Season tickets go on sale today at 10:00 a.m.
SCHUBERT CLUB ANNOUNCES:
2024-2025 International Artist Series
and
2024-2025 Music in the Park Series
SAINT PAUL, Minn. (March 6, 2024) — Schubert Club, Minnesota’s prominent presenter of recitals and chamber music, is pleased to announce its 2024-2025 International Artist Series and Music in the Park Series. In addition, the season will feature a special presentation of the entire Shostakovich String Quartet Cycle by the Jerusalem Quartet. Also included in this announcement are selected highlights from the 2024-2025 Schubert Club Mix series, as well as an exciting co-presentation of the Arts Partnership – the Midwest premiere of the concert version of composer Terence Blanchard‘s 2021 opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones.
First presented more than 125 years ago, the International Artist Series engages the world’s great solo artists in recital. This distinguished series continues to captivate and move audiences. Presented at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, the series opens October 13 & 15, 2024 with a program by the American pianist Jeremy Denk, whoserelationship as an Artistic Partner with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra has made him well-known to Twin Cities audiences. Denk has appeared on the International Artist Series once before, in 2008 with violinist Joshua Bell, but this will be his debut solo performance on the series. His program will celebrate works for solo piano by women composers spanning several centuries, and will conclude with works by Schumann and Brahms.
Next up on the Series is the return of the superb Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos, who last appeared on the series in 2009. OnNovember 12 & 13, 2024 Kavakos will perform all of Johann Sebastian Bach’s solo violin sonatas and partitas over the course of two different programs.
On January 22, 2025, the Swiss flutist Emmanuel Pahud will make his Schubert Club debut in a rare Midwest appearance. He leapt into the international orchestral and solo music scene when he was appointed Principal Flute of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Claudio Abbado. At 22, he was the youngest player in the Berlin Philharmonic, and is also the only flutist in the world to have a solo recording contract with a major record company, EMI Classics, with whom he has made over 20 recordings.
On March 28, 2025 the great Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes will return to the International Artist Series to perform a program featuring two Norwegian composers – Edvard Grieg and Geirr Tveitt. Andsnes will also be reunited with Schubert Club’s new Steinway D concert grand piano, which he himself selected for Schubert Club at the Steinway factory in Hamburg in 2023.
The 2024-2025 International Artist Series will conclude on April 16 & 17, 2025 with the Schubert Club debut of the dynamic British saxophonist Jess Gillam. Gillam shot to fame as the first saxophone player to reach the finals of BBC Young Musician competition, and then the youngest ever soloist to perform at the Last Night of the Proms. At just 25 years old, Gillam is already animating the music world with her exceptional musicianship and captivating stage presence. Her International Artist Series program showcases her instrument’s range and adaptibility, and includes works by baroque composers alongside masters of the modern era such as Philip Glass, Meredith Monk and Astor Piazzolla.
The Music in the Park Series, a cherished and distinctive audience favorite, was founded in 1979 by Artistic Director Emerita Julie Himmelstrup. The series presents chamber music concerts on Sunday afternoons at the acoustically superb St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ. This intimate venue, home to the series since its beginning, fosters a unique and palpable connection between composers, artists, and listeners of all ages.
The 2024-2025 Music in the Park season will open on October 27, 2024 with the Chiaroscuro Quartet, a quartet composed of four soloists in their own right. The quartet performs music of the Classical and early Romantic periods on gut strings and with historical bows, resulting in a unique sound acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. On November 24, 2024, a new piano quintet, Espressivo! will make their Music in the Park Series debut. This ensemble features four artists very familiar to the series, including pianist Anna Polonsky and violinist Jamie Laredo. On January 26, 2025. cellist Tommy Mesa, who has appeared numerous times at the Ordway with the Sphinx Virtuosi, will be making his Twin Cities recital debut with the phenomenal pianistMichelle Cann. The fourth and fifth concerts on the season, on March 23 and April 27, 2025 will be dedicated the string quartets of Shostakovich, performed by the Jerusalem Quartet.
The Jerusalem Quartet will perform all fifteen Shostakovich quartets in five concerts over the course of two visits to Saint Paul. Concerts one and five are included on the Music in the Park Series, but subscribers may add on the additional three programs to enjoy the full experience of these fifteen remarkable works for string quartet. The five concerts will take place on: March 23, March 24, March 26, April 25, and April 27, all at St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ.
Artistic and Executive Director Barry Kempton states: “Once again, Schubert Club’s Artistic Committee and I have had the fascinating experience of reviewing dozens of artists and ensembles – and their programs – as we narrowed down each of the two series to five presentations. Of particular importance to us this year has been encouraging artists to offer programs which include less familiar music that they believe deserves greater prominence.
I am especially looking forward to the Shostakovich string quartet cycle, which will bring the Jerusalem Quartet to St Paul in March and April. What an opportunity to hear all 15 quartets played by a quartet so richly steeped in the music of Shostakovich.”
This season, the Arts Partnership (Minnesota Opera, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Schubert Club and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra) will co-present the Midwest premiere of seven time Grammy Award-winner Terence Blanchard‘s Fire Shut Up in My Bones on Sunday, February 23, 2025.Blanchard’s electro-acoustic E-Collective quintet teams with the Turtle Island Quartet to present a new suite of music drawn from Blanchard’s opera, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2021 and was the first opera written by an African American composer to be performed at the Met.
