On the occasion of Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday, Midsummer’s Music celebrates with his Trio élégiaque, dedicated to his mentor, Tchaikovsky, with the inscription, “In Memory of a Great Artist.” The “Great Artist” is represented on this program by his First String Quartet.
Midsummer’s Music, Wisconsin’s oldest summer chamber music series, continues its 2023 concert season with a program commemorating Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday and celebrating his mentor, Pytor Il’ych Tchaikovsky.
Rachmaninoff wrote Trio élégiaque No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 9, at the age of 19, shortly after Tchaikovsky’s death. The work was dedicated to Tchaikovsky with the inscription, “In Memory of a Great Artist,” and it is one of the few chamber pieces composed by Rachmaninoff. Following Tchaikovsky’s death, Rachmaninoff experienced an extended period of depression. It took him years to work his way out of this aided by therapy and conducting engagements. Eventually, the political turmoil that resulted in the Russian Revolution led to his resettling to Dresden and then finally to the United States.
The String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11, Tchaikovsky’s first of three string quartets, was written with the most pragmatic of intentions: to make money. After six years of teaching at the Moscow Conservatory and running low on cash, he decided to present a concert of his own chamber music. The piece premiered in March 1871. While all the movements of the quartet deserve attention, it is the melancholic Andante cantabile movement that has become famous in its own right. The main theme, which deeply moved Leo Tolstoy, is based on a folk song Tchaikovsky heard at his sister’s house at Kamenka, whistled by a carpenter. The tune is a Ukrainian folk song, “Vanya sat on the sofa,” about an extremely inebriated peasant daydreaming about his love.
Remembering Rachmaninoff, Remembering Tchaikovsky program musicians are David Perry and Roy Meyer, violins; Allyson Fleck, viola; Anthony Arnone, cello; and Jeannie Yu, piano.
Performances are 7:00pm, June 29, at Egg Harbor’s Kress Pavilion, sponsored by David & Genie Meissner; 7:00pm, June 30, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Ephraim, sponsored by Peggy Lott; 7:00pm, July 1, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay, sponsored by Scott & Karin Myers; and 5:00pm, July 2, at Hope United Church of Christ in Sturgeon Bay, sponsored by Sandy Zingler.
A complete 2023 summer brochure can be downloaded at www.midsummersmusic.com.
Tickets are $38 for adults, $17 for students, and children 12 and under are free with an adult. Premium prices apply for special events. Flex-packs of six tickets for the price of five tickets are also available. Tickets can be ordered at www.midsummersmusic.com or by phone at 920-854-7088.
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://www.midsummersmusic.com/photos/.
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For Calendar Listings:
Opening with a Flair: Bartók & Fauré
Quartet in C Major Béla Bartók
Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 45 Gabriel Fauré
June 17, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
June 20, 7:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
June 21, 7:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
Women to be Heard
Musica Larga Ilse Fromm-Michaels
Quartet in E-flat Major Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel
String Quintet in A Minor, Op. 7 Johanna Müller-Hermann
June 22, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
June 23, 7:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
June 24, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
June 25, 5:00 pm: Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor
Remembering Rachmaninoff, Remembering Tchaikovsky
Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11, “Accordion” Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Trio élégiaque No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 9, “In Memory of a Great Artist” Sergei Rachmaninoff
June 29, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
June 30, 7:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
July 1, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
July 2, 5:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
Brahms in the Spotlight
Movements for String Quartet Nkeiru Okoye
Quintet in G Major Sir Arthur Somervell
String Quintet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 88, “Spring” Johannes Brahms
July 6, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 7, 7:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
July 8, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
July 9, 5:00 pm: Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor
Eric Lewis Meets Will Healy
Door County favorite Eric Lewis joins forces with Midsummer’s own Composer-in-Residence Will Healy to create a truly one-of-a-kind program. Being presented only twice, you do not want to miss a single note of this incredible collaboration, including a world premiere by Will!
July 13, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 14, 7:00 pm: Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay
Emperor Concerto & Jeannie Yu
Quartet in D Major, Op. 8 Bernhard Henrik Crusell
Symphony No. 95 in C Minor (Salomon arr.) Joseph Haydn
Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73, “Emperor” (Lachner arr.) Ludwig van Beethoven
July 15, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
July 16, 5:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
July 19, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 21, 7:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
Haydn (Michael) & Mendelssohn
String Quintet in C Major, P. 108 Michael Haydn
Phantasy Quartet Ernest John Moeran
Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 87 Felix Mendelssohn
July 20, 7:00 pm: Old Gibraltar Town Hall, Fish Creek
July 22, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
July 23, 5:00 pm: Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor
July 26, 7:00 pm: Sister Bay Moravian Church, Sister Bay
Schubert Trio
Piano Trio No. 2 Dmytro Klebanov
Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat, D. 898 Franz Schubert
July 27, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 28, 7:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
July 29, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
July 30, 5:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
19th Century French Rapture
Quintet in C Minor, Op. 42 Louis Vierne
Quintet No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 7 Charles-Marie Widor
August 23, 7:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
August 24, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
August 25, 7:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
August 26, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
Splendid Stories
Four Two-Bit Contraptions Jan Bach
En Saga, Op. 9 (Gregory Barrett arr.) Jean Sibelius
Quintet in G Major, Op. 77 Antonín Dvořák
August 27, 5:00 pm: Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor
August 29, 7:00 pm: Björklunden, Baileys Harbor
August 30, 7:00 pm: Mutchler Residence Salon Concert, Sturgeon Bay
August 31, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
September 3, 3:00 pm: The Clearing Folk School, Ellison Bay
Celebratory Fireworks!
Piano Quartet in D Minor, Op. 25 Dora Pejacevic
Café Music Paul Schoenfeld
Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 13 Richard Strauss
September 1, 7:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
September 2, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
September 4, 3:00 pm: Labor Day Gala, Björklunden, Baileys Harbor