Midsummer Music’s second annual Autumn Music Fest continues with concerts on October 12 and 13 featuring the Griffon String Quartet, the 34-year-old organization’s affiliate. The quartet, hailed for “superb playing, palpable chemistry, spirit, and emotional connection,” will perform works by Joseph Haydn, Caroline Shaw, and Alberto Ginastera in a program titled “Haydn and Ginastera’s Haunted Ride.”
Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 74, No. 3, earned the nickname, “The Rider,” in reference to the galloping theme in the exciting finale, and the piece scintillates with a bold exuberance, including surprising introductions, virtuosic compositions, and adventurous harmonic changes. Ritornello, by contemporary American writer Caroline Shaw, is named for the repetitions that enhance, reinforce, deplete, warp, and envelop meaning. Twentieth century Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera’s String Quartet No. 1 was awarded the “Carlo Lopez Buchardo” prize in the first national competition of the Wagnerian Society of Buenos Aires in 1948. He wrote, “It consists of the usual four movements – Allegro, Scherzo, Adagio and Rondo – wherein rhythms of Argentine folk music can still be perceived through a re-creation of an imaginary folklore.”
The Griffon String Quartet’s professional musicians are violinists Roy Meyer and Alex Norris, violist Oryann Tsaig, and cellist Jesse Nummelin. Haydn and Ginastera’s Haunted Ride will be performed at 7:00pm, October 12, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay, and 3:00pm, October 13, at Muse in Sturgeon Bay. The program is sponsored by Jacquie Wille.
The two concerts are free – donations will be accepted to promote the Griffon String Quartet’s mission – and tickets can be reserved at midsummersmusic.com or by phone at (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/.
Griffon String Quartet: https://www.midsummersmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/img_0373-cropped-cmyk.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