Artisticluminaries, Chicago Debuts, and Expanded Programminghighlight the 2015/16 Season
ArtisticLuminaries, Chicago Debuts, and Expanded ProgrammingHighlight the 2015/16 Season
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GENERAL RELEASE – March 20, 2015
PHOTOS
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Amy Iwano
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University of Chicago Presents
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Season Highlights
- Illustrious UChicago alumnus Philip Glass returns to campus
- Arcanto Quartet, Artemis Quartet,DorothéeOberlinger,Warren Wolf, andDion Parson maketheir Chicagodebuts
- Mini-residenciescross diverse genres of classical, contemporary, and jazz music to infuse learning and innovation with the broader community
- As part of one residency, saxophonist Miguel Zenónstages his “Identities” multimedia big band project
- The Howard Mayer Brown International Early Music Series expands to five concerts
- In its third season,Jazz at the Logan series expands its platform to include vocalists, opening with Cécile McLorinSalvant
- The eminent pianist Paul Lewis appears with the Pacifica Quartet
- Chicago native clarinetist Anthony McGill returnsto perform with Musicians from Marlboro during its 50th season tour
- Anonymous 4 takes its final bows as a quartet
CHICAGO — The University of Chicago Presents, the University’s professional music presenting organization, announces its2015/16 season. The series, which spans a variety of genres in beautiful, intimate venues drawing on the intellectual resources of the University, adds several mini-residencies, offers a roster rich with world-class talent and beloved masterworks, and expands early music and jazz programming. In its 72nd year, UChicago Presents invites listeners to experience six series spanning classical, contemporary, early, jazz, and world music. In all, 26 unique programs will featurevirtuosic performances of world-touring artistson the historic University of Chicago campus.
UChicago Presents hosts several residencies in the coming season.The renowned and inimitable composer Philip Glass, University of Chicago alum (AB 1956, mathematics and philosophy), returns to campus. His mid-February mini-residency features a performance of The Etudes,a public talk, and film screening. Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón will appear in a three-day residency in late May, in which he explores the idea of culturalidentity of New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent.Third Coast Percussion resumes on-campus presence for a third year hosting a mini-residency and a program featuring inventive use of a single type of material in two pieces, one including a drum head, in the Chicago premiere of DonnachaDennehy’sTension of Skin.The Pacifica Quartet returns as Don Michael Randel Ensemble-in-Residence, openingwith theacclaimed British pianistPaul Lewis in a program including Beethoven’s late Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111.
The UChicago Presents’ Classic Concert serieswill present leading classical artists and diverse repertoire with The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensembleopening the season in a program of beloved chamber works, including Schubert’s epic Octet.Arcanto Quartet, the first of two European quartets this series to make its Chicago debut (the other being the Artemis Quartet),offers fresh and eloquent interpretations ofchamber music.Anthony McGill, Chicago native and New York Philharmonicprincipal clarinetist,joins Vermont-based Musicians from Marlboro in their 50th anniversary season tour. The program showcases the famedBrahms clarinet quintet. Philip Glassoffers his piano etudes, performed by five pianists, including the composer himself. The world’s leading guitar duo, brothersSérgio and Odair Assad, and Clarice Assad, Sérgio’s daughter and a sought-after composer, pianist, and vocalist,conclude the series withMemories from Rio, a program inspired by their native Brazil.
The Howard Mayer Brown International Early Music Series expands its season from four concerts to five, offering audiences historically researched programming, original instrument practices and touring international artists. Bach Collegium Japan, with Joanne Lunn, sopranoand Masaaki Suzuki, conductor/harpsichordist,kicks off the series with gems from the Baroque era, and South African pianist KristianBezuidenhout, who first gained international recognition after winning the prestigious first prize as well as the audience prize in the Bruges Fortepiano Competition, demonstrates his skill on the rarely heard fortepiano. Anonymous 4concludes their farewell tour in afinal performance with UChicago in a Christmas program of English carols and hymns. Early music star JordiSavallandaward-winning bodhrán playerFrank McGuire offer a program of music in the Celtic Irish, Scottish, and American traditions, nicely timed near St. Patrick’s Day. The final concert of the series features one of the leading recorder players of her generation, DorothéeOberlinger, with harpsichordist Florian Birsak and baroque cellist Marco Testori.
Contempobegins its 51st season with a new artistic director, composer Marta Ptaszynska, anda tribute to Pulitzer Prize winner Shulamit Ran (Contempo artistic director, 2002-2015). Ptaszynska’sprogramming vision for the new music collectiveincludesmusic by leading European composers and the return of the Contempo-Jazz Double Bill. The series continues with gifted ensembles-in-residence Pacifica Quartet and eighth blackbirdand conductor Cliff Colnot.
