La Jolla Music Society Announces SummerFest 2008

“Star”-Studded SummerFest to Include: New FREE Concert under the stars, the return of the Composer Series featuring Brahms, “An Evening With…” Series and World and West Coast Première works

SAN DIEGO, CA — La Jolla Music Society announces SummerFest 2008– a nationally-recognized chamber music festival featuring over 70 world-class artists and ensembles performing 16 concerts from August 1-24, 2008.

SummerFest 2008 pays tribute to the most revered composers of all time while continuing to promote the creation and performance of modern-day masterworks. Since its inception in 1986, SummerFest has welcomed over 550 renowned artists and ensembles, four talented artistic directors and nearly a quarter of a million audience members at venues in San Diego and over the airwaves nationwide. This year’s festival highlights include:

·        “SummerFest Under the Stars” – A festival first, this FREE outdoor concert overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the La Jolla Cove features the music of Mendelssohn, Gershwin, John Williams and John Philp Sousa Thursday, August 14.

·        The return of the Composer Series, with three performances dedicated to exploring the tumultuous and intriguing life,  music and influences of Johannes Brahms starting Tuesday, August 5.

·        The popular “Evening with…” Series  returns to SummerFest welcoming a different virtuoso each Wednesday night during the festival. Acclaimed pianist Leon Fleisher closes the series on August 20.

·        SummerFest premières four newly commissioned works, including a world première by Julian Milone, Steven Mackey’s west coast première of Ground Swell, and the premières of Kaija Saariaho’s Serenatas and Huang Ruo’s Real Loud performed by Real Quiet.

·        From “Fire and Passion” to “French Connections”, Opening Weekend starts with a bang led by the veteran Music Director, Cho-Liang Lin and his star-studded roster of world-class artists.

·        “Note”able SummerFest debuts of “The Belanich Steinway” and other “note”able pianists, including  Garrick Ohlsson , Jacques Loussier and Vladimir Feltsman.

·        Ensemble performances not to be missed: the Formosa Quartet, the Tokyo String Quartet, and the Sonora String Quartet make their SummerFest debuts while Real Quiet returns for its second SummerFest appearance.

A “STAR”-FILLED FESTIVAL: FROM “SUMMERFEST UNDER THE STARS” TO A “STAR”-STUDDED OPENING WEEKEND.
SummerFest 2008 is proud to announce a new, FREE outdoor concert, “SummerFest Under the Stars” at the La Jolla Cove on Thursday, August 14. Acclaimed violinist and SummerFest Music Director Cho-Liang Lin leads this exciting new concert which promises to bring a fun evening filled with stars both on the stage and in the sky.  Now in his eighth year as Music Director of SummerFest, Cho-Liang Lin has once again assembled an all-star roster of artists that brings to life the dynamic range of chamber music.  A violinist of superb musicianship and eloquent playing, Cho-Liang Lin can be seen performing throughout SummerFest, beginning with the Opening Night performance.
 
August 1 opens SummerFest on a fiery note with a night suitably entitled “Fire and Passion”. Featuring an exciting, newly-commissioned world première by Julian Milone of Piazzolla’s famous tango Death of an Angel, Milone joins this new arrangement with three of his other tango arrangements in a work entitled Piazzolla Suite for Four Violins and Bass. Also blazing the stage on this “star”-studded opening weekend are some returning SummerFest favorites - violinists Gil Shaham and Kyoko Takezawa, pianist Garrick Ohlsson and cellists Carter Brey and Ralph Kirshbaum, among others.  This year also marks the debuts of other shining stars joining the SummerFest family including: the Tokyo String Quartet, the Formosa Quartet, violinist Jennifer Koh, pianists Jacques Loussier, Christopher Taylor and Joyce Yang and dance ensemble Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre.

THE FRIENDSHIP, LOVE, AND GRANDEUR OF BRAHMS: THREE EVENINGS EXPLORING HIS WORKS AND INFLUENCES
          Johannes Brahms is one of the central composers of the classical music tradition.  La Jolla Music Society honors the chamber music repertoire of Brahms over the course of three Festival nights – “Brahms I- Friendship Among Masters,” “Brahms II- Unrequited Love,” and “Brahms III- Intimacy and Grandeur” – at MCASD Sherwood Auditorium.   
 
Showcasing works from both Brahms and his mentor and friend Robert Schumann, around the time of their artistic kinship, “Brahms I- Friendship Among Masters,” on Tuesday, August 5 shares with audiences Schumann’s seldom heard Andante and Variations for Two Pianos, Two Cellos and Horn and two Brahms quartets, one for string and one for piano. The exploration of Brahms’ and Schumann’s life-long friendship continues into the second evening “Brahms II- Unrequited Love” on Tuesday, August 12 which focuses on a new facet of inspiration for Brahms, Schumann’s wife, Clara, for whom Brahms felt a deep, unrequited love.  Fourteen years his senior and an accomplished pianist and composer herself, she was not only his muse but also his musical confidante whose opinions and guidan
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