Sunday, November 23, 2008, 4 p.m.

Program
J.S. Bach-Cortot-Hough: Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Fauré: Nocturne No. 6 in D-flat, op. 63
Impromptu No. 5 in F-sharp minor, op. 102
Barcarolle No. 5 in F, op. 66
Franck: Prelude, Choral and Fugue
Copland: Piano Variations
Chopin: Nocturne in B, op. 62, no. 1
Sonata in B minor, op. 58

On Sunday, November 23, 2008, at 4 p.m., Stephen Hough will appear on the second concert of the Wilton Candlelight Concerts season. This marks Mr. Hough’s third performance for the series. Widely regarded as one of the most important and distinctive pianists of his generation, Mr. Hough is well-known as a music scholar as well as pianist. He is renowned for his performances of the core recital repertoire in recital as well as his interest in neglected 19th century works. Mr. Hough integrates the imagination and pianistic color of the past with the scholarship and intellectual rigor of the present, illuminating the very essence of the music he plays. He was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2001 in recognition of his achievements, joining prominent scientists, writers and others who have made unique contributions to contemporary life. And in December 2007, the Northwestern University School of Music in Chicago announced that Stephen has been chosen to be the second recipient of the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance.

Since winning first prize in the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1983, Stephen Hough has appeared with most of the major American and European orchestras and plays recitals regularly in the major halls and concert series around the world. He is also a guest at festivals such as Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Blossom, the Hollywood Bowl, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh and the BBC Proms, where he has made over a dozen concerto appearances. Recent engagements include performances with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, London Philharmonic and the orchestras of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, St. Louis, Atlanta, Detroit, Cincinnati, Toronto and Dallas.

Stephen Hough is a Hyperion recording artist, and many of his catalogue of over 40 CDs have garnered international prizes. Recordings of concertos by Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saëns, Hummel, Scharwenka and Sauer as well as Mompou’s solo piano music and two Liszt recitals have won multiple awards. He has received recognition from Gramophone Magazine (seven awards including “Record of the Year” in 1996 and 2003) as well as the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis and several Grammy nominations.

The November 23rd performance will take place at the Wilton Congregational Church, just north of Wilton center on Route 33. Tickets will be available at the door one-half hour before the concert and are $25 ($10 for students). For more information on this concert or on subscriptions to the Candlelight series or to request a brochure, phone 203-762-3401 or 203-762-5019. Candlelight Concerts benefits the Wilton Library. Individual and corporate contributions are gratefully accepted.

October 26, 2008, 4:00 p.m.

Program
Mozart (arr.): Five Four-Voice Fugues from J.S. Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier
György Kurtág: String Quartet op. 28
Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C minor K. 546
György Kurtág: Six Moments musicaux op. 44
Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, op. 161, D. 887

The Keller Quartet opens the Candlelight Concert 2008-09 season on October 26th with an unusual program juxtaposing works of Bach and Mozart with the ensemble’s prominent mentor, the Hungarian composer György Kurtág. Founded at the Liszt Conservatory of Music in Budapest, the Keller Quartet achieved its international breakthrough in 1990 when winning prizes at the Évian and Borciani Competitions. The members of this distinguished ensemble, violinists Andreas Keller and János Pilz, violist Zoltan Gál, and cellist Judit Szábo, recently celebrated their twentieth year of musical collaboration with concerts at Wigmore Hall in London, at the Essen and Berlin Philharmonie, and in Milan, Hamburg and Brussels. Graduates of the Liszt conservatory, they were trained and have performed as soloists, but string quartet playing has always been their first love.

The Keller Quartet, which performs on modern instruments by violinmaker Peter Greiner, has enjoyed links to ECM for some time now and has recorded the Art of the Fugue by Bach as well as the complete works for string quartet of Kurtág. The year 2003 saw the release of a CD by ECM of Schnittke’s Piano Quintet (with Alexej Lubimov), along with the last string quartet of Shostakovich. A recording of all of Bartók’s Duos by the two violinists of the quartet has also appeared on ECM. At the end of the year 2004 a DVD with a Bach/Kurtág program was released by EuroArts, and the ensemble has also made a highly-praised recording of the complete string quartets of Bartók on the Erato label. Since July 2006, the quartet has been associated with the Yale Chamber Music Festival at Norfolk.

