The 2023 Robert Mann Chamber Series opens with the esteemed JACK Quartet. Hailed by The New York Times as “our leading new-music foursome,” the JACK Quartet maintains an unwavering commitment to giving voice to underheard composers. In the quartet’s New York Stories program, “Two masters of New York’s downtown heyday, Philip Glass and John Zorn, bring stylistically divergent visions: a rollicking, romantic ride through a maze of patterns in Glass’ epic String Quartet No. 5, and a peek into the catacombs in Manhattan’s Upper West Side from John Zorn who brings medieval mystery to contemporary America. Caleb Burhans leads the listener in a healing ritual of absolution in Contritus, while Caroline Shaw pays homage to the father of the string quartet, Josef Haydn, in her Entr’acte. Morton Feldman finally reminds us of the pattern and structure all around us. New York: a city of Byzantine systems and countless ideas that defies tidy summary, but always fascinates and excites continued exploration.”
Program: Morton Feldman, Structures for String Quartet (1951)
Caleb Burhans, Contritus (2010)
Philip Glass, String Quartet No. 5 (1991)
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Caroline Shaw, Entr’acte (2011)
John Zorn, The Remedy of Fortune for String Quartet (2016)
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The final concert of the 2023 Robert Mann Chamber Music Series highlights the Festival’s own musicians. Though it was composed on the early side of his career, Beethoven’s energetic String Trio in C Minor gives a decisive glimpse into the intensity of expression the composer would eventually be renowned for. In Debussy’s sparkling Danses — commissioned to showcase the rich capabilities of the harp — his first dance explores the ethereal (the “sacred”) and gradually becomes a swirling, earthly waltz (the “profane,” or secular). Dvořák composed his famous Second Piano Quintet during a happy period in his life; that contentment shines through in this treasured jewel of chamber repertoire.
Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven, String Trio in C Minor, Op. 9, No. 3
Claude Debussy, Danses sacrée et profane (Sacred and Profane Dances)
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Antonín Dvořák, Piano Quintet in A Major No. 2, Op. 81
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The Festival is honored to welcome none other than Pulitzer Prize-winning John Corigliano as 2023 composer-in-residence. Conducted by Music Director Peter Oundjian, this retrospective program examines three stages of Corigliano’s vast career, beginning with his pastoral Gazebo Dances. Corigliano penned the song cycle One Sweet Morning in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the events of 9/11, borrowing text from four poems of varying intensity and ultimately ending with, as he explains, “the dream of a world without war – an impossible dream, perhaps, but certainly one worth dreaming.” The tender words of these poems are performed here by the highly sought-after mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke. Corigliano’s most recent work is Triathlon, written for guest saxophonist Timothy McAllister, who returns to the Chautauqua stage after dazzling Festival audiences in 2022. Triathlon demonstrates McAllister’s musical athleticism in three dynamic movements which feature in turn soprano, alto, and baritone saxophone.
Program: John Corigliano, Gazebo Dances (for orchestra) (1974)
John Corigliano, One Sweet Morning for voice and orchestra (2010)
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John Corigliano, Triathlon for saxophone and orchestra (2020)
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In our second program celebrating the music Rachmaninoff wrote while living in America, the Orchestra performs his final composition: Symphonic Dances, a three-movement suite featuring a frantic dance, a restless waltz, and a final flourish of triumph. Lauded Rachmaninoff interpreter Nicolai Lugansky joins the Orchestra for the composer’s capricious Fourth Piano Concerto, a work of daring imagination, as well as his romantic Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, which proved an instant success for the composer.
Program: Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40
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Sergei Rachmaninoff, Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
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Not many bands can claim genuine legend status. The Wailers comfortably claim their place in essential music history. Their music was, and is, culture-defining: rebel hearts with brave souls embodying the spirit of 70s era-defining reggae.
The band play a special set featuring incredible cuts from Bob Marley’s formidable back catalogue along with a string of their greatest, classic hits. The Wailers are giving you a chance to be part of the legacy. Aston Barrett Jr, himself reggae royalty as son of the irrepressible ‘Familyman’, carries the flame for The Wailers in a show that is simply not to be missed.
In late 2020, The Wailers released their first single off the album, “One World, One Prayer”, a powerful piece focused on unity, love and inclusion beyond cultural differences. Produced and written by Emilio Estefan, “One World, One Prayer”, mixes Jamaican reggae with the sounds of the urban Latin genre. The track features international titan Farruko, Jamaican superstar Shaggy, and continues the legacy of Bob Marley alongside the great man’s daughter, Cedella Marley, and her son Skip Marley.
One World, the album that marks the Wailers’ return to the recording studios and the band’s first album for 25 years, was nominated for a 2021 Grammy® Award in the Best Reggae Album category.
The essence of 70s rebellion, the true spirit of reggae performed by the people who helped forge the era-defining sound and by those raised under their tutelage. Living Legends, Reggae Royalty carrying the flame – now you can be a part of the legacy. When The Wailers come calling, you listen.
Zivanai Masango
THE BAND’S FRONTMAN, ZIVANAI “ZI” MASANGO, welcomes his audience with his kind words, soulful vocals and masterful guitar playing. Zi’s humble demeanor belies his heavyweight status on the African and American music scenes. Zi was recognized with two awards; “Best Zimbabwean Musician in the US” and “People’s Choice” in the spring of 2021. From stadiums and music halls in Zimbabwe to the Hollywood Bowl, Central Park Summer Stage, The Blue Note, Dimitrou’s Jazz Alley and Red Rocks, and everywhere in between, Zi has toured the world, sharing stages with legendary artists such as Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Cliff, Habib Koite, Hugh Masekela, Giovanni Hidalgo, the String Cheese Incident, Bushman, Playing For Change, The Motet, Jyemo Club, and many others. His first three albums; Pachedu (2005), Dutu-Storm (2007) and It’s Time (2013), showcase Zi’s fresh, yet familiar sound. Check out his “Basement Studio” videos and stories on his Zivi Music Youtube channel.
