Lively classical music and the Rodeo Queen of Heaven
After a short, early-August break, Midsummer’s Music, Wisconsin’s oldest summer chamber music series, resumes its popular concerts starting August 21 with a creative program entitled “Down Home & Heavenly,” featuring music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ferdinand Ries, and Libby Larsen. Featured musicians are Alicia Lee, Clarinet, Fritz Foss and Dietrich Hemann, Horns, David Perry and Eleanor Bartsch, Violins, Allyson Fleck, Viola, James Waldo, Cello, Kris Saebo, Bass, and Jeannie Yu, Piano.
The pieces by Mozart and Ries contribute to the “Down Home” aspects of the program. At the age of 20, Mozart wrote his Divertimento in F Major, K. 247, in 1776 while living in Salzburg, his birthplace. It satiated the taste in Austrian high society for light-hearted music that would charm listeners and take away their cares of the day. The music includes two dance movements and would likely have served as after-dinner entertainment or for outdoor garden parties.
Ries’ Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 25, combines a clarinet, two horns, a violin, a cello, a bass, and a piano in its instrumentation. The movements range from energetic to melancholic to intense and allow pianist Jeannie Yu to demonstrate her extremely high level of virtuosity. After composing this septet, Ries embarked on several extended concert tours throughout Europe, eventually ending up in London, where he settled for 11 years. He then returned home to his native Rhineland.
Libby Larsen’s Rodeo Reina del Cielo (Rodeo Queen of Heaven) represents the “Heavenly” portion of the program. Larsen’s inspiration for the single-movement piece originated with a visit to the Denver Art Museum. Among a vast collection of American West art, she spotted an eye-catching, hand-carved, hand-painted wooden figure of the Madonna and Child entitled “Rodeo Queen of Heaven” by artist Arthur Lopez. Larsen explains “… what really speaks to me about this work that Lopez interprets Southwestern American culture through a Mexican Christian religious icon and comes up with an object (the Santo) which speaks volumes about who we are and what we are becoming.”
The Down Home & Heavenly program is performed four times: August 21 at 3:00pm at Hope United Church of Christ in Sturgeon Bay; August 24 at 7:00pm at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay; August 25 at 7:00pm at the Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor; and August 26 at 7:00pm at Birch Creek’s Juniper Hall in Egg Harbor.
The tenth program of the season, Quintet Elegance, features Dame Ethel Smyth’s Quintet in E Major, Op. 1, and Franz Schubert’s Quintet in C Major, D. 956. Performances begin with an exclusive Salon Concert sponsored by Nicolet Bank at 7:00pm, August 27, at the Courtney/Reschka residence in Sister Bay; 5:00pm, August 28, at Woodwalk Gallery in Egg Harbor; 7:00pm, August 31, at the Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor; and 7:00pm, September 2, at Sister Bay Moravian Church in Sister Bay. Featured musicians in this program are Violinists David Perry and Eleanor Bartsch, Violist Sally Chisholm, and Cellists James Waldo and Cole Randolph.
Composer and Midsummer’s Music board member David Utzinger will lead an educational Coffee Talk on August 23 at 2:00pm at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay. Coffee Talk programs are free, informal presentations on music topics by ensemble members, staff, and friends.
A complete 2022 summer brochure can be downloaded at www.midsummersmusic.com. Programs are subject to change.
Tickets are $35 for adults, $15 for students, and children 12 and under are free. Premium prices apply for salon/home concerts, dinner concerts and other 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://midsummersmusic.com/photos/.
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For Calendar Listings:
Coffee Talks
Coffee Talk programs are free, informal presentations on music topics by ensemble members. staff, and friends.
Tuesday, August 23, 2:00pm, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay: Composer and Midsummer’s Music board member David Utzinger.
Down Home & Heavenly
Divertimento No. 10 in F Major, K. 247 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Rodeo Reina del Cielo (Rodeo Queen of Heaven) Libby Larsen
Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 25 Ferdinand Ries
Sunday, August 21, 3:00 pm, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
Wednesday, August 24, 7:00 pm, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
Thursday, August 25, 7:00 pm, Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
Friday, August 26, 7:00 pm, Birch Creek: Juniper Hall, Egg Harbor
Quintet Elegance
Quintet in E Major, Op. 1 Dame Ethel Smyth
Quintet in D Major, D. 956 Franz Schubert
Saturday, August 27, 7:00 pm • Salon Concert, Courtney Residence, Sister Bay
Sunday, August 28, 5:00 pm, Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor
Wednesday, August 31, 7:00 pm, Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
Friday, September 2, 7:00 pm, Sister Bay Moravian Church, Sister Bay
A Date with Destenay (and Franck at 200)
Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 44 Louise Ferranc
Trio in E Minor, Op. 27 Edouard Destenay
Quintet in F Minor (1880) César Franck
Thursday, September 1, 7:00 pm, Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
Saturday, September 3, 3:00 pm, The Clearing Folk School, Ellison Bay
Sunday, September 4, 3:00 pm, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
Monday, September 5, 3:00 pm, Labor Day Gala, Björklunden, Baileys Harbor