In its third year, Jazz at the Logan expands its footprint with the inclusion of vocalists. The dazzling CécileMcLorinSalvantopens the season. Next,pianist/composer Billy Childs and his quintet, with vocalistsBecca Stevens, Alicia Olatuja, and Chicago-based Spektral Quartet, present his project on the singer-songwriter Laura Nyro inMap to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro.Other series highlights include the phenomenal multi-instrumentalist Warren Wolf’s Chicago debut as the leader of his Wolfpack; a musical trip to the Caribbean with GRAMMY award-winning drummer Dion Parson and the 21st Century Band; and a signature multimedia presentation, Identities Are Changeable, by multiple GRAMMY nominee and composer/saxophonistMiguel Zenón.
Music Across Genres, known for showcasing diverse ensembles and exploring music, creates an unlikely connection through the Irish bodhrán. The ever-inventive Third Coast Percussionexplores playing techniques and offers a modern take on the instrument, whileJordiSavalland Frank McGuire, also performing as part of the Howard Mayer Brown Early Music Series, present the instrument in its classic, 18th century Irish and Scottishfolk music context.Music Across Genres concludes with the enchanting female a cappella ensemble Zulal’s interpretations ofrich and beautiful, ancient Armenian folk melodies.
FULL CONCERT SCHEDULE – organized by series
CLASSIC CONCERT SERIES
This series includes six concerts featuring the pillars of chamber music performed by world-touring artists. Since 1943, this renowned series has brought diverse ensembles and composers to the Mandel Hall stage—from the Classical period to the present.
FRIDAY / OCTOBER 16 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber ensemble
Mozart: Divertimento in D Major, K. 136/125a
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegeleinmalanders! (arr. Franz Hasenöhrl)
Schubert: Octet in F Major for winds and strings, D.803
The season opens with the return of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber ensemble, comprised of the orchestra’s principal players, bringing a program of beloved chamber works – Mozart’s charming divertimento, Hasenöhrl’s frolicking quintet after Strauss, and Schubert’s epic Octet.
“The musicians managed to produce the sound more often made by a chamber orchestra…irresistible.”
– The Buffalo News
Friday / November 13 / 7:30 pm / Mandel Hall
Arcanto Quartet
Chicago debut
J.S. Bach:The Art of Fugue (selections)
Schumann: String Quartet in A minor, Op. 41, No. 1
Smetana:String Quartet No. 1,From my life
Four musical soul mates – Antje Weithaas, Daniel Sepec, Tabea Zimmermann, and Jean-GuihenQueyras – founded the Arcanto Quartet in 2002 and took the chamber music world by storm with their spirited playing, fueled by the joy of bringing music to life in the world’s greatest concert halls.
“TheArcanto Quartet is one of the most stimulating and enjoyable ensembles to listen to, no matter what it is playing. Freshness, close rapport, finesse, and a blend of eloquence and vitality have been hallmarks of its style ever since its debut.”
–Telegraph
FRIDAY / January 22 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
Musicians from Marlboro with Anthony McGill, clarinet
50th Anniversary season tour
Beethoven: String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3
Penderecki: Clarinet Quartet
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115
Concerts by Musicians from Marlboro, the touring extension of the Vermont-based Marlboro Music Festival, have been described by The Washington Post as, “a virtual guarantee of excellence.” Here they bring a compelling program, bolstered by Chicago native and now New York Philharmonic principal clarinetist Anthony McGill. This Chicago concert is underwritten, in part, by a gift from Hanna Holborn Gray.
“…so fresh and full-blooded, so full of earthy vitality and sheer sensual pleasure, that it made you happy to be alive.”
–The Washington Post on Musicians from Marlboro
“He showed a whimsical, rhapsodic wit, and was able to paint in numerous hues, evoking both intimacy and distance.”
– New York Classical Review on Anthony McGill
Friday / February 19 / 7:30 pm / Mandel Hall
Philip Glass
The Etudes
Philip Glass’ piano etudes stand as an intensely intimate and personal statement by the composer who has had immeasurable impact on the musical and intellectual life of the 20th and 21st centuries. Performed by five pianists, including Philip Glass himself.
