La Musica International Chamber Music Festival Announces Changes and Additions to its 2022 Season

La Musica International Chamber Music Festival, which celebrates its 36th season this year with events and concerts from April 1 to April 13, is pleased to announce changes and additions to its season.

For the safety of guests and La Musica musicians, the venue for the Musical Chefs Dinner on April 11 has been changed from Michael's Wine Cellar to the outdoor atrium at Michael's On East.

Due to scheduling conflicts, open rehearsals will now be held at both the Bayfront Community Center at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium and at the Sarasota Opera House. Festival rehearsal passes are valid at both locations. Rehearsal schedule can be found at LaMusicaFestival.org.

This year, the La Musica school outreach program involves children by offering free tickets through Musical Kids Go Free, and by inviting students from the Suzuki Institute School of Music and the Booker High School VPA program to share their music in the Sarasota Opera House courtyard during the half hour prior to each concert. Booker High VPA students will play prior to the evening concerts, and Suzuki Institute students will play prior to the afternoon concerts.

Bruno Giuranna, La Musica's co-founder and artistic director, stated, "Although covid keeps me from traveling to Sarasota this year, my gift to La Musica is the repertoire patrons will enjoy throughout the festival. I am especially saddened to miss paying tribute to Derek Han, my colleague and good friend, but I know he will be listening from afar."

For subscriptions, event tickets, and more information, visit LaMusicaFestval.org or call the La Musica box office at (207) 266-7999. Single concert tickets can be purchased by calling the Sarasota Opera box office at (941) 328-1300.

THE CONCERTS

Held at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, subscriptions to all four concerts are $195 and include a festival rehearsal pass; single concert tickets range from $50-$65.

Sunday, April 3, 3:00 p.m.
Derek Han Memorial Concert

Celebrate the legacy of La Musica's co-founder and associate artistic director Derek Han, who passed away in April of 2021. His friends and colleagues, including special guest pianist Wu Han, perform the music he loved. Special programming funded by The Exchange. $65

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 1 no. 2

Maurice Ravel, Sonata for Violin and Violoncello

Johannes Brahms, Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op. 25

Wednesday, April 6, 7:30 p.m.

Innocence and Illicit Passion

The 15-year-old Mozart celebrated completion of his second set of string quartets by composing his sunny first viola quintet. One hundred years later, Franck created his piano quintet, secretly dedicated to his young lover. Is passion audible? $50

Wolfgang Mozart, String Quintet in Bb Major, K.174

Bernhard Romberg, Sonata in E Minor for Violoncello, Viola, and Bass, Op. 38 no. 1

César Franck, Piano Quintet in F Minor

Sunday, April 10, 3:00 p.m.
Strut and Fret

Grammy Award-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux returns to perform in contemporary and Classical quintets, contrasted with the lush Dvořák quintet for piano and strings. $50

Luigi Boccherini, Guitar Quintet in D Major, G.448, "Fandango"

Giacomo Susani, U.S. premiere of Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet

Antonin Dvořák, Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81

Wednesday, April 13, 7:30 p.m.
From Darkness Into Light

Mozart's dark and stormy piano quartet may have deterred its publisher, but it showed the way from the Classical to the Romantic - so Tchaikovsky owes Mozart (and Florence) for his inspiration. This souvenir is beyond festive - think 1812 without the cannons. $50

Wolfgang Mozart, Piano Quartet in G Minor, K.478

Zoltan Kodály, Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 12

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, String Sextet in D Minor, Souvenir de Florence

Free Pre-Concert Talks

Pre-concert talks, hosted by Robert Sherman, are free and begin 45 minutes prior to each concert at the opera house. For more than 40 years, Sherman was a music critic and columnist for The New York Times, and for nearly 20 years he served on the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School.

NEW: Music in the Courtyard

La Musica welcomes students from the Suzuki Institute School of Music and the Booker High School VPA program to share their music in the Sarasota Opera House courtyard during the half hour prior to each concert. Booker High VPA students will play prior to the evening concerts, and Suzuki Institute students will play prior to the afternoon concerts.

Open Rehearsals, April 1-12, times vary

A rare opportunity to sit in on rehearsals, which will be held in the Bayfront Community Center, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, and the Sarasota Opera House, in Sarasota. Rehearsals are free of charge for series subscribers, faculty and students; non-subscribers may purchase a pass to all rehearsals for $80, or daily passes for $20.

