Napa Valley Chamber Music Festival – July 31 – August 23, 2015
Schubert Sets the Stage for a Summer of Chamber Concerts and Wine
Michael and Daria Adams, Founding Artistic Directors of Napa Valley’s Music in the Vineyards festival, announced the 21st season of concerts to be held at wineries around the Napa Valley.
In 17 events from July 31 to August 23, Music in the Vineyards will feature the artistry of 42 world-class musicians who will come to the Napa valley for one-week residencies and numerous performances, which will all feature one work by Schubert. Music in the Vineyards, which offers complimentary wine at intermission, is held in barrel rooms, caves, museums, and private event rooms of more than a dozen wineries up and down the valley, allowing audiences an up-close and personal look into the soul of chamber music. This season, the focus will be on the music of Franz Schubert, the composer who so perfectly captured the essence of musical Vienna in his 31 short years.
The festival kicks off at Frog’s Leap Winery in Rutherford, where nine musicians will perform works by Rossini, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky in the winery’s tank-filled red barn. The high-octane horsepower of Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence sextet will anchor the evening. Also featured is the lyrical sonata Schubert composed for the now forgotten Arpeggionne, performed by cellist Zlatomir Fung, winner of the 2014 Irving M. Klein International String Competition.
Joshua Roman – Chamber musician
Along with Fung, cellist Joshua Roman returns to the festival for his 4th season, and is looking forward to performing the Tchaikovsky sextet on opening night. “It’s the quintessential Tchaikovsky chamber work – filled with passion, and features enough artists to pull off its symphonic style,” said Roman. “It’s fun to perform, because every voice has its own moment.”
“Music in the Vineyards is one of my favorite festivals to tell people about,” said Roman. “First of all, it’s Napa Valley in the summer, but I also love how everyone really gets into the music and puts in a lot of effort. It’s truly a work hard, play hard mentality, which gives us musicians the motivation to come completely prepared and ready for the beauty of quick collaboration.”
The season continues with Sommerfest on Saturday, August 1 – a Viennese-inspired benefit gala at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. The festivities begin with a terrace reception accompanied by the sounds of the Joe Bajuk Tyrolean Trio. The evening continues for a formal indoor Schubertiade concert featuring three of his works including the Wanderer Fantasy, Nocturne, and the Trout Quintet for piano and strings. Attendees will then enjoy a three-course dinner and wine in the barrel room, and a live auction featuring trips and cultural experiences in Bavaria, Santa Fe, and private wineries in the Napa Valley. The night concludes with professional Bavarian dancing and music; 19th century Austrian attire is welcomed.
On Wednesday August 5, the festival will greet the acclaimed Verona Quartet for their Music in the Vineyards debut at Beringer Vineyards. This exciting quartet, assistants to their mentors the
Pacifica Quartet at Indiana University, is on the cusp of a brilliant career. In the winery’s picturesque Hudson House, concertgoers will hear them shine in Schubert’s Death and the Maiden quartet, along with works by Haydn and Kelly-Marie Murphy.
“The most exciting aspect of coming to play at a festival is the contact we will have with new people – both the artists we will be playing with, and the new audiences we have the opportunity to play for,” said cellist Warren Hagerty of the Verona Quartet. “It is always thrilling for me to communicate with other artists and to people in the audience through music.”
Members of the Verona Quartet can also be heard during the second week of concerts, including on Saturday, August 8 at Clos Pegase in the winery’s acoustically dramatic Cave Theater. The program features Arnold Schoenberg’s ultra-romantic tone poem Transfigured Night, controversial in its time for explicit references to sexual themes, but also clearly marked him for greatness.
“I have only played [Transfigured Night] once, but I’m so excited to explore it again,” said Hagerty. “There are so many parts of the piece that give me goose bumps – even if I listen to them ten times in a row. I can’t think of many other pieces of music that move me as much as this one does.”
Tickets for Music in the Vineyards concerts cost $60 and are on sale now. Tickets for the Sommerfest gala are $275 and are highly limited. The festival also offers free open rehearsals on Thursdays and a closing night celebration ($145) at Meadowood Napa Valley on August 23.
Music in the Vineyards – Napa Valley Chamber Music Festival
July 31 – August 23, 2015
Overview of the 21st Season
Complete Schedule
Tickets
For more information:
via phone: 707.258.5559
e-mail: info@musicinthevineyards.org,
visit: www.musicinthevineyards.org