"To hear Philip Glass play the piano live was...extremely humbling. Hearing those famous modulations...played by Glass himself was like receiving a manuscript directly from the hands of Shakespeare."–Politikken(Denmark)
Friday / APRIL 8 / 7:30 pm / Mandel Hall
Artemis Quartet
Chicago debut
Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703
Bartók: Quartet No. 6
Beethoven: Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1, Razumovsky
The peerless performers from Germany bring their “fullness of sound, delineated structure and unparalleled drama” (Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung) to this brilliant program.
”The group (anchored by its eloquent first violinist, VinetaSareika, and including Mr. Runge, the violinist GregorSigl and the violist FriedemannWeigle) plays with refined vitality and a sound that has the lithe glow of a copper wire.” – The New York Times
SUNDAY / April 17 / 3:00 pm / Mandel Hall
Sérgio, Odair, and Clarice Assad
Memories of Rio
The Brazilian-born brothers, Sérgio and Odair Assad, set the benchmark for all other guitarists by creating a new standard of innovation, ingenuity, and expression. Here they are joined by Sérgio’s daughter, Clarice Assad, a sought-after composer, pianist, and vocalist, and together they close the series with music inspired by their homeland.
“The best two-guitar team in existence, maybe in history.” – The Washington Post on Sérgio and Odair Assad
“[Clarice Assad is] A virtuoso at the piano and the vocal cords – a classically trained natural talent, whose charismatic voice lifted all the brilliant vocal elements of meditative pleasure." – UNT.SE (Sweden)
HOWARD MAYER BROWN INTERNATIONAL EARLY MUSIC SERIES
Founded in 1981, this concert series spans from Medieval and Renaissance to Baroque and features artists dedicated to historically researched, informed programming, and original instrument practices.
THURSDAY / OCTOBER 29 / 7:30 pm / ROCKEFELLER MEMORIAL CHAPEL
Bach Collegium Japan
with JoanneLunn, soprano, and Masaaki Suzuki, conductor/harpsichord
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047
Vivaldi: Concerto in C Major for Recorder, Strings, and Continuo, RV 443
Handel: Gloria in B-flat Major, HWV deest
Vivaldi: Oboe Concerto in A minor, RV 463
J.S. Bach: Cantata,JauchzetGott in allenLanden, BWV51
Hailed by BBC Music Magazine as “The Kings from the East,” Bach Collegium Japan is joined by English soprano Joanne Lunn, “the ideal Bach soprano…intelligence and tonal beauty in one” for gems of the Baroque era.
“This orchestra has a freshness and ease in live performance that is inimitable.” – The Independent UK
Friday / NOVEMBER 20 / 7:30 pm / Logan center / PERFORMANCE HALL
KristianBezuidenhout, fortepiano
C.P.E. Bach: Rondo in C minor, Wq.59/4
Mozart: Suite in C Major, K.399
C.P.E Bach: Sonata in E minor, Wq.59/1
Mozart: Fantasie in C minor, K. 475
Mozart: Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333
KristianBezuidenhout has been praised by The Boston Globe as “A vigorously intelligent musician, well equipped with the technique to back up some extraordinary new ideas about old music.” The winner of both the prestigious first prize and the audience prize at the Bruges International Fortepiano Competition shows his skill on this rarely heard instrument with a dynamic program.
“One of the foremost, and arguable the most brilliant, of today’s fortepiano players.” – The London Times
SUNDAY / DECEMBER 20 / 4:00 pm / Rockefeller MEMORIAL Chapel
Anonymous 4
The Last Noel [Final performance of the farewell tour!]
Anonymous 4 takes its final bows as a quartet in 2015. In this final tour and UChicago Presents holiday concert, they presentan anthology of their most-beloved songs. From their earliest program,An English Ladymass, through their last Christmas recording,The Cherry Tree, they have chosen favorites that speak as eloquently now as they did in the Middle Ages. These are the songs that the women of Anonymous 4 simply have to sing together – one last time.
"Renowned for their unearthly vocal blend and virtuosic ensemble singing, the four women of Anonymous 4 combine historical scholarship with contemporary performance intuition to create their magical sound." – WFMT
Friday / MARCH 4 / 7:30 pm / MANDEL HALL
JordiSavall, viols
Frank McGuire, bodhrán
The English & Celtic Viol: At the Court and Exile
In these popular Irish and Scots folk tunes that were gentrified in the 18th century, the early music master JordiSavall finds music with a strong, simple and emotional message - and the magical mystery of life.
