Caramoor Announces Full Lineup for 2010 Summer Festival

Michael Barrett, now in his 7th year as CEO and General Director of Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, announces the lineup for the 65th Caramoor International Music Festival, held annually at the Center's distinguished 90-acre garden estate in Katonah, New York. The summer festival program, which will run from June 26 to August 8, offers a broad range of artists and repertoire from the worlds of classical, jazz, Latin, opera, bluegrass, and pop music.

"Our 65th summer season offers an incredibly rich array of offerings from powerful Mozart masterworks to jazz vibraphone, and from the summit of Bellini operas to the latest works from young artists breaking new ground," said Michael Barrett, Chief Executive and General Director of Caramoor. "In fact, it may be the most eclectic season in Caramoor's history. I hope audiences seek out their favorite music among our programs, but also venture outside their usual musical tastes and try something new. What better place than Caramoor, with its relaxed, bucolic atmosphere and musical artists all at the top of their game for audiences to discover something new, memorable, and inspiring?"

2010 CARAMOOR INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

OPENING NIGHT

Caramoor's 65th season opens on June 26 with the return of one of the greatest pianists of our time, Mitsuko Uchida. Last heard at Caramoor in 2007, Ms. Uchida will direct Caramoor's resident orchestra - the Orchestra of St. Luke's - from the keyboard in a performance of Mozart's last piano concerto, No. 27 in B-flat Major, K. 595. Opening this celebratory evening of collaborative music-making, Michael Barrett and St. Luke's will perform Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 25 and 34.

Opening night will honor long-time Caramoor supporters Tony and Judy Evnin with gala celebratory events before and after the concert. Mrs. Evnin is the Chairman of Caramoor's Board of Trustees.

Orchestra of St. Luke's
The 2010 Caramoor International Music Festival marks the 31st anniversary of its association with the renowned Orchestra of St. Luke's, Caramoor's Orchestra-in-Residence since 1979. In addition to opening night, St. Luke's will also play the Bel Canto at Caramoor opera performances, the 4th of July concert, and the Schumann the Romantic concert, all detailed below.

BEL CANTO AT CARAMOOR

Under the leadership of Will Crutchfield, Caramoor's Director of Opera, the 14th season of Bel Canto at Caramoor - an operatic exploration that Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times calls "an essential contribution" - features two bel canto treasures, Bellini's Norma and Donizetti's Maria di Rohan, both performed semi-staged with supertitles in the Venetian Theater with Maestro Crutchfield leading the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

July 10 and July 16 - Bellini's Norma
Bellini's Norma is the unquestioned pinnacle of bel canto opera, and the favored role of its greatest exponents from Giuditta Pasta and Giulia Grisi to Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland. Its moving story and mesmerizingly beautiful score combine to create one of the most perfect unions of music and drama in any era. Soprano Angela Meade returns, following her triumphant Caramoor debut in 2009's Semiramide, which made "best-of-the-year" short-lists in both The New Yorker and The New York Times. This season, she takes on the challenging title role in Norma for the first time in her career. Soprano Keri Alkema, lauded for her fiery Donna Elvira in the New York City Opera production of Don Giovanni, makes her debut as Adalgisa. Tenor Emmanuel di Villarosa and bass-baritone Daniel Mobbs complete the cast.

July 24 - Donizetti's Maria di Rohan
Maria di Rohan is one of the most astonishing products of Donizetti's last years in the theater, when hhis art progressed by leaps and bounds just as a fatal illness was about to overtake him. One of his most modern operas, Maria di Rohan is a taut, intimate drama of affection and violence that prefigures the world of Un ballo in maschera, Eugene Onegin and Werther. Soprano Takesha Meshé Kizart - whom The Financial Times has declared is "destined for a place in the distinguished line of Verdi sopranos"- returns to the Caramoor for the title role; fast-rising Brazilian tenor Luciano Botelho is her lover, the dashing Count of Chalais, in his first-ever U.S. appearance; and former Young Artist Scott Bearden makes his Caramoor mainstage debut as Maria's husband, the Duke of Chevreuse.

In addition to presenting the world's foremost singers, Bel Canto at Caramoor has always been dedicated to the training of a new generation of singers. A select group of rising Bel Canto Young Artists will join the guest soloists in the productions and present further musical perspectives on various themes in afternoon and early-evening programs before each opera.

CELEBRATING THE BICENTENNIALS OF SCHUMANN AND CHOPIN

July 15 - Chopin Bel Canto
When Chopin was a young man, bel canto opera was the most popular music in the world, and it was the music he loved best. The last half-century has seen that music return to the mainstream after generations of neglect. Bel Canto at Caramoor celebrates the great composer's 200th birthday with a program combining the music Chopin knew with the compositions in which he transformed and idealized it into his own unique language. The virtuoso Russian poet of the piano, Vassily Primakov, performs a selection of Chopin's Nocturnes, Mazurkas, a Ballade, and a Waltz - works that solidified the composer's reputation as an absolute master of the piano. Caramoor's Bel Canto Young Artists perform works that inspired Chopin, by composers such as Gaetano Donizetti and Gioachino Rossini.

July 17 - Schumann the Romantic: Vladimir Feltsman and Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by Robert Spano
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Robert Schumann's birth, Caramoor welcomes Maestro Robert Spano, Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony, for his debut performance at Caramoor. Each of the works on this program - Overture to Manfred, Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, and Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97 (Rhenish) - conveys Schumann's devotion to the expression of poetic imagery for the concentration and amplification of emotion in his music. Pianist Vladimir Feltsman, a Caramoor favorite, returns following his revelatory recital last summer.

July 18 - Schumann and Chopin at 200
Complemented by some of today's consummate chamber musicians and Caramoor favorites, the young mezzo Sasha Cooke, who recently made her Met debut in the premiere of John Adams' Doctor Atomic, performs Schumann's A Woman's Love and Life. Also on the program are Schumann's Fantasiestücke and Andante and Variations for Two Pianos, Two Cellos and Horn, and Chopin's Cello Sonata in G minor, performed by cellists Edward Arron and Alexis Pia Gerlach, pianists Ken Noda and Michael Barrett, and horn-player Stewart Rose.

CHAMBER MUSIC

These intimate presentations remain at the core of Caramoor's Festival program, this year offering a broad array of superstars and new faces.

July 1 - Lukasz Kuropaczewski - Guitar in the Garden
This phenomenal young Polish master has an effortless technical virtuosity, and is outstanding in both familiar and unusual repertoire. Performing in the Sunken Garden, his program will include Ponce's Twenty-Four Preludes, Sor's Grand Solo Op. 14, Bach's Suite No. 5 in C minor, and a sonata by Jose.

July 8 - Anthony McGill avec ses amis
Cultivating a major tradition, French composers have created an ethereal body of work for the clarinet. The superlative Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, invites friends - Arnaud Sussman, violin, and Gilles Vonsattel, piano - to explore the realms of French clarinet music, including works by Messager, Debussy, and Saint-Saëns, as well as Stravinsky's nearly-French L'Histoire du soldat.

July 11 - Midori in Recital
Midori's deeply expressive artistry has set her apart as a master musician. She joins forces with pianist Ozgur Aydin - winner of the ARD International Music Competition 1997 in Munich - in a profoundly poetic program of Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Bloch's Poeme mystique, Szymanowski's Mythes, and the Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor by Brahms.

July 22 - Jupiter String Quartet with Jon Nakamatsu
Caramoor's 2005-06 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence
In the process of establishing a major career, the Jupiter String Quartet returns to the festival with an impassioned and intriguing program: Beethoven's heroic Harp quartet, Ramshackle Songs composed for them by the young Dan Visconti, followed by one of the most beloved of all chamber works, Schumann's Piano Quintet, with 1197 Van Cliburn Gold medalist pianist Jon Nakamatsu.

July 29 - Leipzig String Quartet
Originally formed two decades ago by the string principals of the renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Leipzig String Quartet has become one of the most versatile European string quartets. Known for its meticulously sculpted interpretations and its distinctive dark timbre, they will perform Mozart's String Quartet No. 17 ("The Hunt"), and Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, as well as Tan Dun's first work upon arriving in New York City, Eight Colors for String Quartet.

