Chamber Music Palisades opens 13th Season 10/20
Entertainment Desk
October 02, 2009
CHAMBER MUSIC PALISADES LAUNCHES 13th SEASON WITH SIX EXCEPTIONAL ARTISTS PERFORMING WORKS BY C.P.E. BACH, ROSSINI, REGER AND SCHUBERT: Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 8:00 PM, at St. Matthews Parish in Pacific Palisades
Featured Artists Include LA Phil Members Bing Wang, Assistant Concertmaster, Carrie Dennis, Principal Viola, and Peter Stumpf, Principal Cello, as well as Nico Abondolo, Bass, and CMP Co-Founders/Co-Artistic Directors Susan Greenberg, Flute, and Delores Stevens, Piano
Chamber Music Palisades (CMP) - hailed as "a unique and extraordinary organization," "exquisite and breathtaking," and for presenting "genuinely accessible chamber music of the highest order" - opens its 13th Season on Tuesday, October 20, 2009, at 8:00 P.M., at St. Matthew's Parish in Pacific Palisades, with a compelling program of both popular and rarely heard works performed by leading Los Angeles Philharmonic members Bing Wang, assistant concertmaster, Carrie Dennis, principal viola, and Peter Stumpf, principal cello, as well as stellar artists Nico Abondolo, bass, and CMP Co-Founders/Co-Artistic Directors Susan Greenberg, flute, and Delores Stevens, piano.
The concert repertoire includes the inventive Quartet in G Major for Flute, Viola, Cello and Piano by prolific composer C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788), the second son of J.S. Bach and a key figure in the First Viennese School, and Gioachino Rossini's (1792-1868) demanding Duo for Cello and Bass, which showcases these two low instruments with blazing virtuoso flights and a dose of humor. The program also features Max Reger's (1887-1916) rarely performed Trio in G Major for Flute, Violin and Viola, and concludes with the ever-popular "Trout" Quintet for piano and strings of Franz Schubert (1798-1828). KUSC's Alan Chapman provides commentary for the concert.
"We are delighted to launch our 13th season with these superlative artists," says Stevens. "They have all performed with us previously, but not together on the same program."
Adds Greenberg, "Chamber Music Palisades is dedicated not only to presenting classic works from the chamber music repertoire, but also in expanding it with new works. Coming up this season, for example, are a California premiere of a composition by Morton Subotnick and the world premiere of a sextet for winds and piano by Austrian composer Gernot Wolfgang."
On December 15, 2009, CMP presents Morton Subotnick's now and then and forever, as well as Igor Stravinsky's monumental L'Histoire du Soldat featuring virtuoso violinist Ida Levin as the object of the Devil's desire with narration by Bryan Torfeh from England's Royal Shakespeare Company.
The dazzling young guitarist Martha Masters appears on February 2, 2010, to perform the remarkable Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazolla with Greenberg. In addition, violinist Roger Wilkie, cellist John Walz and Stevens will perform a new arrangement of George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" for piano trio.
Closing the season on April 13, 2010, is the world premiere of a sextet for winds and piano by Austrian composer Gernot Wolfgang, as well as Beethoven's "Variations on a Theme by Mozart" and a Hindemith wind quintet.
Chamber Music Palisades was founded in 1997 by Pacific Palisades residents Greenberg and Stevens. They draw guest artists from their vast pool of talented colleagues in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra plus other leading instrumentalists from the U.S. and Europe. In addition to presenting established chamber works, to date Chamber Music Palisades has commissioned 11 compositions by such renowned composers as Paul Chihara, Jane Brockman, Henri Lazarof, Adrienne Albert, Maria Newman, Gernot Wolfgang and Joel McNeely.
Tickets are $25; students with ID are free. St. Matthew's Parish is located at 1031 Bienveneda in Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. For tickets and information, please call 310-463-4388 or visit www.cmpalisades.org.
CHAMBER MUSIC PALISADES
NICO ABONDOLO is internationally recognized as a leading double bass soloist and chamber musician. He made his debut at the age of 14 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and in 1983 became the first double bassist ever to win first place in the International Competition for Musical Performers in Geneva, Switzerland. Since then, he has appeared with orchestras and in recital throughout the U.S. and Europe. For eight seasons he was principal bass of San Francisco's New Century Chamber Orchestra, with whom he recorded Ginastera's Concerto per Corde. He was also co-director and composer for the Perks Dance Music Theatre, and has served as principal bass for numerous film composers, including John Williams, Hans Zimmer and Thomas Newman. Abondolo regularly performs chamber music with the La Jolla Summerfest, Musik III Festival and the Music Academy of the West. He is professor of bass at USC Thornton School of Music and the Music Academy of the West. He studied at USC, the Academia Chigiana and at the Juilliard School.
