Lovers of chamber music in Utah looking for outstanding performances during the summer will find a broad, diverse spectrum of works and performers, covering nearly 300 years in the catalog, in the Intermezzo Chamber Music Series.
Five concerts will be at Libby Gardner Hall at the University of Utah campus, beginning June 24 (all with a starting time of 7:30 p.m.). The summer series will include sonatas, duets, trios and quintets, among other combinations. Pianist Vedrana Subotic serves as artistic director and the level of musicianship is indicative of just how deeply talented and extensive the corps of outstanding performers are in Utah.
The music offerings blend familiar with lesser heard gems. The June 24 opener will feature soprano Clara Hurtado Lee and tenor Brian Stucki in a collection of short works, including Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, My Beloved Spake by Charles Gounod, Gentle Airs Melodious Strains by Handel, Rossini’s La Danza and Adagio by Joseph Marx,a little-known Austrian composer in the 20th century. Subotic will accompany on piano. The main work on the concert is one of Schubert’s best-known chamber pieces, the Trout Piano Quintet in A Major D.667, with Subotic on piano and strings including Hugh Palmer, violin; J.T. Posadas, viola; Louis-Philippe Robillard, cello and Andrew Keller, double bass.
The July 8 concert at Libby Gardner Hall comprises two of the most significant piano trios in the chamber music repertoire: Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No.2 in E Minor Op.67 and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A Minor Op.50. The trio is a powerhouse lineup: William Hagen, violin; Lauren Posey, cello and Subotic, piano.
Two definitive string quintets from the Classical Era comprise the July 15 Libby Gardner Hall concert: Mozart’s String Quintet No. 3 in C Major, K. 515A and Beethoven’s String Quintet in C Major Op. 29 “The Storm”. Featured artists will include Jiang and Evgenia Zharzhavskaya, violins;;Yuan Qi and Joel Gibbs, violas and Lauren Posey, cello.
Woodwinds are featured on the July 29 Libby Gardner Hall concert, with works by Beethoven, Mozart and Poulenc. Harmonic twins of a sort are on the bill with Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major K.452 and Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Op.16. Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon will feature Tad Calcara on clarinet and Lori Wike on bassoon. Subotic will perform Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in G Major Op.14 No.2. Also performing will be James Hall on oboe and Julie Pilant on French horn.
A pair of piano trios from the Late Romantic period will round out the final Libby Gardner Hall on August 12: Smetana’s Piano Trio No.1 in G Minor Op.15 and Brahms’s Piano Trio No.1 in B Major Op.8. Featured performers will be Michael McQuay, piano; Monte Belknap, violin and Nicole Pinnell, cello.
Intermezzo concerts also have been offered in other more intimate settings including The Grand America Hotel Courtyard and Westminster University. Through a partnership with Excellence in the Community, Intermezzo Chamber Music Series also performs monthly at the Gallivan Center in downtown SLC during the fall and winter seasons. Concerts are free and live-streamed, and the schedule will be announced at a later date.
For tickets and more information, see the Intermezzo webpage.