August 5 - Jasper String Quartet premieres a new work by Annie Gosfield
Caramoor's 2009-10 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence
The Jasper String Quartet concludes its residency with yet another scintillating program. In addition to illuminating a late work by the father of the string quartet, Haydn's String Quartet No. 60 in G Major, Op. 76, No. 1 and Berg's monumental, yet cryptic Lyric Suite, the Jaspers give the world premiere of maverick Annie Gosfield's latest quartet, commissioned by Caramoor for A String Quartet Library for the 21st Century; Vol. XI.

EXTREME CHAMBER MUSIC

Caramoor has a longstanding reputation for presenting outstanding chamber music. Extreme Chamber Music embraces the same sophistication and rigor of performance standards as traditional chamber music, but the performing medium (ETHEL and 2 Foot Yard are both amplified), musical material (mostly new work), and presentation signal a clear break with tradition.

July 2 - 2 Foot Yard
Straddling the musical worlds of American popular song, chamber music, and modern currents of pop music, 2 Foot Yard has created an original musical "footprint" in the latest explorations of art and entertainment. Carla Kihlstedt's songwriting, vocalism, and Juilliard-trained violin playing is backed up by Marika Hughes on cello and vocals and the percussion and guitar playing of Shazad Ismaily.

July 9 - ETHEL
The relentlessly inventive, high-octane, amplified string quartet ETHEL continues the exploration of music beyond boundaries. Constantly re-imagining the possibilities of performance, ETHEL embraces today's most exhilarating music with emphasis on works composed since 1995. Their improvisatory spirit and fierce intensity make an ETHEL concert an event not to be missed.

July 30 - Christopher O'Riley's Out of My Hands
Christopher O'Riley, pianist and host of NPR's From the Top, stretches the piano beyond the classical repertoire with his latest project, Out of My Hands. Weaving his re-imaginings of music of Nirvana, The Cure, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Radiohead, Tori Amos, Portishead and works by Bach, Ravel, Scarlatti, Ades, and Raymond Scott together with his eloquent and compelling musings on music and popular culture, O'Riley breaks onto uncharted territory exploring the paths in and out of this wealth of material melding the familiar with the fresh.

CARAMOOR VIRTUOSI AND RISING STARS

Caramoor Virtuosi
Each summer, after spending the year performing in the most important concert venues throughout the world, the Caramoor Virtuosi return to Caramoor for a week-long residency culminating in ensemble performances that highlight their collaborative approach to chamber music. This year's Virtuosi, under Artistic Director Edward Arron, cello, include Jeewon Park, piano and harmonium, Jesse Mills and Arnaud Sussmann, violins, Yura Lee, violin and viola, and Max Mandel, viola, and Priscilla Lee, cello.

July 23 - Caramoor Virtuosi I
Program: Schubert's Adagio and Rondo Concertante in F Major for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello, D. 487;
Shostakovich's Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57; and Beethoven's String Quintet in C Major, Op. 29.

July 25 - Caramoor Virtuosi II
Program: Dvo?ák's Bagatelles for Two Violins, Cello and Harmonium, Op. 47; Sollima's Selections from Viaggio in Italia for Two Violins, Viola and Two Cellos (2000); and Chausson's Concerto in D Major for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Op. 21.

FAMILY FUN EVENTS, INCLUDING THE ANNUAL JULY 4TH CONCERT WITH FIREWORKS!

Caramoor is a place for the entire family, offering opportunities for picnicking and exploring the beautiful gardens in addition to concert-going. While all concerts at Caramoor are suitable for children ages 8 and older, a number of performances each year are designated for the entire family, including children of all ages.

July 4 - Pops, Patriots & Fireworks
Michael Barrett leads the Orchestra of St. Luke's in saluting our Nation's 234th birthday. Tchaikovsky's famous 1812 Overture will be paired with American patriotic favorites by Sousa and Ferde Grofé (the Grand Canyon Suite). The Theremin, the first electronic instrument ever invented and championed by Caramoor's founder, Lucie Rosen, will make a guest appearance under the skilled fingers of Rob Schwimmer and a spectacular fireworks display promptly follows the concert.

July 17 - Sandra Wong and The New Trad Trio
Sandra Wong and her New Trad Trio take families on a musical journey featuring traditional folk music from around the world played on over a dozen different instruments. Audiences on this interactive worldwide trip with discover the Swedish nyckelharpa, the Irish Uillean pipes, the Greek bouzouki, the Arabian doumbek, and much more. This program is for ages 6 and up. A simultaneous program for youngsters under the age of 6 will feature the group Kaleidoscope taking the youngest children on their own journey through world music.