The October 26th concert takes place at 4:00 p.m. at the Wilton Congregational Church, just north of Wilton center on Route 33. Tickets may be obtained at the door for $25 dollars ($10 for students). For information on subscriptions to the entire four concert series, go to the ticket order page. Season tickets start at $90 ($75 for seniors); and patrons and benefactors of the series have the option of bringing two or four children under 16 (respectively) to the concerts free of cost. For more information on this concert or on the series or to order a series brochure to be sent to you, call (203) 762-3401 or (203) 762-5019. Candlelight Concerts benefits the Wilton Library, and happily accepts individual and corporate tax deductible contributions.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Program

Jean Michele Damase Seven Variations for Wind Quintet, Opus. 22 (1951)

Elliott Carter Woodwind Quintet (1948)

Samuel Barber Summer Music for Wind Quintet, Opus 31 (1957)

Vincent Persichetti Pastoral, Opus 21 (1951)

Irving Fine Partita for Wind Quintet

Gyorgi Ligeti Six Bagatelles (1953)

Created in 1994 by five eminent woodwind soloists, WINDSCAPE has won a unique place for itself as a vibrant, ever-evolving group of musical individualists, an “unquintet” which has delighted audiences throughout the US, Canada, and Asia. WINDSCAPE’s innovative programs and accompanying presentations are created to take listeners on a musical and historical world tour–evoking through music and engaging commentary vivid cultural landscapes of distant times and places.As Artists-in-Residence at the Manhattan School of Music, the members of WINDSCAPE are master teachers, imparting not only the secrets of instrumental virtuosity, but also presenting distinctive concerts, hailed for creative energy and musical curiosity.

The current season will take Windscape from coast to coast, with concerts in Portland, OR and at Wolftrap in Vienna, VA. Past seasons include performances at Carnegie Hall with the New York String Orchestra, at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as recitals in Philadelphia, Madison, WI, Charlottesville, VA and Reno, NV, in addition to other cities around the US. Recent highlights include their Kennedy Center debut, tapings for NPR’s “Performance Today” and Minnesota Public Radio’s “St. Paul Sunday,” a performance “Live From Glenn Gould Studio” for CBC-Toronto, and a tour of New Zealand. Windscape has given concerts and masterclasses in Boston, New York, San Francisco, College Park, Des Moines, Omaha, and Winter Park, FL, among other cities. Esteemed chamber musicians with whom they have collaborated include Eugene Istomin, Andre Michel Schub, John Kimura Parker, Jeremy Denk, and Anne Marie McDermott.

The April 6th concert will take place at 4:00 pm at the Wilton Congregational Church, just north of Wilton Center on Route 33. For non-subscribers, tickets will be available at the door one half hour prior to performance for $25 (Seniors pay $20, students $10). For more information on this concert or the Candlelight Concerts series, or to get on our mailing list, phone 203-762-3401. Candlelight Concerts benefit the Wilton Library. We gratefully accept tax deductible contributions from individuals and corporations.

Sunday, January 20, 2008
Program

Dvorak Sextet in A Major, Op. 48
Martinu Sextet
Brahms Sextet in B-flat Major, Op. 18

In the past decade Concertante has acquired a sheen, warmth, and polish only a few ensembles ever achieve. Comprised of a core of six virtuoso string players, the group performs in varied combinations of instrumentalists. As solo performers who have won major national and international music competitions, they have graced the premier stages of the world from New York’s Carnegie Hall to London’s Royal Festival Hall to Shanghai’s Grand Theatre.

Concertante has performed a wide array of repertoire ranging from works by established masters to less commonly performed composers. The ensemble members — Alexis Pia Gerlach, Ara Gregorian, Zvi Plesser, Ittai Shapira, Rachel Shapiro, and Xiao-Dong Wang — all have an interest in furthering the cause of new music. To this end, they have launched a new series entitled One Plus Five, a series of six world premieres by Lowell Liebermann, Tigran Mansurian, Gabriela Frank, Shulamit Ran, Richard Danielpour, and Kevin Puts. To date, Concertante has premiered the works of Josef Bardanashvili, Justine Chen, Tina Davison, Steven R. Gerber, David Ludwig, Jan Radzynski, Sheila Silver, and Oded Zehavi. It has also offered infrequently performed chamber works by such celebrated composers as Enesco, John Adams, Schoenberg, Martinu and Schulhoff. As an ensemble, Concertante has performed across America, gathering rave reviews from such publications as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post, and appearing on Minnesota Public Radio’s St. Paul Sunday. Concertante performs regularly at Merkin Hall in New York City as well as being the Resident Chamber Music Ensemble of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, PA.