CARRIE DENNIS, principal violist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, entered the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 16 as a violin student of Victor Danchenko and took viola lessons with Joseph de Pasquale. She received her B.A. in violin performance in 1999, and returned to Curtis in 2000 to study viola with Michael Tree, followed by summer sessions with Roberto Diaz. Halfway into her second year she earned a position in the Philadelphia Orchestra as Associate Principal Viola. She was invited by Simon Rattle to audition for the Berlin Philharmonic, and served as Solo Viola for the Berlin Philharmonic for the past two years. She joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Principal Viola this fall. In addition to her orchestra career, Dennis is an avid chamber musician and has toured with Musicians from Marlboro. She has also participated in the Verbier Festival and been a Tanglewood Fellow, and has appeared at the Grand Tetons Music Festival and the Barga Chamber Music Festival in Italy. She played with the Musiche Quartet in Berlin, and she still performs with the ambient electronic music group Micro Nonet. Dennis has given master classes at Northwestern and Juilliard.
Flutist SUSAN GREENBERG enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, symphony player, and recording artist. The Los Angeles Times has described her playing as "brilliant," "elegant" and "supple," and has lauded her "panache" and "musical projection." A member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, she has been a frequent soloist on both flute and piccolo with the orchestra. Previously she premiered concerti composed by Bruce Broughton and Gernot Wolfgang, among others. Ms. Greenberg has also appeared as guest soloist with the San Francisco, Oakland Symphonies and Santa Monica Symphonies and at the Casals Festival and the Hollywood Bowl. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, L.A. Opera, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater and Joffrey Ballet, and at the Ojai Festival. Ms. Greenberg was the principal flutist for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra's tour of Japan, and has received the "Most Valuable Player" award on the flute from the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. Ms. Greenberg has been on the faculties of California Institute of the Arts and Occidental College, and is currently an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University.
Pianist DELORES STEVENS' recent career engagements have taken her from her Los Angeles base to Argentina, Australia, The Czech Republic, Japan, China, Spain, England and Scandinavia as well as across the U.S. Acclaimed as a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed on the LA Philharmonic/Green Umbrella Series, the Ojai Festival, Monday Evening Concerts, Chamber Music in Historic Sites, The Coleman Chamber Concerts and the Athenaeum Chamber Concerts, among others. She is a six-term former Director/Trustee of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, is the Chamber Music Director for the Young Musicians Foundation and is the Founder/Artistic Director of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society. She has recorded for fifteen labels and recently completed both a DVD 5.1 Surround Sound recording of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet for AIX Records and Maria Newman's Piano Concerto.
After serving 12 years as Associate Principal Cello of the Philadelphia Orchestra, PETER STUMPF became the Principal Cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2002. At 16 he began his professional career, playing in the Hartford Symphony. He received a Bachelor's degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory. A dedicated chamber music musician, he is a member of the Johannes String Quartet and has appeared on chamber music series at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Disney Concert Hall, in Cologne, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at Casals Hall in Tokyo. He has performed with the chamber music societies of Boston and Philadelphia and at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico as well as the Festivals of Marlboro, Santa Fe, Great Lakes, Ojai, Spoleto, and Aspen. He has toured with Music from Marlboro, the Casals Hall Ensemble, and with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, and has collaborated with pianists Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, András Schiff, the Emerson and Guarneri Quartets, among others. Stumpf has also appeared with the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Philharmonic.
Violinist BING WANG, who has earned critical acclaim for her numerous solo appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was named Assistant Concertmaster of the orchestra in 1994 at the age of 26. She is the first Chinese violinist to hold such a prestigious position. At the Hollywood Bowl, Wang appears annually both as the concertmaster and soloist under the baton of composer John Williams performing his signature movie classics. She made her Walt Disney Concert Hall concerto debut in May of 2005. In addition, Wang has been featured as the soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Manhattan Symphony and the American Youth Symphony, among others. In April 2002, she gave her first appearances in China since emigrating to the U.S., performing as a soloist and touring with her hometown orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, has collaborated with Pinchas Zukerman, Emmanuel Ax, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Ollie Mustonen, among others.