June 16 (Pre-Season); June 30, July 14, July 28; August 11 (Post-Season) - Dancing at Dusk
Introduced in 2009 and expanded this season to five events, Dancing at Dusk offers early-evening festivities for the family, from toddlers to pre-teens, to picnic and enjoy great music together, including dancing to live music and interacting with musicians. This season's Dancing at Dusk programs explore musical cultures from around the world including English Country Dancing, Middle Eastern music, African music, and Indian classical music.

June 27, July 11, July 18, July 25, August 1 - Al Fresco Sundays
Audiences are encouraged to purchase a low-priced ticket to enjoy the concert in the Venetian Theater from Caramoor's Picnic Lawns - a wonderful way to experience live music in a relaxed and joyous way.

AMERICAN ROOTS: NEW SHOOTS

July 3 - New Shoots Festival: New Perspectives on Traditional American Music
Caramoor presents its first New Shoots Festival with groups that are transforming and re-interpreting the traditions of bluegrass and traditional music. The Punch Brothers, featuring virtuoso mandolinist Chris Thile - renowned for his incredible spontaneity and restless imagination - is the hottest group to be creating wide-ranging music out of the worlds of bluegrass, folk, and chamber music. From Irish, Old-time, and Bluegrass to Swedish folk music, Sandra Wong, playing the fiddle and nyckelharpa, is a veritable encyclopedia of traditional music from around the globe. Crooked Still, the hot young alternative bluegrass group whose soaring vocals and high-wire solos have enraptured audiences all over North America, is on a mission to bend the boundaries of traditional music.

July 31 - Dr. John and the Lower 9-11
Legendary pianist and singer, Dr. John (Right Place Wrong Time, Such a Night) has been performing New Orleans-style R&B, blues, rock and boogie-woogie since the 60s. A celebrated icon and peerless artist, he is a classic rocker with the legendary gravely drawl and a buoyant riot of swamp-voodoo piano grooves.

SONIDOS LATINOS

Sonidos Latinos, Caramoor's adventurous Latin American music initiative, continues for a fourth summer with a concert featuring Tiempo Libre and the legendary Paquito D'Rivera as well as several events during the Caramoor Jazz Festival.

June 27 - Tiempo Libre with Paquito D'Rivera
On the heels of their sizzling debut last summer, two-time Grammy-nominated Tiempo Libre returns to Caramoor with fellow Cuban and Sonidos Latinos favorite Paquito D'Rivera, in a high voltage performance.

August 8 and 27 - Caramoor Jazz Festival
Sonidos Latinos continues to be a part of Caramoor annual Jazz Festival, this year with sets by Clarice Assad and the Chuchito Valdes Big Band.

ROLLING IN THE AISLES - HUMOR IN MUSIC

August 1 - Polygraph Lounge
The zany Polygraph Lounge (musical pranksters, Rob Schwimmer and Mark Stewart), fascinates with inspired lunacy, original music and a stage full of bizarre instruments, including theremin, daxophone, travel bug, uboingy, garglephone, and many more. Referencing 250 years of music since J.S. Bach and using everything from nose flutes to cell phones to create their unexpectedly witty "hit tunes," Polygraph Lounge takes up the very special tradition of Spike Jones, Victor Borge and Peter Schickele, with their own unique twist.

CARAMOOR JAZZ FESTIVAL

The 17th annual Caramoor Jazz Festival, one of the vital jazz events in the region each year, concludes the 65th Caramoor International Music Festival with a star-studded line-up. Continuing and expanding the now illustrious tradition forged over the last sixteen years, Jazz Producer Jim Luce has crafted a three-day festival packed with jazz greats and new innovative voices on the scene. Legendary Chick Corea returns to Caramoor, making his first appearance since his solo concert last fall.

August 6 - Jazz Festival I
The consummate Mulgrew Miller - arguably the leading pianist of his generation - and his trio kick off the first evening of jazz with their improvisational prowess and captivating elegance.

