Midsummer Music’s second annual Autumn Music Fest concludes with two concerts featuring virtuosos – and audience favorites – violinist David Perry and pianist Jeannie Yu performing duets by Ludwig van Beethoven, Rebecca Clarke, and Johannes Brahms.
Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78, for violin and piano gives rein to the two instrument parts to intertwine for a balanced unity with plenty of lyricism and virtuosity for both musicians. English-born American composer Rebecca Clarke’s Midsummer Moon for violin and piano from 1924 is an evocative character piece that exploits the quixotic abilities of the violin to portray the ever-changing color and essence of the full moon as wispy clouds play hide and seek with it. Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96, is described as the loveliest of his violin sonatas—as well as a considerable challenge for its players.
Perry and Yu are regular performers in Midsummer Music’s summer season. Violinist Perry enjoys an international career as chamber musician, soloist, orchestral musician, and educator, and he has performed in Carnegie Hall and in most major cultural centers of North and South America, Europe, and the Far East. He is sponsored by Michael Elkow and Mary Hauser & Jerry Randall for Midsummer’s 2024 season.
Acclaimed pianist Dr. Jeannie Yu enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator. She has appeared as soloist with the Portland Symphony, Marina del Rey-Westchester Symphony, the Xiamen Symphony Orchestra in China, Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, and the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, among others. She is sponsored by Mary Hauser & Jerry Randall for Midsummer’s 2024 season.
Concerts are at 7:00pm, October 19, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay, and 3:00pm, October 20, at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. Tickets are $39 for adults, $19 for students, and free for children 12 and younger with a paid adult, and they can be ordered at midsummersmusic.com or (920) 854-7088.
The complete Autumn Music Fest calendar can be viewed at midsummersmusic.com.
Autumn Music Fest – running October 5 through October 20 – features six concerts with world-class musicians, drawing on the extraordinary talent of artists from Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Des Moines Metro Opera, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Lincoln Center Auditorium, China National Symphony, the Apollo Music Festival, and the Ravinia Festival, among others. Additional concerts in the series include performances by the Griffon String Quartet, an affiliate of Midsummer’s Music, and violinist David Perry with pianist Jeannie Yu.
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.
High-resolution photos can be downloaded at https://www.midsummersmusic.com/photos/.
David Perry (credit Dan Eggert): https://www.midsummersmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/david-perry-1.jpg
Jeannie Yu (credit Dan Eggert): https://www.midsummersmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/jeannie-yu.jpg
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For calendar listings:
Autumn Music Fest, October 5 to October 20
Schubert’s Death and the Maiden
Pro Arte Quartet
String Quartet in G Major, Op. 33, No. 5, Hob.III:41, “How do you do?” • Joseph Haydn
String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D. 810, “Death and the Maiden” • Franz Schubert
October 5, 7:00pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
October 6, 3:00pm: Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
Haydn and Ginastera’s Haunted Ride
Griffon String Quartet
String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 74, No. 3 “Rider” • Joseph Haydn
Ritornello • Caroline Shaw
String Quartet No. 1 • Alberto Ginastera
October 12, 7:00pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
October 13, 3:00pm: Muse, Sturgeon Bay
Brahms and Beethoven
David Perry, violin, and Jeannie Yu, Piano
Violin Sonata in G Major, No. 1 • Johannes Brahms
Midsummer Moon • Rebecca Clarke
Piano Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49, No. 2 • Ludwig van Beethoven
October 19, 7:00pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
October 20, 3:00pm: Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor