Date: Fri 04-Sep-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

NFoM-schedule-Levine

Full Text:

Newtown Friends Of Music Announce 1998-99 Season

Newtown Friends of Music is pleased to announce that for the 21st year, the

organization has been able to engage outstanding artists to perform a

five-concert program.

For the 1998-99 season, as always, the performers come from the most

prestigious music schools and have won numerous awards for their artistic

abilities. All performers who are invited to play in Newtown have been heard

in person by one or more members of the program committee.

Opening the season on Sunday, October 11, will be the St Lawrence String

Quartet. One of the most sought-after young ensembles today, the quartet's

extensive schedule includes more than 100 concerts a year.

Its interpretation of the classical literature, as well as a dedication to

performing new music, has excited audiences around the globe. Members are

Geoff Nuttall and Barry Shiffman, both of whom perform on the violin; violist

Lesley Robertson; and cellist Marina Hoover.

The season-opening concert will include performances of Quartet in D Major ,

Haydn; Schumann's Quartet in A minor ; and Beethoven's Quartet in A minor . As

has become tradition for NFoM-sponsored concerts, an informal reception will

follow the performance in the town hall's lobby, where the audience will have

the opportunity to meet with the afternoon's musicians.

On Sunday, November 8, the German-Born cellist Ole Akahoshi will give a

recital together with the pianist Elizabeth Sawyer Parisot.

Mr Akahoshi began cello studies at the age of four in Berlin, before his

family moved to the United States in 1989. He is the winner of numerous

national and international competitions. Last year he gave his debut recital

at Weill Hall. He has appeared in both orchestral and chamber works, and has

been heard on WQXR. He also studied with Janos Starker and Aldo Parisot, and

teaches at the Yale School of Music.

As his collaborator, Ms Sawyer Parisot will display her artistry on the piano.

She has performed with, among others, Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, and Ralph

Kirschbaum. Like Mr Akahoshi, she has appeared in solo and chamber music

concerts throughout the world. Their November program will include works of

Bach, Bartok, DeFalla, and two by Chopin.

NFoM does not present concerts during the busy Christmas season, nor during

the month of January, when weather conditions are so questionable.

The first concert of 1999 is scheduled for Sunday, the 21st of February, when

Newtown's own violinist Jesse Levine teams up with long-time friends violinist

Erick Friedman and cellist Stephen Kates to perform some of the most beautiful

string trio repertoire ever written. All three musicians have been successful

in their music careers for more than 25 years, and have firmly established

their reputations in their various fields.

Since 1983, Mr Levine has held the position of professor of viola and chamber

music at the Yale School of Music. He is also music director and conductor of

the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1981. He has been

principal violist with some of the most prestigious symphony orchestras both

here and abroad.

Violinist Erick Friedman has carved a career of international dimensions for

himself, having appeared as guest soloist with most of the world's great

orchestras and under the baton of internationally famed conductors. Mr

Friedman has recorded for RCA, with his recordings of the Bach sonatas for

violin and clavecin having won Grammy nominations. Mr Friedman is a full

professor of music at Yale University.

Cellist Stephen Kates, now in his 23rd years as professor of cello at the

Peabody Conservatory, has appeared three times at the White House -- for

Presidents Johnson, Carter and Reagan. Recently he was published in a

newly-released book, Kitchen Classics , in honor of the 150th anniversary of

the New York Philharmonic.

Also joining the Friedman-Levine-Kates Trio in February will be the pianist

Claude Frank. Mr Frank has appeared with the world's foremost orchestras since

his debut with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1959.

Mr Frank studied in New York with, among others, Artur Schnabel. As a chamber

musician he has performed with the Guarneri Quartet, the Juilliard Quartet,

the Emerson Quartet, and in both four-hand and two-piano works with Lilian

Kiar. Mr Frank has given master classes around the country, and is currently a

faculty member of the Curtis Institute.

On Sunday, March 21, for the fourth concert of the season, Newtown Friends of

Music will present The Orpheus Quartet. A truly cosmopolitan quartet, members

are from France, Rumania and the Netherlands; the group is based in Germany.

Members are Charles-Andre Linale, on violin; Emilian Piedicuta, violin; Emile

Cantor, viola; and Laurentiu Sbarcea, cello.

Sweeping first prize in three major competitions soon after its creation in

1987 -- Rome (1988), Munich (1990) and Osaka (1993) -- the quartet has since

appeared regularly in major concert venues. The Orpheus' tenth anniversary

year featured a European tour with Menahem Pressler. NFoM feels very fortunate

to be welcoming the quartet on its debut North American tour.

There is nothing more enchanting than hearing excellent strings combined with

superior winds, with a piano or harpsichord providing accompaniment. Each

year, NFoM looks for exceptional artists who can play the kind of music not

usually included in the quartet or trio repertoire.

This year's solution will be presented on Sunday, May 2, when the season will

conclude with a major ensemble performance. The oboist Peggy Pearson will lead

The Greenleaf Chamber Players, an ensemble of eight players, in music by

Telemann, Tyson and Glinka.

The pianist Diane Walsh delighted Newtown audiences in March 1998 during

NFoM's 20th anniversary season. As guest of the St Luke's Chamber Ensemble, Ms

Walsh was flawless and artistically sensitive in playing Schubert's "Trout."

In the upcoming season, the pianist will show her virtuosity again in the

piece by Glinka while performing with the Greenleaf group.

Additional performers for May 2 include Nick Eanet and David Chan on violins,

Lois Martin, viola; Marcy Rosen, cello; Marji Danilow, string bass; and Edward

Brewer, harpsichord. Each musician carries a full load of college-level

teaching, recording contracts, appearances as soloists with orchestras and

travel worldwide.

The finale performance is being presented with the support of the Connecticut

Commission on the Arts, a state agency whose funds are recommended by the

governor and appropriated by the state legislature.

All performances begin at 3 pm. Concerts are in the auditorium of Edmond Town

Hall, at 45 Main Street in Newtown.

A limited number of season subscriptions remain available for the 1998-99

Newtown Friends of Music season. Subscriptions are $45 each, or $35 each for

seniors and students.

Individual tickets are $14 apiece, $12 students and seniors. Children between

the ages of five and 14 are admitted free when they are accompanied by a

ticket-holding adult.

For additional information, contact NFoM president Ellen Parrella at 426-6470.