Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival Launches 43rd Summer Season

CCCMF 2022 by McGrath PR
CCCMF 2022 by McGrath PR

McGRATHPR.com – Celebrating its 43rd year, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival launches its 2022 season of concerts, performing from August 2 through 19 across Cape Cod.  Artistic Directors Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu have programmed a stellar line-up of four top string quartets and five world-class pianists presenting expansive repertoire spanning four centuries.

“We are thrilled to be returning to the Festival this August!” shares Co-Artistic Director Nakamatsu. “Performing with some of the finest musicians from around the world and sharing these incredible concerts with music lovers across Cape Cod delivers so much joy.”  Co-Artistic Director Manasse adds “The atmosphere of ‘collective effervescence’ experienced in our audiences last season was a welcome respite from the pandemic, as we once again gathered together to enjoy exceptional live music.  In response, we’ve expanded our concert offerings this year.”

2022 Season Highlights:

  • “A Quartet of Quartets” – the Ying and Borromeo return, the Ariel and Verona make their Festival debuts!
  • “Miraculous Masterpieces” – the 16-year-old Mendelssohn’s immortal Octet and Copland’s beloved “Appalachian Spring”
  • “Concerto Gala” with Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu
  • “Piano Extravaganza” – the Festival finale

This season, in the interest of public health and safety, and by popular demand, concerts are programmed to be 60 to 80 minutes in length without intermission, beginning at 5 pm, with the exception of the free public concert on August 16 at 7 pm (see schedule).

Tickets for the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival concerts are $40 general admission on August 2, 3, 9, 12 and 17; $55 general admission on August 5 and 19.  All concerts offer $15 admission for college students (with ID); and free admission for attendees 18 and under.  The August 16 concert at the National Seashore is free admission for all.  Tickets for the 2022 season can be purchased by phone at 508-247-9400 and online at capecodchambermusic.org.  Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival health and safety protocols for this season will be announced prior to the first concert, following state and local mandates.

2022 Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival Season Schedule:

Ariel Quartet Photo: Marco Borggreve

Debut: Ariel Quartet

Tuesday, August 2, 5 pm; Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Rd., Cotuit

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN                   String Quartet in F Minor, Hob. III:35

MATAN PORAT                                 Four Ladino Songs for String Quartet (composed for the Ariel Quartet)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN             String Quartet in C Major, Opus 59 No. 3 (“Razumovsky”)

Distinguished by its virtuosity, probing musical insight, and impassioned, fiery performances, the Ariel String Quartet has garnered critical praise worldwide.  The Ariel’s Festival debut includes Beethoven’s ever-popular Quartet in C Major, Opus 59 No. 3 (“Razumovsky”), and a new work created for the Ariel Quartet by leading Israeli composer Matan Porat.

Debut: Verona Quartet                                                                   

The Verona Quartet, courtesy image

Wednesday, August 3, 5 pm; First Congregational Church of Chatham, 650 Main St., Chatham

GIACOMO PUCCINI                          Crisantemi (“Chrysanthemums”) for String Quartet 

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN             String Quartet in F Major, Opus 18 No. 1

GYÖRGY LIGETI                               String Quartet No. 1 (“Métamorphoses nocturnes”)

The Verona String Quartet has firmly established itself amongst the most distinguished ensembles on the chamber music scene today. The Verona performs Puccini’s “Crisantemi,” Beethoven’s Quartet No. 1 and Ligeti’s Quartet No. 1 (“Métamorphoses nocturnes”).

Miraculous Masterpieces                                                     

Friday, August 5, 5 pm; First Congregational Church of Wellfleet, 200 Main St., Wellfleet

Ariel String Quartet and Verona String Quartet

Jon Manasse, clarinet, Tanya Dusevic Witek, flute; Cynde Iverson, bassoon, Tony Falanga, bass

Co-Artistic Directors Jon Nakamatsu (L), piano and Jon Manasse (R), clarinet

FELIX MENDELSSOHN                     Octet in E-flat Major for Strings, Opus 20

AARON COPLAND                            Appalachian Spring (original scoring for 13 instruments)

The Ariel and the Verona quartets team up for Mendelssohn’s beloved Octet.  The program concludes with Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring – a sold-out Festival sensation in 2019. Co-Artistic Director Jon Manasse and renowned soloists join both quartets.