Featured Artists Include LA Phil Members Bing Wang, Assistant Concertmaster, Carrie Dennis, Principal Viola, and Peter Stumpf, Principal Cello, as well as Nico Abondolo, Bass, and CMP Co-Founders/Co-Artistic Directors Susan Greenberg, Flute, and Delores Stevens, Piano
Chamber Music Palisades (CMP) - hailed as "a unique and extraordinary organization," "exquisite and breathtaking," and for presenting "genuinely accessible chamber music of the highest order" - opens its 13th Season on Tuesday, October 20, 2009, at 8:00 P.M., at St. Matthew's Parish in Pacific Palisades, with a compelling program of both popular and rarely heard works performed by leading Los Angeles Philharmonic members Bing Wang, assistant concertmaster, Carrie Dennis, principal viola, and Peter Stumpf, principal cello, as well as stellar artists Nico Abondolo, bass, and CMP Co-Founders/Co-Artistic Directors Susan Greenberg, flute, and Delores Stevens, piano.
The concert repertoire includes the inventive Quartet in G Major for Flute, Viola, Cello and Piano by prolific composer C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788), the second son of J.S. Bach and a key figure in the First Viennese School, and Gioachino Rossini's (1792-1868) demanding Duo for Cello and Bass, which showcases these two low instruments with blazing virtuoso flights and a dose of humor. The program also features Max Reger's (1887-1916) rarely performed Trio in G Major for Flute, Violin and Viola, and concludes with the ever-popular "Trout" Quintet for piano and strings of Franz Schubert (1798-1828). KUSC's Alan Chapman provides commentary for the concert.
"We are delighted to launch our 13th season with these superlative artists," says Stevens. "They have all performed with us previously, but not together on the same program."
Adds Greenberg, "Chamber Music Palisades is dedicated not only to presenting classic works from the chamber music repertoire, but also in expanding it with new works. Coming up this season, for example, are a California premiere of a composition by Morton Subotnick and the world premiere of a sextet for winds and piano by Austrian composer Gernot Wolfgang."
On December 15, 2009, CMP presents Morton Subotnick's now and then and forever, as well as Igor Stravinsky's monumental L'Histoire du Soldat featuring virtuoso violinist Ida Levin as the object of the Devil's desire with narration by Bryan Torfeh from England's Royal Shakespeare Company.
The dazzling young guitarist Martha Masters appears on February 2, 2010, to perform the remarkable Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazolla with Greenberg. In addition, violinist Roger Wilkie, cellist John Walz and Stevens will perform a new arrangement of George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" for piano trio.
Closing the season on April 13, 2010, is the world premiere of a sextet for winds and piano by Austrian composer Gernot Wolfgang, as well as Beethoven's "Variations on a Theme by Mozart" and a Hindemith wind quintet.
Chamber Music Palisades was founded in 1997 by Pacific Palisades residents Greenberg and Stevens. They draw guest artists from their vast pool of talented colleagues in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra plus other leading instrumentalists from the U.S. and Europe. In addition to presenting established chamber works, to date Chamber Music Palisades has commissioned 11 compositions by such renowned composers as Paul Chihara, Jane Brockman, Henri Lazarof, Adrienne Albert, Maria Newman, Gernot Wolfgang and Joel McNeely.
Tickets are $25; students with ID are free. St. Matthew's Parish is located at 1031 Bienveneda in Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. For tickets and information, please call 310-463-4388 or visit www.cmpalisades.org.
CHAMBER MUSIC PALISADES
NICO ABONDOLO is internationally recognized as a leading double bass soloist and chamber musician. He made his debut at the age of 14 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and in 1983 became the first double bassist ever to win first place in the International Competition for Musical Performers in Geneva, Switzerland. Since then, he has appeared with orchestras and in recital throughout the U.S. and Europe. For eight seasons he was principal bass of San Francisco's New Century Chamber Orchestra, with whom he recorded Ginastera's Concerto per Corde. He was also co-director and composer for the Perks Dance Music Theatre, and has served as principal bass for numerous film composers, including John Williams, Hans Zimmer and Thomas Newman. Abondolo regularly performs chamber music with the La Jolla Summerfest, Musik III Festival and the Music Academy of the West. He is professor of bass at USC Thornton School of Music and the Music Academy of the West. He studied at USC, the Academia Chigiana and at the Juilliard School.