The Sunday, January 20th Concertante concert will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Wilton Congregational Church, just north of Wilton Center on Route 33. For non-subscribers to the series, tickets will be available at the door one-half hour prior to the performance for $25 ($20 for seniors, $10 for students). For more information on this concert or the series, phone 203-762-3401. The Candlelight Concerts series is a non-profit organization which benefits the Wilton Library. We gratefully accept tax deductible contributions from individuals and corporations.

For more information about Concertante, visit their website.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Program:

Charles Wuorinen: Christe of Josquin des Prez
Olivier Messiaen: Petites Esquisses d’Oiseaux
J.S. Bach: Capriccio on the Departure of the Beloved Brother
J. Brahms: Thema mit Variationen (1860)
J. Brahms: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Händel, Op. 24 (1861)

Recognized as an artist of passion and integrity, American pianist Peter Serkin is one of the most thoughtful and individualistic musicians appearing before the public today. Throughout his career he has successfully conveyed the essence of four centuries of musical repertoire and his performances with symphony orchestras, recital appearances, chamber music collaborations, and recordings are respected worldwide.

Peter Serkin’s rich musical heritage extends back several generations. His grandfather was violinist and composer Adolf Busch, and his father, pianist Rudolf Serkin. In 1958, at age eleven, he entered the Curtis Institute of Music and a year later made his debut at the Marlboro Music Festival. Since that time, he has performed with the world’s major symphony orchestras, and has played chamber music with Alexander Schneider, Pablo Casals, Pamela Frank, Yo-Yo Ma, Budapest String Quartet, Guarneri String Quartet, Orion String Quartet, and Tashi.

Ranging from Bach to Berio, Peter Serkin’s recordings reflect his distinctive musical vision. The Ocean that has no West and no East, recently released by Koch Records, contains compositions by Webern, Wolpe, Messiaen, Takemitsu, Knussen, Lieberson and Wuorinen. In June, 2000, BMG released a recording of Serkin performing three Beethoven sonatas. Other recent recordings include the Brahms violin sonatas with Pamela Frank, Dvorak’s Piano Quintet, Op. 81, with the Orion String Quartet, quintets by Henze and Brahms with the Guarneri String Quartet, Bach double and Triple keyboard concerti with András Schiff and Bruno Camino, and Quotation of Dream with Oliver Knussen and the London Sinfonietta, featuring Music of Takemitsu.

Peter Serkin is on the faculties of The Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Tanglewood Music Center. He lives in Massachusetts,with his wife Regina, and is the father of five children.

The November 25th concert takes place at 4:00 pm at the Wilton Congregational Church, just north of Wilton Center on Route 33. Non-subscribers to the Candlelight series may purchase tickets at the door one-half hour prior to performance for $25 ($20 for seniors, $10 for students). For more information on the series, or to subscribe, call 203-762-3401. The Candlelight Concerts series benefits the Wilton Library.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Program:

Haydn: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 74, No.1
Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13
Bartok: String Quartet No. 5

The Orion String Quartet gained immediate attention in the classical music world when its founding members, each with distinguished solo and chamber music careers, officially formed the ensemble in 1987. The Quartet chose its name from the Orion constellation as a metaphor for the unique personality each musician brings to the group in its collective pursuit of the highest musical ideals.

The members of the Quartet – Daniel Phillips, Todd Phillips, Steven Tenenbom, and Timothy Eddy — maintain a strong dedication to the next generation of musical artists and serve on the faculties of the Mannes College of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School and Queens College, where they teach private lessons, give chamber music classes and offer intensive coaching programs for young professional string quartets. They have also served as faculty members of the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall and the Summer Institute for Advanced Quartet Studies in Aspen. Since 1993, the Orion String Quartet has maintained a summer residency at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

Since its inception, the Orion String Quartet has been consistently praised for the fresh perspective and individuality it brings to performances, offering diverse programs that juxtapose classic works of the standard quartet literature with masterworks by living composers. During the 2007-2008 concert season, the Orion will partner with clarinetist David Krakauer to perform a program featuring David Del Tredici’s new work, Magyar Madness, a work commissioned by Music Accord specifically for the ensemble. This fall, the Orion will also collaborate with Leon Fleischer at Ravinia, and Ida Kavafian and David Soyer in Philadelphia . The Orion will give the world premiere of a Lowell Liebermann string quartet commissioned for the ensemble at the Canandaigua Lake Chamber Music Festival in February, 2008.

