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Upcoming Bowdoin International Music Festival Programs

Friday Concert Features Favorites, Old and New

Brunswick, Maine - The Bowdoin International Music Festival’s July 24 concert will present major works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach along with two shorter works by lesser-known composers Gerald Finzi and Osvaldo Golijov.

The program opens with Finzi’s Interlude for Oboe and Strings, Op. 21, in which “the oboe is beautiful in a nostalgic way,” according to artistic co-director David Ying. The performers are Kristin Leitterman, oboe; Yibin Li and Janet Sung, violins; Jeffrey Irvine, viola; and Jamie Clark, cello.

Mikhail Kopelman, former first violin of the Borodin String Quartet and concertmaster of the Moscow Philharmonic, then leads David Requiro, cello and Yong Hi Moon, piano, in Beethoven’s great Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2.

Golijov’s Last Round (1996) is a theatrical work in which two quintets “face off,” simulating the dance pairings of the Argentinian Tango. Five faculty members – the Pacifica Quartet and double bassist Kurt Muroki, will be joined by five fellowship students – Haeji Kim and Yefim Romanov, violins; Emily Brandenburg, viola; Minji Kim, cello; and Isac Ryu, double bass, in this test of students and their mentors.

The evening will conclude with Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043, featuring Renee Jolles and Lewis Kaplan as soloists, with the Bowdoin Festival String Orchestra.

Festival Fridays concerts are held at 7:30 PM at Crooker Theater at Brunswick High School. Tickets are $40.

Monday Showcase

The Grammy-winning Pacifica Quartet will return to the Bowdoin Festival stage Monday evening, July 27, to present György Ligeti’s String Quartet No. 1 “Metamorphoses nocturnes,” Shulamit Ran’s Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory (2015), and Franz Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, D.956 with Steven Doane, cello.

In naming the Pacifica “Ensemble of the Year” in 2008, Musical America stated “Pacifica Quartet is a model string quartet of the 21st century. Its open-minded approach to repertory embraces both venerable and modern masters, overlooked gems and brand-new works.”

Three members of the Pacifica are Bowdoin Festival alumni. In fact, first violinist Simin Ganatra and cellist Brandon Vamos met as students at the Festival, started the quartet, and are now happily married.

Monday Showcase concerts are held at 7:30 PM at Studzinski Recital Hall on the Bowdoin College campus. Tickets are $40.

Wednesday Upbeat! July 29, 2015

The Bowdoin Festival’s July 29 Wednesday Upbeat! concert presents four very distinctive works, by Camille Saint-Saëns, Ernö Dohnányi, Maurice Ravel, and Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Saint-Saëns’ Fantasie for Violin and Harp, Op. 124, which features virtuoso performances by harpist June Han and violinist Renee Jolles.

Dohnányi’s Serenade for String Trio, Op. 10 is an early work incorporating Hungarian melodies and harmonies that would be later explored by Bartók and Kodály. Three good friends present the work: Frank Huang, violin; Dimitri Murrath, viola; and David Requiro, cello.

Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello, performed by Eastman colleagues Renee Jolles, violin, and Steven Doane, cello, is a rare instrumentation for Ravel, but it is an pivotal work in his development as a composer. “The music is stripped to the bone,” Ravel wrote. “Harmonic charm is renounced, and there is an increasing return of emphasis on melody.”

The final work on the program, Villa Lobos’ Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5, W389-391 features soprano Elizabeth Weigle performing with eight cellists: David Requiro, Keiko Ying, Steven Doane, Rosemary Elliott, David Ying, Minji Kim, Jamie Clark, and Kenny Lee.

Wednesday Upbeat! concerts are held at 7:30 PM in Bowdoin’s Studzinski Recital Hall. Tickets are $40.

Peter Serkin in Friday July 31, 2015 Concert

Renowned concert pianist Peter Serkin will take the stage at the Bowdoin International Music Festival for the first time on Friday, July 31. He will be joined in a program of piano four-hands by Julia Hsu, a former Festival Fellow. They will present Johannes Brahms’ Five Chorale Preludes from Op. 122 and five of his Hungarian Dances, along with Franz Schubert’s Allegro in A Minor, D. 947, Op. 144 (“Lebensstürme”).

Serkin, the son of pianist Rudolph Serkin, has been nominated for three Grammy awards (winning one at the age of 19) and performs with major orchestras and chamber ensembles world-wide.

Violinist Mikhail Kopelman, the former first violinist of the Borodin Quartet, will lead a faculty ensemble after intermission in Johannes Brahms’ String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18. He will be joined by Seo Hee Min, violin, Dimitri Murrath and Caroline Coade, viola, and the husband-and-wife team of Steven Doane and Rosemary Elliott on cello.

Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music

The Gamper Festival presents the works of 20th century and contemporary American composers, including the Festival’s composers-in-residence, guest composers, and top student participants. This year’s Gamper Festival takes place on July 30 and August 1 & 2. The themes for this year’s concerts, which explore and stage the music of living composers, are: Thursday: Young Voices; Saturday: From Distant Shores; and Sunday: American Stories.

Gamper Festival Concerts are held at 7:30 PM in Bowdoin’s Studzinski Recital Hall. Suggested donation $10.00.

Artists of Tomorrow

Artists of Tomorrow student concerts feature the Festival’s top students performing solo repertoire and chamber music. This week’s concerts will be held July 26 and July 28 at 7:30 PM, and July 31 at 1:30 PM. Concerts are held in Bowdoin’s Studzinski Recital Hall. Suggested donation $10.

Bowdoin Festival Extra

Three Bowdoin Festival Extra events will be held this week, beginning with a master class taught by Frank Huang, concertmaster-elect for the New York Philharmonic, at 11:00 AM on Saturday, July 25 in Bowdoin’s Studzinski Recital Hall.

Sunday evening, the annual Sebasco concert will be held at 8:00 PM on the Main Deck at Sebasco Harbor Resort.

Tuesday afternoon, July 28, at 4:00 PM in Gibson Hall, piano faculty member Doug Humpherys will visit with his mentor and long-time Festival teacher Martin Canin, in another of this summer’s Musical Conversations between professional musicians and their mentors.

The public is invited to all Bowdoin Festival Extra events, which are held throughout the Festival at varied locations and are free of charge.

For a complete schedule of Festival concerts, ticket information, and to sign up for emailed program updates, visit bowdoinfestival.org. Tickets may also be ordered at the box office, 207­725­3895.