Great Barrington
Massachusetts
Close Encounters With Music
History:
Close Encounters With Music has also been a commissioning organization and has worked with some of the most outstanding composers of our day: Osvaldo Golijov's (whose Pasion was declared by the Boston Globe to be the "first masterpiece of the 21st century") How Slow The Wind, composed for soprano Dawn Upshaw and string quartet and presented during 2001, is already firmly established in the repertoire. In 2002, CEWM collaborated with the David Parsons Dance Company on a new work for musicians and dancers (including Chicago star Desmond Richardson) that received its world premiere at Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood and its New York City premiere at the Joyce Theater. Close Encounters also commissioned two-time Grammy-award winner John Musto to write River Songs, a cycle for baritone, cello and piano on a range of texts connecting humans to nature and to its waterways. In addition to a full performance schedule, CEWM has presented master classes and concerts for children. Monkey, a new theater piece for kids by Matthew Guerrieri and based on a 15th-century Buddhist tale, received its world premiere in 2005.
In 2000, a Close Encounters CD label was launched. Its 2002 release, Dazzle & Nostalgia, was hailed by Strad Magazine for its "élan and panache...elegant and sparkling." In 2003, Sigourney Weaver participated in the Ozawa Hall performance "Measure for Measure: Shakespeare in Music" reading texts of the Bard and performing in the world premiere of a work by Kenji Bunch. In 2004, Jorge Martin's Hollywood Variations, written as an homage to composer Leonard Rosenman—based on his original love theme from the James Dean film East of Eden—was premiered on both coasts. Also in the 2004 season, Russian composer Lera Auerbach's Last Letter received its world premiere in the opening season of the newly restored vaudeville-era Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA.
Celebrating the rich cultural history of the Berkshires, CEWM has developed stimulating chamber music programs highlighting the Gilded Age, Edith Wharton and Edna St. Vincent Millay. In 2006, CEWM presented the world premiere of American composer Paul Schoenfield's trio for clarinet, cello and piano, included in an all-Schoenfield CD recorded for Naxos. Other new commissions have looked to Cuban influences (Jorge Martin’s jazz–inflected piece for accordion, percussion and cello), Klezmer roots (Stephen Dankner’s Klezmer Quintet) and Song of Songs (Lior Navok’s Spring Calls). In 2009, CEWM helped rectify the historical neglect of Mendelssohn’s student and colleague Eduard Franck with performances at Merkin Hall in New York City, Detroit and Cincinnati as well as the Berkshires, performing some of his superb works for the first time in 150 years.
In 2010, Close Encounters With Music returned to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and brought its original programming to the Frick Collection in New York City. A CD of Jorge Martin’s cello works in various combinations—solo, with piano, accordion and percussion—was released in July 2011 by Albany Records. Naxos released a recording of Eduard Franck chamber music in 2012 with artistic director Yehuda Hanani, pianist James Tocco, and violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi.The newest recording project is a CD of original guitar and cello arrangements with Eliot Fisk and Yehuda Hanani, due to be released by Albany Records. In 2012 and 2013, CEWM commissioned new works by Robert Beaser and Paul Schoenfield. Close Encounters With Music is particularly proud of its innovative educational programs—Conversations With, a series of talks with notable writers, artists, and thinkers—and the Catskill High Peaks Music Festival, a teaching and performance summer festival in the Northern Catskills, as well as its community outreach efforts, audience enrichment activities, and artist development initiatives.