The Orion Quartet opens the 60th Candlelight Concerts season on October 28, 2007 at 4:00 pm at the Congregational Church in Wilton, CT (on Route 33, just north of Wilton Center). For non-subscribers, tickets may be purchased at the door for $25 ($20 for seniors, $10 for students). For more information on subscriptions, please phone 203-762-3401. Candlelight Concerts gladly accepts tax deductible individual and corporate donations, and benefits the Wilton Library.

For more information about the Orion String Quartet, visit their website.

Sunday, March 18, 2007 at 4 pm

Program

String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76, no. 5, Joseph Haydn
Quartet No. 2 (“Intimate Letters”), Leos Jancek
String Quartet in Bb Major, Op. 67, Johannes Brahms

For more than thirty years, the Prazak Quartet has been at home on music stages worldwide. They are regular guests in the major European musical capitals -Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Madrid, London, Berlin, and Munich – and participate in numerous festivals, having collaborated with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Jon Nakamatsu, and Josef Suk. On Sunday, March 18th they will appear at the Wilton Congregational Church, playing a program of Haydn (String Quartet in D major, Op. 76, no. 5), Janaĉek (String Quartet No. 2) and Brahms (String Quartet in Bb Major, Op. 67).

The Prazak Quartet was established in 1972 while its members were students at the Prague Conservatory. In 1974, the ensemble received first prize at the Prague Conservatory Chamber Music Competition, performing the following year at the Prague Spring Music Festival. In 1978 the quartet took the first prize at the Evian String Quartet Competition, as well as a special prize awarded by Radio France for the best recording during the competition. Since then, the quartet has gained attention for its prominent place in the unique Czech quartet tradition, as well as its musical virtuosity.
In North America, the Prazak Quartet has performed in New York (Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, 92 nd St. Y), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Washington, Philadelphia, Miami, St. Louis, New Orleans, Berkeley, Cleveland, Tucson, Denver, Buffalo, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Their 2006/07 tours will bring them to 23 North American cities, including New York (Carnegie Hall), Boston, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Kansas City, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Vancouver, and Montreal.

In the Czech Republic, the Prazak records exclusively for Praga/Harmonia Mundi, and has released 20 award-winning CDs. In addition to numerous radio recordings in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, the Prazak Quartet has also made recordings for Supraphon, Panton, Orfeo, Ottavo, Bonton, and Nuova Era.

The March 18th concert will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Wilton Congregational Church, located north of Wilton center on Route 33. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $25 (seniors pay $20; students,$10). For more information on this concert or on the Candlelight series, phone 203-762-3401 or 203-762-5019.

Sunday, January 14, 2007 at 4 pm

Program

Variations Serieuses, Op. 54, Felix Mendelssohn
Fantasio Variations (1946), Ben Weber
Sonata in C minor, Op. 111, Ludwig van Beethoven
Invitation to the Dance, Carl Maria von Weber
Waltzes (to be announced), Fredric Chopin
Valse Nonchalente, Camille Saint-Saens
Feuille d’Album, Emmanuel Chabrier
La plus que lente, Claude Debussy

Few pianists of Stephen Hough’s generation have made the impact on the music world that he has since winning the Naumberg International Piano Competition in 1983. A composer and music scholar as well as pianist, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship in 2001. His interpretations of standard piano repertory have become legendary; and he has also become well known as a champion of neglected works of the 19th century.

On January 14th, Mr. Hough will perform a benefit recital for the Candlelight Concert series at the Wilton Congregational Church. Among works on the program are the Variations Serieuses of Mendelssohn, Beethoven’s Sonata in C minor, Op. 111, selected Chopin Waltzes, and works of Chabrier and Debussy.

Mr. Hough’s reputation as a concert artist is almost without peer. In the 2006-07 concert season alone, he returns to the Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras and the San Francisco, St. Louis, Montreal, Atlanta, Vancouver and Indianapolis symphonies; makes his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic; and appears in recital in London, Toronto, Denver, Portland OR, Santa Barbara and at Lincoln Center. He regularly performs at such festivals as Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen, Edinburgh and the BBC Proms.

