Summer of Concerts: Week of August 19

August 19

Staunton Music Festival - Grumpy Hedgehog, Happy Oboe

Czech master Leoš Janáček wrote his Concertino in 1925, originally as a traditional piano concerto but quickly changing guise. He later noted that the themes he imagined all connect to animals, including the first movement's "grumpy hedgehog." This work is paired with a Baroque masterpiece by Jan Zelenka (the Trio Sonata No. 5), as well as a work for solo oboe and harp.

Zelenka | Trio Sonata No. 5 in F Major
Janáček | Concertino for piano and chamber ensemble
Pasculli | Omaggio a Bellini

August 20

Staunton Music Festival - Serenades at Noon

R. Strauss | Two songs for voice & piano
F. Darmanin | The Sudden Lightness for piano quartet *
Comtessa de Dia | Troubadour song: A chantar
Korngold | Suite for Left-Hand Piano & Strings

Staunton Music Festival - Early Keyboard Extravaganza

The new 1830 Regier-Graf is just one of many stunning historical keyboards in use at Staunton Music Festival. The Early Keyboard Extravaganza program allows audiences to hear multiple harpsichords, organs, and pianos in repertoire ideally suited to their individual tonal and expressive capacities. Works by Rameau, Buxtehude, and Bach form a familiar core, balanced by rarer delights: music by Elisabeth de la Guerre, Louise Farrenc, and composer-in-residence Roberto Sierra.

Rameau | "La Lapoplinière" and "Tambourin" from Pièces de Concert
De la Guerre | Two Airs, for voices and ensemble
Frescobaldi | Canzon post il commune, for organ solo
Sierra | Concierto Nocturnal, for harpsichord and ensemble
Farrenc | Allegro from Piano Quintet No. 1
Buxtehude | Ciacona in E Minor, BuxWV 160, for organ
J. S. Bach | Concerto in C Major, BWV 1061, for two harpsichords and strings

Staunton Music Festival - Nightcap 2: A Mighty Wind

SMF’s wind musicians enjoy a chance to unwind with fun and rarely-heard works at a new space, MBU @ the Wharf. Tickets include complimentary beer and wine.

C.P.E. Bach | March of the Ark
Poulenc | Sonata for Two Clarinets
Dorati | Work for solo oboe
TBA | Harmoniemusik

August 21

Staunton Music Festival - Bel Canto

Vocal music takes center stage in this one-hour noon concert, featuring works by Mozart, madrigals by Barbara Strozzi, and "Marvelous Pursuits" by Virginia composer Judith Shatin.

Strozzi | Two Madrigals, from Opus 1
Shatin | Marvelous Pursuits, for vocal quartet and piano four-hands
Mozart | Ch’io mi scordi di te? for soprano, fortepiano & orchestra

Staunton Music Festival - Beethoven Meets the Mambo

Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 shares the stage with chamber works by Debussy, DeFalla, and composer-in-residence Roberto Sierra.

Sierra | Mambo Metálico, for brass, percussion and piano
Debussy | Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane, for harp and strings
Sierra | Mano a Mano, for two percussionists
DeFalla/Wadsworth | Seven Spanish Folksongs, arr. for voices and chamber ensemble
Beethoven | Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36. for orchestra

August 22

Staunton Music Festival - Mendelssohn’s Magic

A delightful selection of works by early 19th-century composer Felix Mendelssohn, touching on chamber, vocal and solo repertoire.

Mendelssohn | Two "Songs without Words," arr. for solo harp
Mendelssohn | From Folksongs Op. 48 and Op. 50, for chorus
Mendelssohn | String Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18

Staunton Music Festival - Plucked Heart-Strings

Enjoy a one-hour recital of music for solo harp, lute and voice, and guitar within the spectacular interior of the original 1903 bank, capped with a massive stained-glass skylight.

Staunton Music Festival - Shakespearean Fantasies

So much of Western culture has been influenced by Shakespeare, and music is certainly no exception. This evening program celebrates works inspired by the Bard's poems and plays.

Purcell | from The Fairy Queen, soloists, chorus, and orchestra
Saariaho | from The Tempest Songbook, for soprano, baritone, and chamber ensemble
Wadsworth | Describe Adonis, based on Shakespeare's sonnets (world premiere)
Tchaikovsky | Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture, for orchestra

August 23

Staunton Music Festival - Tabula Rasa

Mozart | Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat major, K. 452
Pärt | Tabula Rasa, for two solo violins and strings

Staunton Music Festival - Baroque Inside/Out: A Night at Versailles

The royal court at Versailles, cultivated by Louis XIV over his long reign, offers the pinnacle of French Baroque musical culture. Enjoy selections from Rameau’s Les Boréades, chamber music by Leclair, Marais, and Lambert, and the majestic Te Deum for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra by Jean-Baptiste Lully.

PLUS: join us in the churchyard during intermission for some non-Baroque musical surprises . . . .

