Stay tuned for information on our 33rd Season!
We are in the process of finalizing details for our July 2025 series and cannot wait to share details with you! Stay tuned for information on our 33rd season in early 2025.
A look back at our 2024 Series:
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Week One: Quartets for the End of Time
Saturday, July 6 | 7:30pm | White Recital Hall, UMKC
Sunday, July 7 | 3:00pm | St. Mary's Episcopal Church, KCMO
Our first week features two monumental works that approach the passage of time in powerfully different ways. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Oboe Quartet in 1781, a year that saw immense change in his life. Mozart was feted that year in Munich, and the resulting works are full of new energy, including this quartet he wrote for his friend, the oboist Friedrich Ramm. That experience convinced him to move to Vienna, a decision that shaped his life much as Olivier Messiaen’s being drafted into the army in 1939. After being captured by the Germans, Messiaen was imprisoned in Stalag VIII-A where he composed the Quartet for the End of Time. Setting the book of “Revelation,” the quartet confronts the devastation of the world by offering hope and visions of a better day, a message we need now as much as during WWII.
Week Two: Richly Romantic - Vaughan Williams and more
Saturday, July 13 | 7:30pm | White Recital Hall, UMKC
Sunday, July 14 | 3:00pm | St. Mary's Episcopal Church, KCMO
For the second week, we continue exploring time and how it reshapes our memories. When Max Bruch wrote his Eight Pieces, op. 83, he had not composed chamber music in over four decades. He was lured back to chamber music by his son, a respected clarinet player, and ended up writing pieces that will remind you of late Brahms, nostalgically looking back while wearing a maturity in their construction. Grazyna Bacewicz’s Trio for Oboe, Violin and Cello similarly embraces older musical styles in a modern setting but has the additional flavor of her native Poland. Finally, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Piano Quintet in C Minor disappeared to history in 1918 after the composer pulled it from his catalog. An early work for the English composer, the Piano Quintet would have been lost to time except for his widow allowing a performance in 1999. The piece quickly found its place in chamber music concerts, and we know you’ll enjoy hearing it this summer.
Week Three: Beethoven's Memorable Septet
Saturday, July 20 | 7:30pm | White Recital Hall, UMKC
Sunday, July 21 | 3:00pm | St. Mary's Episcopal Church, KCMO
Time has a way of choosing what pieces of music survive and which disappear. Consider the first composer on the third week’s concert. Bernhard Henrik Crusell was the most prominent clarinet virtuoso during Beethoven’s life and a prolific composer, but today is little known. His Concert-Trio for Clarinet, Horn, and Bassoon, a playful yet demanding work, will help you remember his name. Evan Chambers is a name you might know as his music is regularly heard at Summerfest. His Fisherstreet Duo is certainly a work that will stand the test of time. Finally, Beethoven was always upset that his youthful Septet in E Flat Major, op. 20 remained one of his most popular pieces during his life. Encompassing the emotional range we expect from Beethoven but also his light and playful side, it will certainly be one of the most memorable performances this summer.
Week Four: Lyrical Journeys
Saturday, July 27 | 7:30pm | Leawood United Methodist Church, 2915 W 95th ST, Leawood KS
Sunday, July 28 | 3:00pm | St. Mary's Episcopal Church, KCMO
Our final week begins with a composer who lived through the tumultuous times of the French Revolution before becoming the first Professor of Flute at the Paris Conservatory. A prolific composer, François Devienne wrote over three hundred works for chamber winds, including the Bassoon Quartet in F Major which fully engages the Classical tendencies of his day. Jennifer Higdon is one of the most important voices of our time, and her “Love Sweet” literally adds a voice to our season with songs that chart the path of a relationship. We end Summerfest with a composer regularly on our concerts, Antonín Dvořák. As with Mozart, Dvořák composed the String Quintet in G Major, op. 77 as he was on the cusp of his mature style and worldwide recognition. It is a fitting end to our summer and a reminder of how everything comes in its own time.