ASPECT Foundation for Music & Arts Announces 2017/2018 Season

After its highly successful inaugural season in North America, the acclaimed ASPECT Foundation for Music and Arts is expanding its programming to seven fascinating concerts this season.

Featuring a prestigious roster of rising and established solo artists and chamber ensembles, and notable scholars of music and history leading "Illustrated Talks" to enrich the concert-going experience, the 2017/2018 season presents concerts stemming from a variety of themed series and standalone performances of important chamber music works.

These series, many of which make their debut to the Foundation's New York audience, include "Composers on Composers," "Words of Music," "Hidden Gems," and "Painting Music." ASPECT Foundation, praised by Epoch Times as "a very welcome addition to the chamber music landscape of New York," enthusiastically returns to its locale at Columbia University's elegant Italian Academy, continuing its tradition of collective artistic enlightenment in an intimate space.

Excerpt from Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor Op. 34, "Romantic Vienna" at the Italian Academy on January 26, 2017

Guest speakers include many of the season's performers, with The Endellion String Quartet's cellist David Waterman, pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn, violinist Philippe Quint, FRETWORK's Richard Boothby, and Tav Holmes of the Four Nations Ensemble leading the series' Illustrated Talks, as well as acclaimed speaker and music producer Misha Donat and internationally-celebrated classical music radio broadcaster, composer, and author Stephen Johnson. By incorporating these illuminating speakers to the traditional classical music recital setting, the audience experiences some of the genre's most revered masterworks in a more contextual light, deepening understanding and appreciation for the genius of these timeless composers and their compositional legacies.

"The impulse to create this foundation came from the musicians I was fortunate enough to encounter - musicians who were not only excellent artists, but true intellectuals. Their profound knowledge of every aspect of the music they perform has significantly deepened my own perception of it," states founder Irina Knaster. "The concept of 'Music in Context' seemed perfectly harmonious: musicians who are willing to share their skills, vision and knowledge are given a forum to do so; members of the audience, eager to nurture their minds and souls, are given an opportunity to experience music in a particular artistic context and to hear the insights of those intimately familiar with it. Our concept is continuously evolving. Whether we inquire into the composer's mindset at the time of the music's creation or investigate the mysteries of his or her creative process; whether we delve into the history of the music and into the spirit of its time or explore the literary, philosophical or historical influences on the music, we always endeavour to set the context for each musical piece. We strive to enable the audience to decipher the meaning of the music, and to find an individual connection with it."

All performances take place at the Italian Academy , 1161 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027.

Kindred Spirits: Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert
Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 7:30PM
The Endellion String Quartet
Illustrated Talk by David Waterman
HAYDN String Quartet in G major, Op. 54 No. 1
BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat major, Op. 127
SCHUBERT Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703

Tolstoy and Music: Kreutzer Sonata
Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 7:30PM
Ignat Solzhenitsyn, piano
Mark Steinberg, violin
Ariel Quartet
Illustrated Talk by Ignat Solzhenitsyn
BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer Sonata"
TCHAIKOVSKY String Quartet No. 1 in D major Op. 11, Andante Cantabile
JANÁ?EK String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata"

Schubert Octet
Thursday, December 14, 2017 at 7:30PM
Ying Quartet
Joseph Anderer, horn
William Short, bassoon
Alexander Bedenko, clarinet
Brendan Kane, double bass
Illustrated Talk by Misha Donat
SCHUBERT Octet in F major, D. 803 Op. 166

Taneyev and Arensky...In Tchaikovsky's Shadow
Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 7:30PM
Alexander Kobrin, piano
Philippe Quint, violin
Jiin Yang, violin
Milena Pajaro van de Stadt, viola
Zlatomir Fung, cello
Brook Speltz, cello
Illustrated Talk by Philippe Quint
TANEYEV Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 30
ARENSKY Second String Quartet No. 2 in A minor

The Art of Fugue
Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 7:30PM
FRETWORK
Asako Morikawa
Reiko Ichise
Sam Stadlen
Emily Ashton
Richard Boothby
Illustrated Talk by Richard Boothby
JS BACH The Art of Fugue

Weimar: The Cradle of Musical Talent
Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 7:30PM
Vsevolod Dvorkin, piano
Sergey Antonov, cello
Illustrated Talk by Stephen Johnson
BACH Cello Suite No. 1 in G major
MENDELSSOHN Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major
LISZT Piano Sonata in B minor

Fête Galante: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Monday, May 17, 2018 at 7:30PM
Sherezade Panthaki, soprano
Four Nations Ensemble
Illustrated Talk by Tav Holmes
Works by COUPERIN, RAMEAU, CLÉRAMBAULT, and LECLAIR

ASPECT Foundation for Music and Arts was established to introduce and promote a novel concert format - "Music in Context." We aim to transform a traditionally auditory experience into a fusion of various art forms. Our objective is two-fold - to support and promote the artists, and to enlighten and inspire the audience through an intellectually charged collaboration between musicians and speakers.

Our goal is to create a thought-provoking amalgam of performance, lecture, and discussion; and to present not only a recital, but an inspiring synthesis of music, art history and social culture. Ultimately we strive to forge a connection between the artist, the music and the audience. It's more than a concert...

For more information, visit the ASPECT Foundation website.