Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival tp Feature 3-Concert Residency of The Miro Quartet

The culminating week of Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival's (CCCMF) 40th anniversary season as Cape Cod's premiere presenter of summer chamber music brings a trio of concerts with the residency of The Miró Quartet. Performances include:

The Miró Quartet on Tuesday, August 20, Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Road, Cotuit; Romantic Strings on Wednesday, August 21, 7:30 pm, Dennis Union Church, 713 Main Street, Dennis; and Riches to Rags on Friday, August 23, 7:30 pm, First Congregational Church, 200 Main Street, Wellfleet. A pre-concert benefit reception will be held on Tuesday, August 20 at 5 pm at Willowbend Country Club, 130 Willowbend Drive, Mashpee.

A gathering of celebration, the final week of Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival's 40th season coincides with 3 concerts by The Miró Quartet, celebrating its own 25th anniversary season. Its' title concert The Miró Quartet opens the festivities in Cotuit following a residency pre-concert reception in Mashpee. The Quartet performs works by Mozart and Schumann and the exciting "Credo for String Quartet" by composer Kevin Puts.

Next on the schedule, Romantic Strings in Dennis offers works by Wolf, Glière and Franck. CCCMF Co-Artistic Directors Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu add extra sparkle to the performance when they join violinist John Largess for Max Bruch's "Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, opus 83". The Brahms "Quartet in C Minor for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello, opus 60" ('Werther') features Jon Nakamatsu on piano.

The Wellfleet venue hosts the Festival's 40th season finale, always a high-energy affair, and this concert is no exception! Riches to Rags offers a program of two jewels from Russia by Prokofiev and Shostakovich, alongside a contrast piece composed especially for CCCMF Co-Artistic Directors Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu featuring four very American 'rags'. The delightful composition Carrot Revolution is the creation of San Francisco based composer Gabriella Smith, whose original music is described as "high-voltage and wildly imaginative." Smith says the name was inspired from a quote attributed to artist Paul Cezanne in a novel by Emile Zola: "The day will come when a freshly observed carrot will start a revolution."

The Miró Quartet is one of America's most celebrated and dedicated string quartets, and for the past twenty years has performed on the world's most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from passionate critics and audiences alike. Based in Austin, TX, and thriving on the area's storied music scene, the Miró takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the tradition of chamber music.

The Quartet's most recent season included performances for the New York Philharmonic with Gabriel Kahane; collaborations with Anton Nel, Clive Greensmith, and Martin Beaver; and appearances with the Detroit Chamber Music Society and the LMMC in Montreal. Other recent highlights include performances at the Phillips Collection, the Green Music Center, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, as well as collaborations with David Shifrin, Andre Watts, and Wu Han.

Since 2003 the Miró has served as the quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas at Austin Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music. In 2005, the Quartet became the first ensemble ever to be awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Ticket orders received on or after July 1: $40 general admission; $15 for college students (with ID); FREE for attendees 18 and under. General admission to three or more concerts: $38 per ticket. Emerson String Quartet concert: $57 ($55 when purchased as part of the three-concert package).

Pre-concert reception benefit tickets are $150 each, of which a $116 is a tax-deductible gift, and includes a reserved seat for the concert.

Festival seating is limited to venue capacity, advance purchase is recommended. Tickets purchased online can be printed at home or picked up at will call at the performances. Tickets may also be purchased by calling or visiting the box office at 508-247-9400 or at 3 Main Street, Unit 6, North Eastham. Box office hours are 10 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday. Phone orders are available until 12 noon on the day of each concert.

For more information about Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival's 2019 season, performers, mission and venues, visit capecodchambermusic.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo by Naoya Ikegami

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