“JordiSavall testifies to a common cultural inheritance of infinite variety. He is a man for our time” – The Guardian
Friday / APRIL 1 / 7:30 pm / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
DorothéeOberlinger, recorder
Florian Birsak, harpsichord
Marco Testori, baroque cello
Chicago debut
FlautoVeneziano
One of the leading recorder players of her generation and winner of the prestigious Echo Klassik Prize for Best Instrumentalist of the Year, DorothéeOberlinger brings her Diapason D’Or-winning Italian Baroque program with her Mozarteumcontinuo team for music of Venice’s Golden Age, including works by Vivaldi, Corelli, and others.
"... a soloist who has perfect fingers, consummate tonguing and breathing technique, ... DorothéeOberlinger has plenty of hot blood running through her veins.She manages to put all her many qualities at the service of the music."
– Goldberg Magazine, Spain
ENSEMBLE IN RESIDENCE SERIES: PACIFICA QUARTET
The superb and inspiring Pacifica Quartet, Don Michael Randel Ensemble-in-Residence with the University of Chicago, has gained international stature as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. This season they welcome a collaboration with the exceptional British pianist, Paul Lewis.
“(Pacifica’s) sunny vivaciousness, tonal coloring and emotional honesty brought out the music vividly.” – Pittsburgh Gazette
Sunday / October 18 / 3:00 pm / Logan Center / PERFORMANCE HALL
with Paul Lewis, piano
Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1, Metamorphoses nocturnes
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major (a quattro), K. 414
The multi-award winning and dynamic Pacifica Quartetreturns to perform alongsideBritish pianist Paul Lewis, who is regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation.
"There are many prized recordings of the Beethoven sonatas from past masters and current artists. But if I had to recommend a single complete set, I would suggest Mr. Lewis’ distinguished recordings."– Anthony Tommasini,The New York Times
SUNDAY / JANUARY 17 / 3:00 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Schnittke: String Quartet No. 3
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 13 in B-flat minor, Op. 138
Mendelssohn: Quartet in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2
In a program requiring unparalleled musicianship and skill, the Pacifica Quartetexpertly navigates from Schnittke’sintricate and polystylisticString Quartet No. 3, throughShostakovich’s solemn and poignant Quartet No. 13 in B-flat minor,to the romantic and vibrant Mendelssohn Quartet in E minor.
Sunday / April 24/ 3:00 pm / Logan Center / PERFORMANCE HALL
Mozart: Quartet in G Major, K. 387
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122
Beethoven: Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131
The pieces on this final program are linked by the composers' desire to honor others. Mozart's Quartet in G Major, the first of the "Haydn Quartets," was dedicated to the composer's friend and mentor. The whimsical yet reflective Shostakovich Quartet No. 11 commemorates the second violinist of the Beethoven Quartet, the ensemble that had premiered most of Shostakovich’s earlier string quartets. A commission for Prince Nikolai Golitzin, the massive Beethoven Quartet in C-sharp minor, concludes the concert.
CONTEMPO
Contempo curates the bold visions of today’s most innovative composers. Under new Artistic Director and award-winning composer Marta Ptaszynska, the contemporary music collective presents a tribute to Shulamit Ran (Artistic Director, 2002-2015) and a hearing of music by leading European composers–with resident artists Pacifica Quartet and eighth blackbird. The return of the Contempo-Jazz Double Billbrings European intermedia artists and a jazz set by GrazynaAuguscik and collaborators.
Tuesday/ october 27 / 7:30 pm/ LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Shulamit Ran Portrait Concert
with Julia Bentley, mezzo-soprano
O The Chimneys
Verticals
Lyre of Orpheus
Mirage
Bach Shards
MONDAY /FEBRUARY 29 / 7:30 pm / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Focus on Europe
with AgataZubel, vocalist
AgataZubel: Not I
TadeuszWielecki: The Thread is Spinning
Christophe Bertrand: Madrigal
Marta Ptaszynska: Mosaics
Helmut Lachenmann: String Quartet No. 3,Grido
SATURDAY / April 16 / 7:30 pm / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Contempo-Jazz Double Bill
JaroslowKapuscinski, multimedia artist
MarekCholoniewski, multimedia artist
GrazynaAuguscik, vocals
Maniacal 4 trombone quartet
Jarek Bester, accordion
Matt Ulery, double bass
JaroslawKapuscinski:Mondrian Variations; Oli’s Dream; Juicy
MarekCholoniewski: Waves
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Jazz set – Chopin can swing
Tomorrow’s Music Today
Contempo presents music by some of today’s finest young composers, performed by resident ensembles eighth blackbird, Pacifica Quartet, and conductor Cliff Colnot. Programs will include dissertation works by UChicago doctoral candidates in composition.