August 7 - Jazz Festival II
Roswell Rudd brings his Trombone Tribe for a chameleon-like set of music with eclectic influences from down home to Kurt Weill to Eastern European gypsy brass music. The Brazilian Clarice Assad's versatility and sophistication as a pianist, vocalist, and composer ensures a deeply musical experience. A high-energy celebration of polyphonic rhythms, Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra unifies four percussion batteries into one distinct voice: North Indian tabla, Afro Cuban bata, Brazilian samba, and West African djembe. Clarice Assad is presented as part of Sonidos Latinos, Caramoor's ongoing Latin American music initiative.

August 8 - Jazz Festival III
The Jazz Festival and the 2010 Caramoor International Music Festival officially conclude on Sunday afternoon with a program that begins with the well-versed world traveler and guitarist Brad Shepik presenting his Human Activity Suite - his most expansive and committed project to date - with Ralph Alessi, Gary Versace, Drew Gress, and Tom Rainey. Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca returns to Caramoor with his Quintet featuring guitarist Pat Martino. After his solo performance two years ago and his quartet set last summer, Chuchito Valdes returns with his Big Band performing the music of his grandfather Bebo Valdes - a central figure in the Golden Age of Cuban music. Returning after his superlative solo concert during Caramoor's inaugural Fall Festival last year, the visionary Chick Corea co-headlines this year's festival with his Freedom Band featuring Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride, and the equally legendary Roy Haynes for the final concert of the weekend. Chuchito Valdes and Elio Villafranca are presented as part of Sonidos Latinos, Caramoor's ongoing Latin American music initiative.

ABOUT CARAMOOR
Caramoor is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who built their summer home - now known as the historic Rosen House at Caramoor - and filled it with their treasures. Walter Rosen was the master planner for the Caramoor estate, bringing to reality his dream of creating a place to entertain friends from around the world. Their musical evenings were the seeds of today's Caramoor International Music Festival. Realizing the pleasure their friends took in the beauty of Caramoor - the house with its art collection, the gardens, and the musical programs on summer evenings - in 1946 the Rosens established a public charity to open Caramoor to the community. Lucie Rosen survived her husband by seventeen years. During those years, she expanded the Music Festival: the Spanish Courtyard was used as a setting for musical events, as it is today, and, under her direction, the great stage of the Venetian Theater was built.

Caramoor is a performing arts center located on a unique 90-acre setting of Italianate architecture and gardens in Westchester County, NY. It enriches the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality. Its mission also includes mentoring young professional musicians and providing educational programs for young children centered around music. It is often described as "a Garden of Great Music" where audiences are invited to come early, explore the beautiful grounds, enjoy a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in the relaxed settings of the Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, Music Room of the Rosen House, and the magnificent gardens.

With its unique heritage, Caramoor remains a place where magical summer days and nights are shared and enjoyed by thousands. "Caramoor is the loveliest Festival of them all." - The New York Times

Concert Venues and Gardens
Concerts take place in two outdoor theaters: the 1714-seat, acoustically superb Venetian Theater and the more intimate, romantic Spanish Courtyard. Caramoor's gardens are also well worth the visit and include nine unique perennial gardens. Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, a Butterfly Garden, Tapestry Hedge, and Iris and Peony Garden, which may be enjoyed on one's own or seen on a guided tour.

GETTING TO CARAMOOR
Caramoor is easy to get to by car and public transportation. The Caramoor Caravan is available for Bel Canto at Caramoor performances.

By car from the West Side of Manhattan and New Jersey, take the Saw Mill River Parkway north to Katonah. Exit at Route 35/Cross River. Turn right and, at the first traffic light, make a right turn onto Route 22 south. Travel 1.9 miles to the junction of Girdle Ridge Road. Follow the signs to Caramoor. (For detailed directions call 914.232.5035 and press 2, or online at www.caramoor.org). Parking at Caramoor is free.

By train, take the Harlem Division of the Metro-North Railroad to Katonah, New York. Taxi service from the station to Caramoor (5 minutes away) is available.

From Manhattan, take the Caramoor Caravan to Bel Canto at Caramoor opera performances on July 10, 16, and 24, and ride comfortably in a luxurious, air-conditioned coach. For information and reservations call the Caramoor Box Office at 914.232.1252.

TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now and may be ordered by calling the Box Office at 914.232.1252 or online at www.caramoor.org. (For opening night Gala tickets, including cocktail reception, dinner, concert, and post-concert dessert and dancing, email events@caramoor.org or call 914.232.1492.)