August 14, 2023 By Jim Berkenstock, Artistic Director. It’s hard to believe, but in just over a week, our Midsummer’s Music season rekindles with a powerfully romantic program of French piano quintets featuring Jeannie Yu. (I wrote about these works last week—please check it out.) But, these works will quickly give way to a very […]
A Little Rest is Good Now and Then
Mon, July 31, 2023, by Jim Berkenstock. A little rest is good now and then. After 30 concerts since June 14, our band can use one. And it’s good to go out on a high note. Our Schubert/Klebanov concert was a huge success, but oddly enough, as beloved as Schubert’s E-flat Piano Trio is, the […]
More Piano Profusion—Sumptuous Schubert
Mon, July 24, 2023 by Jim Berkenstock Last year about this time, I wrote a column that was entitled, “Piano Profusion Ahead—Jeannie Yu Returns.” I could easily use the same title and write a very similar column for this week’s program. Last year we were performing Franz Schubert’s Piano Trio in E-Flat, D. 929, as a part […]
Mendelssohn Was the Man … and Boy
Wed, July 19, 2023 by Jim Berkenstock Who was the most precocious classical composer of all? Many would reasonably say Mozart, but I guess my title gives away my choice. This is not to say that Mendelssohn was a better composer than Mozart. It is just a comparison of their quickness in developing a mature style. Perhaps […]
THE EMPEROR IS KING!
By Jim Berkenstock, Artistic Director, Midsummer’s Music If you were to ask any music lover to name the most famous piano concerto, more than likely the answer would be the “Emperor” of Beethoven. Sure, the Grieg, Rachmaninov 2nd, Tchaikovsky, etc. would be right up there, but Beethoven’s final piano concerto has an aura about it […]
