Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Baptist Vanhal, and Sergei Lyapunov confronted their demons.
Sister Bay, Wis. – June 25, 2021 – “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters—one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” John F. Kennedy
Starting Friday, July 2, through Thursday, July 6, Door County’s Midsummer’s Music explores music by three classical composers who all had great struggles with creative crises that ultimately guided their composition styles.
At the time when Ludwig van Beethoven had received approval of the nobility with works like the Serenade for Flute, Violin, and Viola, his deafness was becoming painfully clear. He wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament, a heart-rending document in which he rails against infirmity and the cruelty it imposes on someone of his extraordinary talent. This Midsummer’s program features his Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36, for violin, cello, and piano, marking a significant creative embarkation that coincided with his progressing aural deterioration.
Johann Baptist Vanhal lived in Vienna at the same time as Beethoven. By the middle of the 1770s, he had written more than 70 symphonies, but times and tastes were changing, and he chose to change his composition style, in turn. Largely abandoning the symphony form, he wrote more than 100 string quartets and 48 masses, along with numerous concertos. A trio for violin, viola, and bass, his Divertimento in G Major, W.Vlb:13, was written to charm the Viennese of the time and is lively and dancelike in character throughout.
In this Creative Crisis program, the third featured composer is Russian Sergei Lyapunov, who wrote his only chamber music composition – Sextet in B-flat Minor, Op. 63, for piano, two violins, viola, cello, and bass – at the age of 46. It is exceedingly rare for any composer to write just one work in a genre—and then to have that one work be one of his best. Lyapunov had a distinguished career as a virtuoso pianist and conductor, and he was extremely interested in Russian folklore. Like Vahnal in Vienna, the times and tastes in Russia were changing, and a new Russian school of music exemplified by Stravinsky emerged. Lyapunov chose not to pursue the new style and continued to promote the use of Russian folklore and the more traditional music forms found in Brahms and Schumann.
The Creative Crisis program will be performed July 2 at 7:00pm at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor; July 3 at 7:00pm at Hope United Church of Christ in Sturgeon Bay; and July 6 at 7:00pm at the Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek. Midsummer’s musicians include David Perry and Ann Palen, violins, Allyson Fleck, viola, James Waldo, cello, Drew Banzhaf, bass, and Jeffrey Panko, piano.
The Kreutzer Connotations program starts July 9, spotlighting Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata – one of the most famous violin sonatas – Danzas de Panama by African American composer William Grant Still, and the world premiere of Transit by Midsummer’s 2021 Composer-in-Residence Will Healy, featuring celebrated soprano Mikaela Bennett. July 9 at 7:00pm at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor; July 10 at 7:00pm at the Old Gibraltar Town Hall in Fish Creek; and July 11 at 4:00pm at Woodwalk Gallery in Egg Harbor. In addition to Ms. Bennett, musicians include David Perry and Ann Palen, violins, Allyson Fleck, viola, and James Waldo, cello.
Coffee Talks – free, informal presentations on music topics by Midsummer’s Music musicians and friends – resume starting July 3 at 10:00am with Jacob Beranek presenting American Classical Music Since 1941: A Sampling of 80 Years of Art at SWY231 in Sturgeon Bay. Will Healy, Midsummer’s 2021 Composer-in-Residence, will speak at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor at 10:00am on July 10, and Paul Frucht, 2021 Composer-in-Residence Fellow, will present Writing Music for Our Time at SWY231 at 10:00am on July 17.
Reservations for all concerts and Coffee Talks must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Before making plans or purchasing tickets, concertgoers should review Midsummer’s COVID-19 policy at midsummersmusic.com.
Tickets for all concerts are $30 for adults and can be ordered at www.midsummersmusic.com or by phone at 920-854-7088. Call the office for youth ticket prices. All programs are subject to change.
Midsummer’s Music was co-founded in 1990 by Jim and Jean Berkenstock, long-time Door County summer residents and principal orchestral players with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. What began as two concerts among friends has become one of the Midwest’s most anticipated chamber music series, bringing thousands of chamber music enthusiasts from around the globe to the magical Door County Peninsula.
For more information visit www.midsummersmusic.com.
High-resolution photos can be downloaded at https://midsummersmusic.com/photos/.
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For Calendar Listings:
Creative Crisis
Music by Johann Baptist Vanhal, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Sergei Lyapunov
July 2, 2021, 7:00pm – Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI
July 3, 2021, 7:00pm – Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay, WI
July 6, 2021, 7:00pm – Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI
Kreutzer Connotations
Music by William Grant Still, Will Healy, and Ludwig van Beethoven, featuring soprano Mikaela Bennett
July 9, 2021, 7:00pm – Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI
July 10, 2021, 7:00pm – Old Gibraltar Town Hall, Fish Creek, WI
July 11, 2021, 7:00pm – Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor, WI
Respect and Revelation
Music by Pedro (Pere) Tintorer, Paul Frucht, and Robert Schumann
July 16, 2021, 7:00pm – SWY, Sturgeon Bay, WI
July 20, 2021, 7:00pm – Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI
Diversions and Excursions
Music by Katherine Hoover, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
July 23, 2021, 7:00pm – Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI
July 25, 2021, 4:00pm – Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor, WI
Coffee Talks
July 3, 2021, 10:00am – Jacob Beranek: American Classical Music Since 1941: A Sampling of 80 Years of Art, SWY231, Sturgeon Bay, WI
July 10, 2021, 10:00am – Will Healy, 2021 Composer-in-Residence: Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI
July 17, 2021, 10:00am – Paul Frucht, 2021 Emerging Composers Initiative Fellow: Writing Music for Our Time: SWY231, Sturgeon Bay, WI