The first German artist to ever win the international Naumburg Violin Award in New York, Axel Strauss made his American début at the Library of Congress in Washington DC and his New York début at Alice Tully Hall in 1998. Since then he has given recitals in major North American cities, including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 2007 he was the violinist in the world première performance and recording of Two Awakenings and a Double Lullaby, written for him by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Axel Strauss’ discography include the Brahms violin concerto, the three last violin concertos by Kreutzer, the complete Caprices for solo violin by Pierre Rode and the complete works for violin and piano by George Enescu. Axel Strauss has performed as soloist with orchestras in Budapest, Hamburg, New York, Seoul, Shanghai, Bucharest, San Francisco and Cincinnati, among others, and has toured widely throughout the world as a recitalist and chamber musician. He has also served as guest concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Montreal Symphony. In 2012 AxelStrauss was appointed Professor of Violin at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal, where he also serves as Chair of the String Area. Prior to that he served as Professor of Violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Artist
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Friday, July 28th, 2023 7:00 pm
This program, drawn from the 19th century, includes Schubert’s Rondo Brillante, an unknown gem rarely heard in the concert hall, Loeffler’s post-romantic Rhapsodies, which bring together mysticism and folksong, and Fauré’s most popular work, his Piano Quartet, which was the first music from his pen after a painful divorce.
Saturday, July 29th, 2023 12:00 pm
Now in its 10th year, MITV’s Solo Instrumental Competition for California high school musicians awards cash prizes to outstanding instrumentalists selected by competitive audition. This year’s winners will be featured along with the Lírios Quartet, our 2023 Fellowship String Quartet, in this free lunchtime recital of talented young musicians.
Saturday, July 29th, 2023 5:00 pm
Mozart’s effervescent Oboe Quartet precedes the premiere of a work for piano and strings that we co-commissioned from noted CA-based composer John Wineglass. We close with Brahms’ autumnal String Quintet which was to be his final work, before what turned out to be a failed retirement.
Sunday, July 30th, 2023 5:00 pm
Schubert’s serene Notturno, and great Quintet for Strings (the “Cello” Quintet), bookend two remarkable composers, Brazilian Clarice Assad and Anna Clyne of the U.K.
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023 6:00 pm
The Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet, founded in 2010 by the internationally-acclaimed Sphinx Organization, has been a seismic force in promoting underrepresented classical musicians. Known for their “perfect ensemble unity” and “unequaled class of execution” (Lincoln Journal Star), Catalyst Quartet has toured widely throughout the United States and abroad.
6:00 pm Pre-Concert Talk
7:00 pm Concert
A series of lecture/demonstrations that look beyond the score.
Thursday, August 3rd, 2023 5:00 pm
We welcome back renowned pianist and composer John Novacek for an enlightening discussion and performance about one of the 20th century’s most influential musicians, Igor Stravinsky. The focus will be on his eleven ballets, the genre he influenced most, including Petroushka, The Firebird and The Right of Spring. You will be welcomed with a glass of sparkling wine before John’s one-hour presentation. Afterward, linger on the beautiful Napa terrace of this stunning private home with wine and appetizers along with musical conversation.
Private residence in St. Helena, address issued with ticket receipt.
Friday, August 4th, 2023 7:00 pm
This program will take you on a journey, from the solemn Lamento of Kahlevi Aho, to the bawdy Café Music of Paul Schoenfield, which was inspired by his stint as the pianist at a steakhouse. We close with the exuberant and passionate Quintet no. 2 by Mendelssohn.
An Echo in the Vineyards Event
Saturday, August 5th, 2023 5:00 pm
This Concert for the Community will feature festival musicians in works by Antonio Vivaldi and tango master Astor Piazzolla, as well our first ever play-along, which will include you! All are welcome—on any instrument*—to join us in playing Johann Pachelbel’s beautiful Canon.
Sunday, August 6th, 2023 5:00 pm
This program features three audacious Opus 1s: the first published works of three young composers who went on to great things. Already, each Opus 1 reveals their nascent brilliance.
Wednesday, August 9th, 2023 6:00 pm
The Calidore Quartet was founded at the Colburn School in Los Angeles in 2010, and within two years won grand prizes in virtually all the major U.S. chamber music competitions. Their reputation has only grown in the decade since, and they now perform at the most esteemed venues and festivals around the world. This marks their MITV debut.
6:00 pm: Pre-Concert Talk
7:00 pm: Concert
A series of lecture/demonstrations that look beyond the score.
Thursday, August 10th, 2023 7:00 pm
Brilliantly prolific while terribly ill, Schubert’s flurry of final works transcended the terrible suffering he endured. Curated by Artistic Director Michael Adams and assisted by festival musicians, this program will sample from the works of Schubert’s miraculous last year, including the “cello” quintet, the two piano trios, and his final piano sonatas.
Friday, August 11th, 2023 7:00 pm
Witness the intimate side of these three pillars of Russian music and “large-scale” masters. Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Stravinsky show off their compositional dexterity in these pieces for very small forces.
Saturday, August 12th, 2023 5:00 pm
One of the most captivating musicians of our time, violinist Tessa Lark returns to MITV for this one-night-only exclusive estate concert. Nominated for a Grammy in 2020, Tessa is a budding superstar in the classical realm, as well as a highly acclaimed fiddler in the tradition of her native Kentucky. She first appeared at MITV in 2009, as the winner of the Klein International Competition, returning for a second time last year.
Sunday, August 13th, 2023 5:00 pm
String Circle, by Kenji Bunch, explores the great history of American fiddle playing, flirting with ragtime, blues, and country. In this innovative presentation, the five movements of String Circle are paired with classical counterparts, revealing the close connection between genres.
Wednesday, August 16th, 2023 6:00 pm
California native and current Boonville resident Gabriella Lena Frank, explores the rhythms and sounds of the Andean culture of her heritage, including the sounds of the panpipe, the charango, and the wailing women hired to keen at funerals. Closing the program is one of Mendelssohn’s masterpieces, which Robert Schumann praised as “the master-trio of our time.” (And it still is!)
6:00 pm: Pre-Concert Talk
7:00 pm: Concert
Friday, August 18th, 2023 7:00 pm
This program opens with Caroline Shaw’s Schisma, which references the cleft in the rock that you cling to in dark times. We explore those “clefts” through a wide range of composers, and its meaning to each of them.
Saturday, August 19th, 2023 12:00 pm
Two classic silent films with original music by Stephen Prutsman, performed by festival musicians, recreate the cinema experience of 100 years ago before recorded sound was integrated into filmmaking. The main attraction is a Buster Keaton classic, College, preceded by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a horror film, considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema.
Saturday, August 19th, 2023 5:00 pm
Two classic silent films with original music by Stephen Prutsman, performed by festival musicians, recreate the cinema experience of 100 years ago before recorded sound was integrated into filmmaking. The main attraction is a Buster Keaton classic, College, preceded by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a horror film, considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema.
Sunday, August 20th, 2023 7:30 pm
Join the Music in the Vineyards family of musicians, patrons, and supporters at sunset around the iconic Inglenook fountain for appetizers, followed by a delicious three-course buffet dinner under the stars paired with premium Inglenook wines.
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