Sarasota Music Festival Announces 2021 Schedule

Sarasota Orchestra has announced the re-imagining of the Sarasota Music Festival (SMF), which will take place over eight days in June 2021. Four concerts and a lecture will showcase faculty artists and former fellows. All performances will follow safety protocols practiced by the Sarasota Orchestra this season.

To ensure safety, the educational component of the Festival that usually features 40 faculty artists and 60 pre-professional fellows from all over the world will not be held this year. However, Festival Music Director Jeffrey Kahane is committed to maintaining the spirit of the Festival.

"We are jubilant to return and determined to bring back the Festival's spark and spirit this year," said Kahane. "We will offer a short series of live events that will serve as a celebration of the musical values the Festival has long stood for: the highest order of musical integrity allied with a consuming passion to communicate the magnificence of the chamber repertoire."

The Festival will follow the same safety protocols that Sarasota Orchestra has implemented during the orchestra season this year. The performance halls are sanitized between performances, and the Orchestra Center's air handling system has been upgraded with Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization technology that eliminates pathogens, including viruses, from the air. Masks and social distancing are required for both artists and attendees, and audiences will be limited to 50.

Sarasota Music Festival 2021 Schedule:

Concert 1 | Saturday, June 12 | 7:30 p.m.

Solo piano recital by Robert Levin

Bach Italian Concerto in F Major

Mozart Piano Sonata No. 10

Mendelssohn 7 Characteristic Pieces

Lecture | Sunday, June 13 | 4:00 p.m.

"Bringing Beethoven to Life"

Robert Levin

Concert 2 | Wednesday, June 16 | 7:30 p.m.

Jeffrey Kahane, piano and Clive Greensmith, cello

Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 1

Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2

Concert 3 | Friday, June 18 | 7:30 p.m.

Angie Zhang, piano

Clara Schumann: Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann

Caroline Shaw: Gustave le Gray

Chopin: Sonata No. 3

Concert 4 | Saturday, June 19 | 7:30 p.m.

Jeffrey Kahane, piano

Calidore String Quartet:

Jeffrey Myers, violin

Ryan Meehan, violin

Jeremy Berry, viola

Estelle Choi, cello

Schumann: Quintet in E flat Major

Mendelssohn: Quartet No. 6

"We recognize the immense need for chamber music in the world, particularly now. We've gathered a small but immensely talented group of musicians to perform this reimagined Sarasota Music Festival, and we look forward to being back in full force in 2022," said Kahane.

Registration for ticket purchases is available on www.SarasotaOrchestra.org/festival. Because seats are limited, a lottery system will be used to contact registered users for in-person concert ticket purchases. An SMF Streaming Pass is available for purchase separately from in-person concert tickets. The SMF Streaming Pass includes access to all five Sarasota Music Festival events and is offered as a single subscription with a purchase price of $40. Streaming access will be available for 30 days beginning June 24.

All concerts, programs and artists are subject to change.

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