The Turtle Island Quartet will also make an appearance on the 2024-2025 Schubert Club Mix series, performing works by Terence Blanchard, Rhiannon Giddens, David Balakrishnan and Jerod Impichaachaaha’ Tate. Schubert Club Mix will also include A 21st Century Schubertiade curated by singer, instrumentalist and director Bradley Greenwald, and more to be announced. The full 2024-2025 Schubert Club Mix lineup will be announced later this spring.
Subscriptions to both the International Artist Series and Music in the Park Series are on sale starting Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
International Artist Series and Music in the Park Series season ticket holders may add the Shostakovich Quartet Cycle performances and the Arts Partnership presentation of Fire Shut Up in My Bones totheir season beginning on March 6. Individual tickets for these performances go on sale to the public in early August, subject to availability.
CALENDAR LISTING
Jeremy Denk, piano
Sunday, Oct 13, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct 15, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
CLARA SCHUMANN (1819-1896)
Romance Op. 22 No. 1
TANIA LEON (b. 1943)
Ritual
CECILE CHAMINADE (1857-1944)
La lisonjera (The Flatterer) Op. 50
MISSY MAZZOLI (b. 1980)
Heartbreaker
MEREDITH MONK (b. 1942)
Paris
AMY BEACH (1867 – 1944)
5 Improvisations, Op. 148
RUTH CRAWFOD SEEGER (1901- 953)
Study in Mixed Accents
LOUISE FARRENC (1804-1875)
Mélodie in A-flat Major
PHYLLIS CHEN (b. 1988)
Untitled
ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Geistervariationen (Ghost Variations) in E-flat Major WoO 24
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24
Chiaroscuro Quartet
Sunday, Oct 27, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
W.A. MOZART (1756-1791)
String Quartet in C major, K.465 Dissonance
FRANZ SCHUBERT (1791-1828)
String Quartet in G major, D.887
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
J.S. BACH (1685 -1750)
Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (performed over two different programs)
Espressivo! piano quartet
Sunday, Nov 24, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
NOKUTHULA NGWENYAMA (b. 1976)
New work – not yet titled
Remainder of program to be announced.
Emmanuel Pahud, flute
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
Program to be announced.
Tommy Mesa, cello
Michelle Cann, piano
Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
NADIA BOULANGER (1887-1979)
3 Pieces for Cello and Piano
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862 -1918)
Sonata in D Minor
KEVIN DAY (b. 1996)
Sonata for Cello and Piano
ANDREA CASARRUBIOS
Mensajes del agua
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40
Fire Shut Up In my Bones
Terence Blanchard E-Collective
Turtle Island Quartet
Projections by visual artist Andrew F. Scott
Vocalists to be announced
Sunday, Feb 23, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Ordway Concert Hall
Presented by the Arts Partnership
Jerusalem Quartet
Shostakovich Quartet Cycle, Concert I
Sunday, Mar 23, 2025 at 4 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49 (1938)
String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68 (1944)
String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73 (1946)
Jerusalem Quartet
Shostakovich Quartet Cycle, Concert II
Monday, Mar 24, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
Add-on performance
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83 (1949)
String Quartet No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 92 (1952)
String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101 (1956)
Jerusalem Quartet
Shostakovich Quartet Cycle, Concert III
Wednesday, Mar 26, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
Add-on performance
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
String Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp minor, Op. 108 (1960)
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110 (1960)
String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat major, Op. 117 (1964)
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Friday, Mar 28, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Music theater
EDVARD GRIEG (1843-1907)
Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7
GEIRR TVEITT (1908-1981)
Piano Sonata No. 29 Sonata Etere, Op. 129
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810-1849)
24 Preludes, Op. 28
Jess Gillam, saxophone
Wednesday, Apr 16, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Apr 17, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
MEREDITH MONK (b. 1942)
Early Morning Melody (transcr. Simon Parkin)
PHILIP GLASS (b. 1937)
Melody for Saxophone No. 10
LUKE HOWARD (b. 1978)
Dappled Light
FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963)
Oboe Sonata
BARBARA THOMPSON (1944-2022)
The Unseen Way
GEORG TELEMANN (1671-1767)
Bassoon Sonata in F Minor (arr. Simon Parkin)
AYANNA WITTER-JOHNSON (b. 1985)
Lumina
JOHN HARLE (b. 1956)
RANT!
JOHN DOWLAND (1563-1626)
Flow, my tears, fall from your springs (arr. David Warin Solomons)
KURT WEILL (1900-1950)
Je ne t’aime pas (arr. Paul Campbell)
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
Selections from Histoire du Tango (arr. Simon Parkin)
·· Bordel 1900
·· Café 1930
·· Night Club 1960
Jerusalem Quartet
Shostakovich Quartet Cycle, Concert IV
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
Add-on performance
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906 – 1975)
String Quartet No. 10 in A-flat major, Op. 118 (1964)
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122 (1966)
String Quartet No. 12 in D-flat major, Op. 133 (1968)
Jerusalem Quartet
Shostakovich Quartet Cycle, Concert III
Sunday, Apr 27, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat minor, Op. 138 (1970)
String Quartet No. 14 in F-sharp major, Op. 142 (1972–1973)
String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144 (1974)