagen

Sunday, October 25, 2015
Featuring Soo-Jin Hong, violin; Soo-Kyung Hong, cello and Jens Elvekjaer, piano

Making a welcome return to Music in the Park Series is Trio con Brio Copenhagen, hailed for their “unique sound and unity of interpretation.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). Founded in 1999 in Vienna by violinist Soo-Jin Hong, her sister, cellist Soo-Kyung Hong and pianist Jens Elvekjaer, these musicians have acquired a worldwide reputation for the freshness of their approach to the core repertoire. “Works by Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms are transformed in their hands into the alive-and-kicking music of today”, wrote one Danish critic. Their Mendelssohn CD was was chosen by Classic FM in the UK as its Chamber Disc of 2011: “Every phrase soars and pulsates with the excitement of a fresh discovery as the Copenhagen players go the full distance with playing of skin-rippling sensitivity…sensational playing.” Learn more

 

 

   windsync150150WindSync

Sunday, November 22, 2015
Featuring Garrett Hudson, flute; Erin Tsai, oboe; Jack Marquardt, clarinet; Tracy Jacobson, bassoon; and Anni Hochhalter, horn.

Invited back after their stunning debut on Music in the Park Series in the 2013-14 season, this young, energetic wind quintet returns with a program that features music inspired by Shakespeare, including their own arrangement of Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.”  Playing exclusively from memory, WindSync engages audience of all ages with creative and interactive concerts that incorporate elements of theater.   The ensemble–hailed by the Houston Chronicle as “revolutionary chamber musicians”–is recognized internationally for dramatic and adventurous programming in venues ranging from concert halls to museums, universities and schools. Learn more

 
 

Julie Albers, celloJulie Albers, cello & Orion Weiss, piano

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Julie Albers, the new principal cellist of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, is recognized for her superlative artistry and charismatic performing style. The Grand Prize winner at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, Ms. Albers toured France as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Douai. Her Twin Cities debut recital on Music in the Park Series with pianist Orion Weiss will feature works by Janacek, Poulenc, Beethoven and Grieg. One of the most sought-after young American pianists, Orion Weiss has performed with the Chicago and Boston Symphonies, and the New York Philharmonic. Julie Albers’ debut album with Orion Weiss includes works by Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Massenet, and Piatagorsky. Learn more
 

ebene150150

Ebène String Quartet

Sunday, March 13, 2016
Featuring Pierre Colombet, violin; Gabriel Le Magadure, violin; Adrien Boisseau, viola and Raphaël Merlin, cello.

From “promising young ensemble”, the French string quartet, Ebène String Quartet, has grown to become one of today’s foremost quartets on the international chamber music scene. Making their Minnesota debut on Music in the Park Series, the Ebène will perform quartets by Haydn, Debussy, and their own arrangements of works by the likes of Miles Davis, Astor Piazzola and The Beatles. “A string quartet that can easily morph into a jazz band,” declared The New York Times. With their charismatic playing, their fresh approach to tradition and their open engagement with new forms, the French musicians have been successful in reaching a wide audience of young listeners. Learn more

 

quartet-lab members

quartet-lab

Sunday, April 17, 2016
Featuring Patricia Kopatchinskaja & Isabelle van Keulen, violinsLilli Maijala, viola and Peter Wispelwey, cello.

Four musicians with international solo careers, including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s newest Artistic Partner Patricia Kopatchinskaja, formed a string quartet in 2013 with a mutual desire to experience and experiment with the string quartet repertoire. The quartet’s debut tour at major European venues including performances at London’s Wigmore Hall and the Konzerthaus Berlin received 5-star reviews. Tom Service of The Guardian wrote “it had me on the edge of my seat, bewildered, baffled, but uplifted – a real quartet-lab alchemy of emotions.” Their Music in the Park Series concert will feature works by Kurtag, Bartok and Beethoven. Learn more

 
 

Subscriptions On Sale Now

Subscriptions are on sale now and can be purchased online at schubert.org/subscribe or by calling 651.292.3268.

International Artist Series five-concert subscription price are $100, $135, $170, or $230.
 
Music in the Park Series six-concert subscriptions are $132. 

Student Subscriptions are $50 for either series.
 

Single Tickets On Sale August 3, 2015

Single tickets start at $25 for both series and will be on sale August 3, 2015.