Rameau’s | Selections from Les Boréades
Couperin | Concert No. 4 in E Minor
Lambert | Tout l'univers, for voices and continuo
Marais | Prelude in C Minor for gamba
Forqueray | Jupiter, for three harpsichords
Dieupart | Prelude and Gigue from Suite in G major
Balbastre | from Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major
D'ambruys | Le doux silence, for voice and lute
Lully | Te Deum for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra

Staunton Music Festival - Nightcap 3: Baroque Jam

After the evening performance, SMF’s Baroque players retire to more intimate surroundings for a festive short concert of vocal & instrumental works. Admission Includes complimentary beer & wine.

Telemann | Concerto for Four violins in D Major
Caccini | Amarilli mia bella
Philidor | Concert for two oboes
Monteverdi | Zefiro torna, from Madrigals Book 6
Telemann | Concerto in E minor for recorder, flute, and strings

August 24

Garth Newel Music Center - String Extravaganza I

5pm concert followed by optional dinner

Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) - String  Sextet in F minor, Op. 23, No. 4                                                      – 

Allegro moderato
Minuetto con moto–Trio
Grave assai
Finale: Allegro ma non presto

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) - String Sextet in D minor, Op. 70, Souvenir de Florence                         –  

Allegro con spirito
Adagio cantabile e con moto
Allegretto moderato
Allegro con brio e vivace

Teresa Ling, violin
Maureen Nelson, violin
Fitz Gary, viola
Evelyn Grau, viola
Isaac Melamed, cello
Rachel Young, cello

M E N U

Seared Tuna with Crunchy Sprout and Daikon Salad and Cilantro, and a Sweet and Sour Sauce Miso Vinaigrette

Orange, Beet and Kale Salad with Pears, Walnuts and Pickled Rainbow Radish, Caromont Goat Cheese and Honey Ginger Dressing

Pan Seared Sea Bass with Crispy Potatoes, Green Curry Sauce, Radish and Rainbow Carrot Slaw with Mango Reduction

Blueberry Cheesecake with Sour Cream Anglaise, Apricot Relish and Prickly Pear Coulis

Staunton Music Festival - Viola, Viola

Fans of the viola take note! All three works feature two violas, including music by Dvořák, Fasch, and George Benjamin.

Fasch | Concerto in G Major, for two oboe da caccia, two violas, two bassoons, strings and continuo
Benjamin | Viola, Viola, for two violas
Dvořák | String Quintet No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97

Staunton Music Festival - Baroque Lovers' Afternoon

Listeners who enjoy Baroque music flock to this popular concert each season. The 2024 version presents music by Vivaldi, Castello, & others. Event sponsors offer a matching challenge for all donations received at the end of the concert.

Schütz | Madrigals from Op. 1: "O dolcezze amarissime," "Fuggi o mio core"
Fasch | Quartet in B-flat Major
Vivaldi | Cantata 608: Nisi dominus for alto, strings, continuo

Staunton Music Festival - Historias de Cuba

The sounds of Cuba provide the inspiration for this eclectic program, offering music by Gershwin, Gottschalk, Tania León, and Hans Werner Henze.

Gershwin | Cuban Overture, for orchestra
Salas | Cándido Corderito, for sopranos and strings
Gottschalk | Souvenir de la Havane, for piano
Brouwer | Two movements from Quintetto for Guitar and Strings
Trad/arr. Tania León | El Manisero, for vocal ensemble
Henze | from El Cimarrón, a music-drama for bass voice and chamber ensemble*

* Based on the memoirs of an escaped slave, the text for El Cimarrón includes descriptions of enslaved individuals and may not be suitable for all ages.

August 25

Garth Newel Music Center - String Extravaganza II

3pm concert followed by optional picnic

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) - String Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85                                                            

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) - String Quintet in C major, D. 956                                                             
Allegro ma non troppo
Adagio
Scherzo: Presto; Trio: Andante sostenuto
Allegretto

Teresa Ling, violin
Maureen Nelson, violin
Fitz Gary, viola
Evelyn Grau, viola
Isaac Melamed, cello
Rachel Young, cello

MENU

Chicken Curry Salad on Croissants with Arugula and Microgreens
Grilled Marinated Eggplant Sandwich with Romano and Sundried Tomato Relish
Various Sides, Salads and Desserts

Staunton Music Festival - J.S.B. at the Blackfriars

A new work by Zachary Wadsworth is premiered, alongside two perennial favorites by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Bach | Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
Wadsworth | Ground on C-F-F-E-E for winds and percussion (world premiere)
Bach | "Coffee" Cantata: Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211

Staunton Music Festival - Finale: Bach's Mass in B Minor

The 2024 Summer Festival closes with Bach's majestic Mass in B Minor. Bach completed the work a year before his death. It stands as a rare complete setting of the mass by a Lutheran composer. Features vocal soloists, chorus, and period-instrument SMF Baroque Orchestra.