Concerto Gala

Monday, August 8, 5 pm, First Congregational Church of Chatham, 650 Main St., Chatham

Jon Manasse, clarinet; Jon Nakamatsu, piano; Ying String Quartet

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART   Concerto in A Major for Clarinet and Orchestra, K. 622

Ying Quartet, l-r: Janet Ying (violin), Phillip Ying (viola) new first violinist Robin Scott, and David Ying (cello), in Wolk Atrium outside Hatch Hall at Eastman Theatre, Eastman School of Music March 23, 2015 // photo by J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester

                                                                 (arr. for clarinet and string sextet by Marnix van den Berg)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN             Concerto No. 4 in G Major for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 58

                  (arrangement – Vienna, early 19th century – for piano and string sextet)

Artistic Directors Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu are featured with the Ying String Quartet in Festival premieres of Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in their chamber music versions.

An Evening with the Ying

Tuesday, August 9, 5 pm, Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Rd., Cotuit

Ying String Quartet

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN                   String Quartet in G Minor, Opus 74 No. 3 (“Rider”)

Brian Zeger, courtesy image

JOHN NOVACEK                               Two Rags for String Quartet (The Drifter, Intoxication)                         

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK                          String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major, Opus 51 (B. 92) (“Slavonic”)

Haydn’s String Quartet in G Minor (“Rider”) is followed by two delightful rags by John Novacek. The program concludes with Dvořák’s “Slavonic” String Quartet in E-flat Major.

The Ying and Brian Zeger

Friday, August 12, 5 pm, First Congregational Church of Wellfleet, 200 Main St., Wellfleet

Brain Zeger, piano; Ying String Quartet

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN                   Trio in A Major for Piano, Violin and Cello, Hob. XV:18

ZHOU LONG                                      The Old Fisherman  

JOHANNES BRAHMS                        Quintet in F Minor for Piano and Strings, Opus 34

eGALitarian Brass, courtesy image

Brian Zeger joins the Ying for a program including Haydn’s Piano Trio in A Major, Zhou Long’s “An Old Fisherman,” and the great Piano Quintet in F Minor by Johannes Brahms.

An Evening with eGALitarian Brass                                             

Tuesday, August 16, 7 pm, National Seashore Salt Pond Visitor Center, 50 Nauset Rd., Eastham

eGALitarian Brass

Works by Jennifer Higdon, Joan Tower, Tania León, Zoe Cutler; Jazz and popular favorites

This award-winning all-women ensemble performs exciting new works by Jennifer Higdon, Joan Tower, and Tania León together with jazz and popular favorites.

Borromeo String Quartet, image by Richard Bowditch

Borromeo Returns                                                                           

Wednesday, August 17, 5 pm, Dennis Union Church, 713 Main St., Dennis

Borromeo String Quartet

ELEANOR ALBERGA                        String Quartet No. 2

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN             String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Opus 131

Led by the Festival’s former Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen, the Borromeo features a performance of Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet, Opus 131, as well as Jamaican composer Eleanor Alberga’s 2nd String Quartet – a Festival premiere.

Piano Extravaganza

Joyce Yang, piano, courtesy image

Friday, August 19, 5 pm, First Congregational Church of Wellfleet, 200 Main St., Wellfleet

Jon Nakamatsu, Lisa Nakamichi, Orli Shaham, Joyce Yang, piano

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART   Sonata in D Major for Piano Four Hands, K. 381

JOHANNES BRAHMS                        Variations on a Theme by Haydn for Two Pianos, Op. 56b         

MAURICE RAVEL                              Ma mère l’Oye (“Mother Goose”) for Piano Four Hands

DARIUS MILHAUD                            Scaramouche, suite for Two Pianos, Opus 165b

CHARLES GOUNOD                          Waltz from Faust for Two Pianos, Eight Hands (arr. Renaud de Vilback)

Co-Artistic Director Jon Nakamatsu brings together a luminous roster of leading pianists – Orli Shaham, Lisa Nakamichi, and Joyce Yang – for a concert of favorite works scored for piano (four and eight hands) by Brahms, Ravel, Milhaud and Gounod.

About Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival

Hailed by The New York Times as “A Triumph of Quality,” Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival (CCCMF) has been a presenter of chamber music and a major contributor to the cultural life of Cape Cod since its founding in 1979 by the late pianist Samuel Sanders, a longtime collaborator with Itzhak Perlman.  The Festival’s current Artistic Directors Jon Manasse (clarinetist) and Jon Nakamatsu (pianist) represent the top ranks of American chamber music.  In addition to its annual summer season of concerts,  outreach programs and an annual benefit concert in New York, CCCMF partners with local cultural organizations.

For more information visit capecodchambermusic.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival on Facebook.

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