Musical Kids Go Free

This season, all music students ages 18 and under and accompanying parents may attend La Musica concerts and open rehearsals for free.

"BEHIND THE MUSIC" SPECIAL EVENTS

Musical Bouquet, Tuesday, April 5, 5:30 p.m.

Enchanting music performed by Daniel Avshalomov, viola and Wu Han, piano, amid the ambience of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Downtown Sarasota Campus), 1534 Mound Street, Sarasota. Mingle with the artists following the program while enjoying a glass of wine. $85 per person.

Meet the Musicians, Friday, April 8, 5:30 p.m.

Get to know the musicians and enjoy a mini concert in the unique setting of Dolphin Aviation's hangar, 8191 N. Tamiami Trail #100, Sarasota. Wine and light bites are served. $35 per person. Sponsored by Dolphin Aviation.

Musical Chefs Dinner, Monday, April 11, 6:00 p.m.

CHANGE OF VENUE: Hosted by Phil Mancini in the outdoor atrium at Michael's On East, 1212 East Avenue S., Sarasota. La Musica musicians prepare their favorite recipes along with Executive Chef Jamil Pineda for an evening of food, fun, and frivolity. $200-$250 per person. Sponsored by Gloria Moss in honor of Janet Hunter.

THE MUSICIANS

Dmitri Atapine (cello) has been described as a cellist with "brilliant technical chops" (Gramophone) whose playing is "highly impressive throughout" (Strad). He is the artistic director of Ribadesella Chamber Music Festival (Spain) and Apex Concerts (Nevada), and the cello professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Daniel Avashalomov (viola) is the violist of the American String Quartet, now enjoying its fifth decade of international acclaim. He was recently hailed by Strad magazine as "one of the finest occupants of that chair, both instrumentally and musically, of any quartet now active."

Wendy Chen (piano) is making her La Musica debut. The youngest winner ever of the National Chopin Competition, she has appeared in programs that also featured musical legends Art Garfunkel and James Taylor, and in a private concert for the justices at the U.S. Supreme Court presented by The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Jennifer Frautschi (violin) is a two-time Grammy nominee. She has appeared at the Bridgehampton, Charlottesville, Lake Champlain, Moab, Ojai, Santa Fe, Seattle, and Spoleto music festivals.

Wu Han (piano) received Musical America's Musician of the Year Award and is the artistic co-director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music@Menlo. She also serves as artistic advisor for Wolf Trap's Chamber Music in the Barns series and for Palm Beach's Society of the Four Arts.

Benny Kim (violin) is making his La Musica debut. He has performed in virtually every major city in the United States. Kim is first violinist of the Miami String Quartet, winner of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, and Quartet in Residence at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.

Christine J. Lee (cello) - Accepted to The Curtis Institute of Music at age 10, she was one of the youngest soloists in history at the age of 12. She is passionate about bringing music to diverse audiences through social media and collaboration with different mediums of art.

Kristin Lee (violin) - A recipient of the 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, she is a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and educator. She is the co-founder and artistic director of Emerald City Music in Seattle.

Ruth Lenz (violin) has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Luciano Pavarotti, and Itzhak Perlman. She is concertmaster of both the Reno Philharmonic and Reno Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the Classical Tahoe Orchestra.

Dee Moses (double bass) is the longtime principal double bassist of The Florida Orchestra. He has recently delved back into contemporary composition and performance in collaboration with his wife, modern dancer and choreographer Elsa Valbuena

Cynthia Phelps (viola) - Her recording, "Air," for flute, harp and viola, was nominated for a Grammy Award. She is on the faculty of The Juilliard School, Shanghai Academy, and Music Academy of the West.

Jason Vieaux (guitar) - Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux, "among the elite of today's classical guitarists" (Gramophone), is described by NPR as "perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation." He recently performed the premiere recording of a new solo work, "Four Points of Light," composed for him by jazz legend Pat Metheny.

La Musica's mission is to bring together the finest musicians to present exciting programs of familiar and unusual chamber music, communicating a joy in performance to enthusiastic audiences. A major goal is to reach out to the community to draw people into the creative process through special performances and daily open rehearsals. For more information about La Musica, visit www.lamusicafestival.org.

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