Hough is a Hyperion recording artist; and many of his over 40 CDs have won international prizes. Concertos by Rachmaninoff, Saint-Sens, Hummel, Scharwenka and Sauer, Mompou’s solo piano music, and two Liszt recitals have won multiple awards, among them Gramophone Magazine’s Record of the Year (in 1996 and 2003), the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Diapason d’Or, and several Grammy nominations. His 2005 ‘live’ recording of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos with the Dallas Symphony and Andrew Litton was the fastest selling recording in the history of Hyperion Records.

The Sunday afternoon performance will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Wilton Congregational Church, just north of Wilton center on Route 33. Tickets may be purchased at the door ? hour before the concert for $25 (Seniors pay $20, students $10.) A reception in honor of the artist and the Candlelight series will follow the concert. For more information on this recital or on the series, phone 203-762-3401, or 203-762-5019.

Sunday, November 5, 2006 at 4 pm

Program

String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, no. 3, Ludwig van Beethoven
String Trio (1933), Jean Franaix
Adagio and Fugue No. 4 in F Major (from Six Adagios and Fugues, K. 404A), J.S. Bach (arr. W.A. Mozart)
String Trio, Heitor Villa-Lobos

The ten year old Jacques Thibaud String Trio is named for the great French violinist Jacques Thibaud, who early in the 20th century joined forces with pianist Alfred Cortot and ?cellist Pablo Casals in a legendary chamber music collaboration. It’s a tough name to live up to, indeed; but so far the young string trio has done it proud.

Since their founding in the spring of 1994, the Jacques Thibaud Trio — violinist Burkhard Mais, violist Philip Douvier, and cellist Bogdan Jianu — have garnered critical acclaim all over Europe, North America and Japan. Friends as students at university in Berlin and Essen, they studied together under such artists as Laszlo Varga and Adolphe Mandeau. They have earned many prizes in international competitions, and have released several recordings – among them of the string trios of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and Franaix. Recently, a critic from Munich’s Suddeutsche Zeitung described their playing: “Strong and tight, with marked articulation and a well sculpted sound, …[and] an intensity that captivates the listener.”

On Sunday, November 5, 2006, the Thibaud comes to the Wilton Congregational Church for a 4:00 p.m. chamber music concert featuring the works of Bach, Beethoven, Fran?aix, and Villa Lobos. The performance is the second in the four concert 2006-07 series, which will also feature pianist Stephen Hough on January 14th, and the Prazak String Quartet on March 18th..

The Wilton Congregational Church is located on Route 33, just north of Wilton center. Tickets will be available at the door for $25 (senior pay $20, and students $10). For more information on this concert, or on the Candlelight Concerts series, please phone 203-762-3401 or 203-762-5019.

Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 4pm

Program

Trio in E-flat, K.498 “Kegelstadt Trio”, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata No. 1 for Clarinet and Piano in F minor, Op. 120, Johannes Brahms
Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in A Major, Op. 100, Johannes Brahms
Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (1938), Bla Bartk

In the musical world of temperamental artists, it is rare that three distinguished soloists can come to together to form a successful and happy touring ensemble. And it is even rarer that such an ensemble can take advantage of the extensive and brilliant chamber repertoire written for clarinet. But occasionally it does happen – as in the case of clarinet, violin and piano virtuosos David Shifrin, Ani Kavafian and Andre Michel Schub, all of whom have performed as soloists with the major orchestras of the world. The three have been friends and colleagues for a long time, often pooling their talents for performances at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the major summer music festivals. For the past few seasons, however, they have struck a more serious and permanent chamber music alliance, and one that has yielded happy results for them and for the music audience.

On Sunday, October 15, 2006, the trio will open the 59th season of the Wilton Candlelight Concerts season with a program of Mozart (the “Kegelstadt Trio,” Brahms (Sonata No. 1 for Clarinet in F minor, Op. 120, and Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in A Major, Op. 100) and Bart?k (The Contrasts for Violin,Clarinet, and Piano (1938). The Boston Globe recently wrote of the “KKS” (as they have dubbed themselves) “No praise can be too high for the three hypervirtuosos.” Incidentally all three of them live relatively locally: Kavafian in North Westchester County, Schub in New York City, and Shifrin in the Silvermine area of Norwalk.

The trio’s concert will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Wilton Congregational Church, just north of Wilton town center on Route 33. Tickets will be available at the door ? hour prior to the performance for $25 (seniors pay $20, and students $10). Season subscriptions for the entire four concert series are also still available, and start at $90 ($75 for seniors).