The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival's 2008 season presents a variety of chamber
music masterpieces, rarely heard gems and new works. From July 20 through August
25, the Festival presents 76 renowned artists and six ensembles in concerts
and recitals. Performances are held at the ST. FRANCIS AUDITORIUM in the
New Mexico Museum of Art and at THE LENSIC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, both in downtown
Santa Fe, with three concerts (July 23, July 30 and August 6) taking place this
season at the KiMo Theatre in downtown Albuquerque as part of American General
Media Foundation’s new classical music concert series, KHFM PERFORMANCE
LIVE (see CALENDAR for details).
Festival highlights include the premieres of four co-commissions by some of
today's highly acclaimed composers:
Concierto de Camera by ROBERTO
SIERRA (week 2)
Real Loud by HUANG RUO (week
3)
Serenatas by KAIJA SAARIAHO
(week 3)
A Gift by JOAN TOWER (week 4)
raising the number of Festival commissions to 47;
Piece for Pro Piano Hamburg Steinway Model D
& Marimba One (week 3)
- a world premiere of a new work by artistic director MARC NEIKRUG;
The US premiere of LANCINO’s Onxa for Mezzo-soprano, Cello & String
Quartet (week 2)
and the second installment of the complete Beethoven string quartet cycle (which
began in the 2007 season) featuring the
ORION STRING QUARTET (weeks 3 and 4).
In
all, the 2008 Festival presents over 100 works by composers. The carefully crafted
programs presented throughout the season offer something for every taste. The
opening concert, which features Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2,
Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Platero y yo (performed in English) and Rachmaninoff's
Cello Sonata, is exemplary of the season's offerings.
This summer, a special MASTER CLASS will be offered by violinist Daniel Phillips
of the ORION STRING QUARTET to the ESCHER STRING QUARTET. As is the Festival's
tradition with rehearsals, the master class will be free and open to the public.
THE FESTIVAL ON AIR:
The only chamber music festival to be broadcast nationwide, the 2008 Santa Fe
Chamber Music Festival performances will again be produced and distributed nationally
as a 13-week, one-hour radio series by The WFMT Radio Network as it has since
2005. Other national radio broadcasts have included American Public Radio, Minnesota
Public Radio, NPR, and BBC Radio 3. The festival’s 2007 series will also
air again on the United Kingdom’s BBC Radio 3 in its Lunchtime Concert
series.
THE FESTIVAL and the VISUAL ARTS:
The 2008 season program cover and poster will showcase the artwork of Ms. EMMI
WHITEHORSE, an internationally renowned painter whose work focuses on nature
and land-scapes. Ms. Whitehorse will create an original painting for the Festival,
not only for 2008, but for the 2009 and 2010 seasons as well. The actual pieces
will then be auctioned each year to support the festival
This season the Festival also features the ALLAN HOUSER sculpture, "Rio Grande
Maiden" at a performance location.
THE FESTIVAL and CUISINE:
Responding to the popularity of its first Chef's Gala, the Santa Fe Chamber
Music Festival presents The Second Annual Chef's Gala on July 17, 2008. Held
at the Scottish Rite Center, the benefit gala will feature a special performance
by pianist YUJA WANG in the Hall, then cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the courtyard
(catered by Adobo Catering, Las Campanas Clubhouse, Peas ‘n’ Pod
and Torinos @ Home), followed by an incredible dinner featuring distinctive
tables created by 17 of the finest chefs in Northern New Mexico.
CLICK HERE for a listing of the culinary stars participating in
the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival’s 2nd Annual Chefs’ Gala as
well as the restaurant locations and phone numbers.
New Mexico audiences can catch a sneak peak of part of the opening festivities
weeks before the Festival’s gala. KRQE-TV’s morning news program
on CBS Channel 13 is presenting 17 weeks of cooking segments featuring most
of the chefs from Northern New Mexico who are creating unique, four-course menus
for this exceptional event. (Check local listings for broadcast time.)
Photo credits: Christian Steiner, Kent Lacin,
Paul Labelle, Trent Cook, Lois Greenfield/ courtesy Grant Communications, Santa
Fe Chamber Music Festival.
UK
The SANTA FE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL