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07/19/2018 12:01 AMNow in its 49th season, Chestnut Hill Concerts will present four programs of chamber music this August at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook. The prestigious series is highly regarded not only for its programming, but also for the world-class musicians that artistic director Ronald Thomas invites for the performances.
The concerts will take place Aug. 3, 10, 17, and 24, all Friday evenings at 8 p.m. Cellist and artistic director Ronald Thomas will host and perform in each concert.
Subscriptions to the four concerts are $140 (orchestra) and $120 (balcony). Single tickets are $40 for orchestra seats and $35 for the balcony. Kids and teens attend free. More information or tickets are available by calling 860-510-0453 or visiting www.thekate.org.
The Aug. 3 concert features Ronald Thomas performing the 5th Bach Cello Suite. The rest of the concert presents John Novacek’s Rags for Violin and Piano and the Brahms Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25. In addition to Ronald Thomas, artists include Steve Copes, violin; Matthew Sinno, viola; and Randall Hodgkinson, piano.
On Aug. 10, Chestnut Hill presents two string sextets and a string quartet. Chestnut Hill welcomes the Amernet String Quartet, whose members include Misha Vitenson, violin; Franz Felkl, violin; Michael Klotz, viola; and Jason Calloway, cello. The quartet will perform Schubert’s String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 125, No. 1. The quartet will be joined by Vivek Kamath, viola, and Ronald Thomas, cello, to perform two string sextets: Richard Strauss’ String Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85 and Tchaikovsky’s String Sextet Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70.
The program on Aug. 17 presents music by Debussy, Kodály, and Dvorák. Ronald Thomas and Mihae Lee will perform Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano; Catherine Cho, violin; Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin; and Todd Phillips, viola, will perform Kodály’s Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 12; and the ensemble will perform Dvorák’s Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81.
The season finale on Aug. 25 explores the music of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, including the rarely heard Horn Quintet in E-flat by Mozart, K. 407, written for one violin and two violas. The concert also includes Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49 and Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47. This performance introduces Frank Huang, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, to the Chestnut Hill audience, and brings back some of its favorite performers: William Purvis, horn; Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin and viola; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Ronald Thomas, cello; and Mihae Lee, piano.
The 2018 season of Chestnut Hill Concerts is made possible with support from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Office of the Arts.