15 years and still experimenting

Okay, it’s time to preview the concert season that awaits you! This year, to celebrate our 15th season, we are experimenting with a different kind of concert programming. In recognition of the fact that our original band of four musicians has grown to a community of ten, we have planned a season this year centered on the multiple combinations that can be formed with a roster of ten string musicians in residence. What does this mean? 

For starters, the Providence String Quartet will take a sabbatical season. We’ve been working hard for ten years, and we’re ready to take a breather to explore pieces of music and different ensemble configurations that we’ve been wanting to explore. Jesse, Sara, Minna, and I, along with our six colleagues, brainstormed a varied mix of pieces to play and we’re feeling excited for the possibilities that await us this season!

What will you hear? For one, we have a Bela Bartok theme in our programming this year, which will feature, along with many great works of chamber music, all 44 Bartok Violin Duos. These are brilliant short works, each based on a different Eastern European folk song, that progress in level of difficulty from the first to the last. Performing the whole set over the course of the season gives us the opportunity to showcase the concept of CMW’s mission—you’ll hear students performing with students, students performing with their teachers, our resident musicians performing with each other, and guest artists mixing in as well. Expect many Bartok treats (performed on cello and viola too!).

Also this year, we’ll feature three guest artist residencies, in which musicians will come to Providence for a week or two to add something special to our roster of string players, including Frank Rosenwein, principal oboist of The Cleveland Orchestra; pianist Knut Erik Jensen, a wonderful Norwegian musician living in California; and our dear friends pianist Amy Cheng and clarinetist Chad Burrow, who will be returning for their third concert collaboration with us (the first being back in 2001).

A few other fun features of this season to look out for include:

•    a Bach festival in November that we’re calling “Bach and Beyond,” because it will feature J. S. Bach as well as works inspired by J. S. Bach
•    a sonata series, on which our musicians will play intimate programs of works for solo string instruments with piano, with several different pianists joining us throughout the season
•    a chamber orchestra collaboration with our friends at Music Haven in New Haven, Connecticut, who have been successfully putting the CMW model into practice there for five years
•    an exploration of four of Franz Joseph Haydn’s six “Sun” string quartets, comprised of our resident musicians in various combinations
•    a new string quartet by Providence-based composer Shep Shapiro
•    a season-ending 15th year reunion concert bringing back musicians who’ve been part of CMW over our history. (Anyone remember the 10th season reunion concert weekend?)

We’re looking forward to this eclectic season of music and musicians, and we look forward to seeing you at concerts along the way!

-Sebastian Ruth, Founder & Artistic Director