Upcoming Events at Close Encounters With Music
Cafe Vienna - Nervous Splendor
Great Quintets - Dvorak and Brahms
Recent News
Close Encounters With Music presents: "The Art of the String Quartet - The Avalon"
Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Puccini, Court Intrigue, Ancient Persia, and Early Feminism in Stacy Garrop’s Berkshire Premiere Close Encounters with Music’s Winter / Spring 2024 concerts open on February 11th with the return of the…
Read More »Nocturne – Night and Dreams' Presented by Close Encounters With Music
Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” and Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata take center stage Close Encounters With Music, the Berkshires’ premiere chamber music organization, presents Nocturne – Night and…
Read More »Opening concert of season focuses on the next-to-impossible
The words are intricately related but diverge. Virtuosity: music that glorifies the possibilities of the instrument and the prowess of the performer—that titillates and stuns the audience in the Romantic tradition of Paganini. It’s the…
Read More »Close Encounters with Music Presents Virtue and Virtuosity
Opening concert of season focuses on the next-to-impossible High Wire Performances on Violin, Cello, and Piano The words are intricately related but diverge. Virtuosity: music that glorifies the possibilities of the instrument and the prowess…
Read More »CEWM Announces Its 2023-2024 Season
Close Encounters With Music’s 32nd Season Sparkles And Vibrates With Brilliant Performers And Thought-Provoking Themes In Great Barrington, Mass. Celtic Baroque Band Makaris In A Bach Family Concert With An Irish Twist And The Story Of…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music Presents Gala Concert - Schubert 'Trout' and Schumann Piano Quintet
Two great melodists, two young geniuses in one brilliant evening: Bubbly, like fine Champagne, Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet is one of the most joyous pieces ever written. A landmark of classical music, it weaves a net of enchantment…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music: Gala Concert: Schubert 'Trout' and Schumann Piano Quintet
Two great melodists, two young geniuses in one brilliant evening: Bubbly, like fine Champagne, Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet is one of the most joyous pieces ever written. A landmark of classical music, it weaves a net of enchantment…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music: The Escher String Quartet – Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Ruth Crawford Seeger
The Souvenir de Florence String Sextet takes us on a musical excursion to Italy, where Tchaikovsky spent some of his happiest times— reflected in the unforgettable tunes and warm cantabile style. Assessments of the work’s national…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music Presents The Escher String Quartet – Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Ruth Crawford Seeger
The Souvenir de Florence String Sextet takes us on a musical excursion to Italy, where Tchaikovsky spent some of his happiest times—reflected in the unforgettable tunes and warm cantabile style. Assessments of the work’s national…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music: From Bach Brandenburg to Appalachian Spring with Manhattan Chamber Players
Bringing a “mellifluous blend of vigorous intensity and dramatic import, performed with enthusiasm, technical facility and impressive balance,” the 13-strong Manhattan Chamber Players make their Close Encounters With Music debut this…
Read More »Close Encounters with Music Presents "Pictures at an Exhibition" - A Gallery Stroll
A work in ten movements by Modest Mussorgsky that was inspired by a visit to an art exhibition, "Pictures at an Exhibition" is a showpiece where only the most virtuosic pianists dare to tread! It is also a perfect point from which to explore the…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music: 'Pictures at an Exhibition' - A Gallery Stroll
A work in ten movements by Modest Mussorgsky that was inspired by a visit to an art exhibition, “Pictures at an Exhibition” is a showpiece where only the most virtuosic pianists dare to tread! It is also a perfect point from which to…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music Presents A Mid-Winter Concert
Town & Country - Mendelssohn and Dvorak Performed Live at Saint James Place (https://saintjamesplace.net/) in Great Barrington, MA Close Encounters' Winter-Spring 2023 concerts sizzle and sparkle with a wide swath of genres, styles,…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music: Town and Country- Mendelssohn and Dvorak
Glittering cosmopolitan Berlin and the village of Nelahozeves, Bohemia (now Czech Republic, population 2,200) are the respective places of origin of Felix Mendelssohn and Antonin Dvorak. Mendelssohn’s Trio in C minor offers some of his most…
Read More »Close Encounters with Music Presents A Holiday Concert - Grand Piano Trios-Beethoven’s 'Ghost' and 'Archduke' 2022
A virtual symphony for three musicians, expansive and noble-like the Austrian Archduke who was the dedicatee—the great “Archduke” is more than a trio. It offered Beethoven the perfect vehicle for the development of his…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music 2022-2023 Season Opens With A World Premiere "One Earth" And Heavenly Schubert
Performed Live at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA. Tamar Muskal's twice-postponed work will receive its long-awaited world premiere, kicking off the new season with a musical adventure. In the words of the composer, "We…
Read More »CEWM Announces its 2022-23 Season and Long-Awaited World Premiere
Great Barrington, MA - Embarking on its 31st year of presenting outstanding chamber music with lively commentary, Close Encounters With Music presents a season that sizzles and sparkles with the widest swath of genres, styles, composers and…
Read More »Close Encounters With Music Ushers In The Berkshire Summer Season With Its Gala Program "Musica Latina"
Close Encounters With Music Ushers In The Berkshire Summer Season With Its Gala Program "Musica Latina"— Classical Spanish And Flamenco Dance And Guitar; Composers Astor Piazzolla, Sarasate, Granados, De Falla, And Great Interpreters Of The…
Read More »Woodwinds and Strings Take us on a Mythological Journey
Close Encounters With Music Presents “Reeds And Strings” – Mozart, Beethoven, Cimarosa, Britten And Tchaikovsky Competition Winning Violinist Itamar Zorman Plus Ny Philharmonic First Chair Oboist Liang Wang Share The Evening! …
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