CARRIE DENNIS, principal violist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, entered the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 16 as a violin student of Victor Danchenko and took viola lessons with Joseph de Pasquale. She received her B.A. in violin performance in 1999, and returned to Curtis in 2000 to study viola with Michael Tree, followed by summer sessions with Roberto Diaz. Halfway into her second year she earned a position in the Philadelphia Orchestra as Associate Principal Viola. She was invited by Simon Rattle to audition for the Berlin Philharmonic, and served as Solo Viola for the Berlin Philharmonic for the past two years. She joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Principal Viola this fall. In addition to her orchestra career, Dennis is an avid chamber musician and has toured with Musicians from Marlboro. She has also participated in the Verbier Festival and been a Tanglewood Fellow, and has appeared at the Grand Tetons Music Festival and the Barga Chamber Music Festival in Italy. She played with the Musiche Quartet in Berlin, and she still performs with the ambient electronic music group Micro Nonet. Dennis has given master classes at Northwestern and Juilliard.
Flutist SUSAN GREENBERG enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, symphony player, and recording artist. The Los Angeles Times has described her playing as "brilliant," "elegant" and "supple," and has lauded her "panache" and "musical projection." A member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, she has been a frequent soloist on both flute and piccolo with the orchestra. Previously she premiered concerti composed by Bruce Broughton and Gernot Wolfgang, among others. Ms. Greenberg has also appeared as guest soloist with the San Francisco, Oakland Symphonies and Santa Monica Symphonies and at the Casals Festival and the Hollywood Bowl. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, L.A. Opera, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater and Joffrey Ballet, and at the Ojai Festival. Ms. Greenberg was the principal flutist for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra's tour of Japan, and has received the "Most Valuable Player" award on the flute from the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. Ms. Greenberg has been on the faculties of California Institute of the Arts and Occidental College, and is currently an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University.
Pianist DELORES STEVENS' recent career engagements have taken her from her Los Angeles base to Argentina, Australia, The Czech Republic, Japan, China, Spain, England and Scandinavia as well as across the U.S. Acclaimed as a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed on the LA Philharmonic/Green Umbrella Series, the Ojai Festival, Monday Evening Concerts, Chamber Music in Historic Sites, The Coleman Chamber Concerts and the Athenaeum Chamber Concerts, among others. She is a six-term former Director/Trustee of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, is the Chamber Music Director for the Young Musicians Foundation and is the Founder/Artistic Director of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society. She has recorded for fifteen labels and recently completed both a DVD 5.1 Surround Sound recording of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet for AIX Records and Maria Newman's Piano Concerto.
After serving 12 years as Associate Principal Cello of the Philadelphia Orchestra, PETER STUMPF became the Principal Cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2002. At 16 he began his professional career, playing in the Hartford Symphony. He received a Bachelor's degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory. A dedicated chamber music musician, he is a member of the Johannes String Quartet and has appeared on chamber music series at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Disney Concert Hall, in Cologne, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at Casals Hall in Tokyo. He has performed with the chamber music societies of Boston and Philadelphia and at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico as well as the Festivals of Marlboro, Santa Fe, Great Lakes, Ojai, Spoleto, and Aspen. He has toured with Music from Marlboro, the Casals Hall Ensemble, and with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, and has collaborated with pianists Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, András Schiff, the Emerson and Guarneri Quartets, among others. Stumpf has also appeared with the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Philharmonic.
Violinist BING WANG, who has earned critical acclaim for her numerous solo appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was named Assistant Concertmaster of the orchestra in 1994 at the age of 26. She is the first Chinese violinist to hold such a prestigious position. At the Hollywood Bowl, Wang appears annually both as the concertmaster and soloist under the baton of composer John Williams performing his signature movie classics. She made her Walt Disney Concert Hall concerto debut in May of 2005. In addition, Wang has been featured as the soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Manhattan Symphony and the American Youth Symphony, among others. In April 2002, she gave her first appearances in China since emigrating to the U.S., performing as a soloist and touring with her hometown orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, has collaborated with Pinchas Zukerman, Emmanuel Ax, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Ollie Mustonen, among others.
Print
Email
