On Sunday, November 24, RiverArts will present a glorious afternoon of Chamber Music in the midst of the paintings of Hudson River School master Jasper Cropsey at the Newington Cropsey Foundation. This annual event, now in its seventh year, has become a beloved tradition for both chamber music lovers and art lovers. This year we will hear Bach’s “Italian” Concerto, played on the piano, Mozart’s celebrated Divertimento in Eb for string trio, and Brahms’ Piano Quintet in f minor. Later on this season, at the March 9 Chamber Music Concert, we will have an opportunity to hear this same piece that Brahms left in two different versions: one for piano quintet [two violins, viola, cello, and piano] and another for string quintet [two violins, viola, and two cellos].
RiverArts’ Chamber Music Series under the artistic direction of cellist Peter Seidenberg has developed a reputation for its varied programming of 19th and 20th century touchstones of the chamber music repertory, alongside contemporary compositions including several commissions, performed by a varied roster of extraordinary musicians. For this concert he will be joined by violinists Muneko Otani and Calvin Wiersma, violist Daniel Panner, and pianist Shai Wosner. [see bios below]
Tickets for this RiverArts benefit concert are $115, and include a reception afterwards with the musicians hosted by the Cropsey Foundation. A very limited number of tickets are available for $150 and include a private tour of the gallery hosted by the Foundation’s Executive Director.
About the Artists:
Muneko Otani [violin] As the first violinist of the Cassatt String Quartet Muneko Otani has appeared in the US, Canada and Mexico as well as in Europe and Asia. Major venues have included Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Bastille Opera House. The quartet has over 40 recordings, and were named three times to Alex Ross’ 10 best classical recordings of the year in The New Yorker magazine. Her numerous awards with the Cassatt Quartet include the Wardwell Chamber Music Fellowship at Yale (where they served as teaching assistants to the Tokyo Quartet), two top prizes at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, two CMA/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, a recording grant from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, and commissioning grants from Meet the Composer and the National Endowment for the Arts. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with Paul Katz, Colin Carr, Ursula Oppens, Eliot Fisk, Walter Trampler, Martin Lovett, Marc Johnson, Kazuhide Isomura, Masuko Ushioda and Lawrence Lesser.
Daniel Panner [viola] enjoys a varied career as a performer and teacher. As violist of the Mendelssohn String Quartet, he has concertized extensively throughout the United States and Israel. He has performed at music festivals in Marlboro, Tanglewood, Aspen, and on National Public Radio’s Performance Today, and has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Emerson, Guarneri, and Juilliard String Quartets. As a member of the Whitman String Quartet, Panner received the 1998 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award. He currently teaches at The Juilliard School, the Mannes College of Music, SUNY Stonybrook, and the Queens College Conservatory of Music. He has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Musicians from Marlboro, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has served as the principal violist of such orchestras as the New York City Opera and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. An active performer of new music, he is a member of Sequitur and the Locrian Ensemble and has performed as a guest artist with Speculum Musicae, the Da Capo Chamber Players, and Transit Circle.
Peter Seidenberg [cello and Artistic Director] “Totally enchanting, inspired performances, brimming with natural, spontaneous musicianship”, raves Gramophone Magazine about cellist Peter Seidenberg. Mr. Seidenberg has played in major halls throughout the US, Europe, and Asia, and served as principal cellist with the Century Orchestra of Osaka. He was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Elements Quartet which created groundbreaking commissioning projects involving over 30 composers. He has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Tokyo, Juilliard and Emerson Quartets and has participated in the Marlboro, Aspen, Caramoor, Casals and Norfolk festivals. Currently, he is the cellist for the Oracle Trio, the Queen’s Chamber Band, and the New York Chamber Soloists. Peter concertizes frequently in collaboration with pianist Hui-Mei Lin. The duo have performed together throughout the US to much acclaim.
Calvin Wiersma [violin] Calvin Wiersma has appeared throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician. He was a founding member of the Meliora Quartet, winner of the Naumberg, Fischoff, Coleman, and Cleveland Quartet competitions. Mr. Wiersma was also a founding member of the Figaro Trio and is currently a member of the Manhattan String Quartet. In addition to worldwide touring with the Quartet, Mr. Wiersma’s wide range of musical activities have included performances at Bargemusic and Merkin Hall, and national and international tours with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and his contemporary music ensemble Cygnus. He has appeared at numerous Music Festivals including Aspen, Vancouver, Rockport, Bard, Portland, Crested Butte, North Country, Central Vermont, New Hope, and Interlochen. A noted performer of contemporary music, Mr. Wiersma is a member of Cygnus and the Locrian Chamber Ensemble, has toured extensively with Steve Reich, and has appeared with Speculum Musicae, Ensemble 21, Parnassus, and NYNME. Mr. Wiersma is an Assistant Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the Ithaca College School of Music.
Shai Wosner [piano] has attracted international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity, and creative insight. His performances of a broad range of repertoire—from Beethoven and Schubert to Ligeti and the music of today—reflect a degree of virtuosity and intellectual curiosity that has made him a favorite among audiences and critics, who note his “keen musical mind and deep musical soul” (NPR’s All Things Considered). Wosner is a recipient of Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. As a concerto soloist in North America, Wosner has appeared with the major orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Berkeley, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Toronto, among others. He was in residence with the BBC as a New Generation Artist, during which he appeared frequently with the BBC orchestras, including conducting Mozart concertos from the keyboard with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Wosner has worked with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Jiří Bělohlávek, James Conlon, Alan Gilbert, Gunther Herbig, James Judd, Zubin Mehta, Peter Oundjian, Donald Runnicles, Leonard Slatkin, Jeffrey Tate, and Yan Pascal Tortelier. Widely sought after by colleagues for his versatility and spirit of partnership, Wosner has collaborated as a chamber musician with numerous artists, including Martha Argerich, Martin Fröst, Lynn Harrell, Dietrich Henschel, Ralph Kirshbaum, Jennifer Koh, Cho-Liang Lin, Christian Tetzlaff, Orion Weiss, and Pinchas Zukerman.
About RiverArts Chamber Series
Founded in 2016, the RiverArts Chamber Music Series under the Artistic Direction of Peter Seidenberg and producer Doug Coe, is devoted to bringing the finest Chamber Music, both classical and contemporary, to the Rivertowns. Seasons usually consist of three concerts, one being a benefit hosted by The Newington-Cropsey Foundation.
For more information, and to purchase tickets, please click here.
