The Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City announces its Forty-Ninth Season 2024-2025 entitled “Voyages.” The Season, under the artistic direction of Dmitri Atapine and Hyeyeon Park, shares the joy of chamber music in twelve superb performances full of diverse and exciting repertoire in the hands of some of the world’s foremost artists.
Organized in three series – International Chamber Music, Master Pianists, and Early Music – the Season will begin on September 13th with “Voyage of Love.” That day will mark Schoenberg’s 150th and Clara Schumann’s 205th birthdays and in the company of virtuosos violinists Jennifer Frautschi, Oliver Neubauer, violists Hsin-Yun Huang, Che-Yen Chen, and cellist Nicholas Canellakis, joined by our Artistic Directors, we will present the magnificent Verklärte Nacht alongside music by Clara Schumann and Brahms. Four more performances will complete the International Chamber Music Series. Two exciting award-winning quartets – one American (Isidore String Quartet) and one European (Leonkoro String Quartet) – will make their KC debuts. The Isidore are the recent winners of the Banff Competition and the recipients of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, while the Leonkoro are the winners of the London Wigmore Hall Quartet Competition. Two more concerts will complete the series: one with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in “Poulenc’s Hommage to Winds,” and another – “Voyage de passion” featuring violinist Martin Beaver and violist Ettore Causa alongside our Artistic Directors – will take us on a deeper exploration of French chamber music.
The Master Pianist Series will feature three performances beginning with the phenomenal piano duo of Christina and Michelle Naughton, who have been described as “… one of the greatest piano duos of our time.” The great Nikolai Lugansky will share in a journey through the music of Mendelssohn and Schumann, and even his own transcriptions of Richard Wanger; while the incredible Jean-Efflam Bavouzet will carry through the staggering feat of performing the complete piano works by Ravel in celebration of the composer’s 150th birth anniversary.
The Early Music Series will present the Dunedin Consort in one of Bach’s most foundational works – the St John Passion. Also, we will hear one of the most unique of Handel’s works – the operatic and theatrical cantata Apollo e Dafne – with Twelfth Night Ensemble, soprano Nola Richardson, and baritone Roderick Williams OBE. We will explore the legacy of Josquin with The Gesualdo Six, an ensemble composed of some of the UK’s finest consort singers. And lutenist Thomas Dunford will take us on an exciting journey from the depths of the Renaissance to the music of Erik Satie.
Hyeyeon Park says, “What makes us excited about the whole Season are the journeys – voyages, if you will – that we can take alongside our audience across the concerts: the rich tapestry of connections between the programming and the repertoire. ”
“Yes,” adds Dmitri Atapine “Schoenberg’s 150th and Ravel’s 150th, American music with the Naughtons and the Isidore and Leonkoro, wind music with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center connecting to the world of strings in “Voyage of Love” and “Voyage de passion” and even in the hands of Thomas Dunford… The whole Season then becomes one grand voyage of discovery, and you won’t want to miss a single concert!”
The Friends is proud to promote its widely successful Club35, and multiple additional initiatives directed towards audience access and engagement. Also, front and center in the next year is the important expansion in the area of education and community programming, with sustained efforts to offer masterclasses, school visits, community concerts, and residencies by the many visiting artists. In particular, The Friends will continue its successful partnership with Heartland Chamber Music in our joint Young Artist Project: this groundbreaking program provides free weekly coachings to young dedicated area students who will receive regular instruction from some of Kansas City’s most renowned musicians, as well as our Artistic Directors, and will get exciting opportunities to perform and work with select distinguished visiting artists.
Subscriptions will be on sale beginning April 2, 2024 at www.ChamberMusic.org.
The Forty Ninth Season 2024-2025 “Voyages”
(All concerts begin at 7:00 p.m.)
“Voyage of Love” | September 13, 2024 | The Folly Theater
Christina and Michelle Naughton | September 28, 2024 | The Folly Theater
Handel: Apollo e Dafne – Twelfth Night Ensemble | October 26, 2024 | Atonement Lutheran
“Poulenc’s Homage to Winds” – CMSLC | November 8, 2024 | Midwest Trust Center
Bach: St John Passion – Dunedin Consort | November 16, 2024 | Atonement Lutheran
Isidore String Quartet | December 6, 2024 | 1900 Building
Nikolai Lugansky | February 11, 2025 | The Folly Theater
The Gesualdo Six | February 21, 2025 | Village Presbyterian
Thomas Dunford in Recital | March 21, 2025 | Grace and Holy Trinity
Leonkoro String Quartet | March 28, 2025 | 1900 Building
“Voyage de passion” | April 25, 2025 | 1900 Building
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet – Complete Ravel Piano Works | May 9, 2025 | The Folly Theater
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