July 19, 2019
August 10-11 at Music Mountain

America’s longest running summer chamber music festival, Music Mountain, continues its 90th season on Sunday, August 11 (3pm) with the St. Petersburg String Quartet performing 20th-century works by Turina, Ravel and Gubaidulina. The weekend kicks off on Saturday, August 10 (5pm) with the Wolverine Jazz Band.  

On August 11, the St. Petersburg String Quartet honors the forward-looking vision of Music Mountain's founding quartet, the Gordon String Quartet, with a brilliant program that features two works from the series' inaugural season in 1930 -- Turina's La oración del torero (The bullfighter’s prayer), Op. 34 (1925) and Ravel's String Quartet in F Major (1903). Sunday's concert also features the first performance at Music Mountain of Sofia Gubaidulina's Piano Quintet (1957), with pianist Tao Lin. It is worth noting that just as Ravel and Turina were living composers during that inaugural season in 1930, Gubaidulina is a living composer today. 

The St. Petersburg String Quartet was a Music Mountain favorite for decades, until they disbanded in 2014 and created the St. Petersburg Piano Quartet. Music Mountain's 90th Anniversary Season is pleased to bring the string quartet back together for this special concert on August 11, and another next Sunday, August 18, along with its "sister" ensemble, the St. Petersburg Piano Quartet. 

The Washington Post wrote of the St. Petersburg String Quartet, "You might think that discipline, passion and impetuousness inhabit different universes, but the St. Petersburg String Quartet has morphed the three into a powerful musical persona.”

The esteemed Quartet’s rise to fame included a Grammy nomination, “Best Record” honors in both Stereo Review and Gramophone, an opening night performance at Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center and a residency at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. They performed hundreds of concerts on many of the world’s most prestigious stages, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and London Wigmore Hall. The pianists with whom they have collaborated include Leon Fleisher, Ruth Laredo, Misha Dichter and others. While on tour in the UK, Tchaikovsky Piano Competition winner Peter Donahoe called his collaboration with the Quartet “some of the most sublime moments of chamber-music making I have ever experienced.” Among the most recent releases in the SPSQ’s extensive discography are CDs of Ravel and Debussy quartets as well as the complete chamber music works of Tchaikovsky. The quartet's members are Alla Aranovskaya (a founding member); Boris Vayner, Luis Angel Salazar Avila and Thomas Mesa.

Chinese-American pianist Tao Lin has been described by critics as possessing “keen musical intelligence and excellent facility” (Miami Herald), “joyful virtuosity and stylish musicianship” (Gramophone Magazine), and “opulent and romantic tone” (Fanfare). He performs regularly around the world as a soloist with orchestras (Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony, others); a recitalist at prestigious venues (Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center) and a devoted chamber musician. He is currently an artist faculty member at the Bowdoin International Music Festival and is a visiting professor at Shanghai Normal University School of Music, as well as co-artistic director of Beaux Arts Chamber Music Series in Naples. He returns to Music Mountain next week (August 18), as a member of the St. Petersburg Piano Quartet. 

Since 1995 the Wolverine Jazz Band has been entertaining lovers of Traditional Jazz all over Boston and New England. The Wolverine Jazz Band is considered by many to be among the finest purveyors of Vintage Jazz on the East Coast. They also have a national following, having performed at numerous jazz festivals across the country - Phoenix, Seattle, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, Wisconsin, and others. Their annual concert, as the featured Jazz Artists at the prestigious Bar Harbor Music Festival, has played to packed houses for over 14 years. The seven musicians in the band -- each of whom has his own professional music career -- have managed to stay together as a group for over two decades! They are: John Clark, Clarinet, Saxophone and Leader; Jeff Hughes, Cornet, Trumpet; Tom Boates, Trombone; Ross Petot, Piano; Jimmy Mazzy, Banjo, Vocals; Rick Macwilliams, Tuba; and Dave Didriksen, Drums. 

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Music Mountain is located in Falls Village, Connecticut on Music Mountain Road, where a short scenic drive will bring you to Gordon Hall atop Music Mountain. Free parking and picnic facilities are available. Music Mountain is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development Office of the Arts, the Peter N. Krysa Designated Fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and two funds of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, Inc.: the Khurshed Bhumgara Fund and the Lucia Tuttle Fritz Fund.

Chamber music concerts continue with the return of the St. Petersburg String Quartet and Piano Quartet (August 18); Cassatt String Quartet (August 25); and Shanghai Quartet (August 31 and September 1 Benefit Concert). 

The Saturday Evening Twilight Series continues with the Barbara Fasano Trio Featuring Eric Comstock (August 17); and the Galvanized Jazz Band (August 24). 

Specially Priced Concerts include: Labor Day Benefit Concert & Reception on Sunday, September 1. All tickets $75. Special Concert to Celebrate the Completion of the 90th Anniversary Season on Sunday, September 22. All tickets: $60.

Regularly scheduled Chamber Music Concerts are $39. Twilight Series Concerts are $34. Children ages 5-18 are admitted FREE to ALL CONCERTS when accompanied by a ticket holder. 

Saturday evening Twilight Concerts are at 5 pm. Sunday afternoon Chamber Music concerts are at 3 pm. Discounts apply through participating organizations. For a complete summer schedule, special ticket prices and promotions, visit musicmountain.org or call (860) 824-7126.

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