Concerts 1-4 are in:

Recital Hall

Hamilton Conservatory
for the Arts
126 James Street South, Hamilton, Ontario.

 

Concert 5 is in

Sir John A. Macdonald
Secondary School

130 York Boulevard,
Hamilton, Ontario.

MESSAGE from Artistic Director MICHAEL SCHULTE

. . . CMH is in a special position to import to our city some of the finest champions of this very special art from across our country and around the world. This season, you will hear groups perform compositions spanning half a dozen countries and two hundred and fifty years of history. The new line-up features more of the genius composers of yesteryear than the modern explorations we undertook in the past couple of seasons. Let’s take a quick look.

For June 3rd we were lucky to book the talented and popular Robert Kapilow with his lecture “What Makes it Great?”. He shows us quite simply why this music is as good as it is while he deconstructs one of the crown jewels of the trio repertoire –Beethoven’s “Archduke” piano trio. The ever popular Gryphon Trio will aid with demonstrations and then give us a complete performance of the piece. Robert Kapilow’s presentation is famously engaging and informative for the novice listener as much as for the seasoned professional. “What Makes it Great?” will be paired with “Listen Up!”; a festival that Chamber Music Hamilton is co- presenting with the Gryphon Trio. The festival will culminate in this particular concert weekend. “Listen Up!” is an eight month process involving creation and performance of a composition by famous Canadian composer Abigail Richardson-Schulte and input from lots of young people. Performers include the Gryphon Trio, the award winning Schulte Strings and many varied young performers from our community, all under the air traffic control of Robert Kapilow. We will offer updates on our website and in the press as it unfolds.

For September 25th, the Alcan String Quartet agreed to prepare for us the more recently catalogued first quartet by Paul Hindemith, and with enthusiasm upon discovering it, I might add. Heretofore unknown to them as to the vast majority of professional players, let alone listeners, it remains something of an undiscovered Romantic masterpiece. You will immediately know this. Inspired especially by Anton Bruckner, the piece is dramatically unlike the sounds we associate with the icon of modern art music that is Paul Hindemith. The Amernet Quartet will play for us the wonderful and rarely heard Haydn String Quartet Op.54, No.2. Excellent local pianist Shoshana Telner will later join them for the punchy and unusually positive Shostakovich piano quintet; a great ride.

On March 18th, the venerable Vogler Quartet will come all the way from their native Germany to grace our stage en route to a performance at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center next day. Ours will be an opening extension to Canada of their American tour.

The new concert season also appears to have assorted pairings: The fine American Amernet Quartet won top prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition fifteen years ago, as did the Cecilia Quartet last year. With composers Smetana and Dvorak, we have the two proponents of the Romantic Bohemian (Czech) sound; an ever popular emotional narrative that emanates from the heart of this central European country. You might call the Smetana quartet the original musical novel for string quartet as it depicts a detailed story of its composer’s life, with heart wrenching affect. We have a couple of Mozart quartets, sublime in their purity; one written within two years of his arrival in Vienna and inspired by his new deep friendship with the father of the string quartet, Franz Joseph Haydn; the other written two years before his death. We have Mendelssohn’s two early quartets, Op.12 and 13, actually written in reverse order. Both of these wonderfully compelling early quartets demonstrate the mature mastery and inspired energies of the 17 and 19 year old genius who had just written his incomparable string octet. Having had nothing of Beethoven last season, it will be satisfying to have the exalted truth and beauty of this giant’s work visited upon us twice, as well.

See you at the concerts!