The La Musica International Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary this season, and even after three decades still manages to pull out a few surprises for festival week, April 4-13. Between new faces like Italian violinist Cecilia Ziano and Korean cellist JeongHyoun Christine Lee and the return of La Music originals like pianist Derek Han and violists Daniel Avshalomov and Bruno Giuranna, this year’s festival affects an appropriately balanced program celebrating the old and the new. The festival opens with a revival of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the same piece La Musica opened its first concert with 30 years ago, but continues into both a world premiere and a Florida premiere, one written right here by a Sarasota composer.
LA MUSICA FLAUTIST CAROL WINCENC.
Quintet for Piano and Strings, Op. 30 – April 10 When asked to compose an original piece commemorating La Musica’s 30th Anniversary, Jerry Bilik’s first thought was of a whimsical exploration of 30 variations on “Happy Birthday.” But with the arrival of a “marvelous” bassist in Scott Faulkner, La Musica veteran pianist Derek Han had a special request—a serious piece to challenge their skills and a composition for the rare quintet of piano, violin, viola, cello and bass. “And when you have an ensemble with a piano and one of each strings, there’s only one piece in the repertoire that everyone likes to play—the Schubert Trout Quintet,” says Bilik, who suddenly had large shoes to fill. “I hope the result reflects that. The audience and musicians are giving a part of their life, and I’ve got to make them feel it was worth it.”
“Misericordia” by Yuko Uebayashi – April 4 A Florida premiere, Uebayashi composed this flute and string quartet specifically for La Musica flautist Carol Wincenc, who will be joined onstage for this Sarasota debut by violinists Claudio Cruz and Federico Agostini, violist Hsin-Yun Huang and cellist JeongHyoun Christine Lee. Born in Kyoto but trained in the traditional French compositional style, Uebayashi’s latest work blends simple Japanese melodic ideas with the beauty and grandiosity of the French musical language for “a sonic voyage as emotional as a Beethoven symphony,” says Wincenc. Composed of 10 short movements including the wondrous “Traveling Through the Galaxy,” the soothing “Carol’s Lullaby” and a waltz-esque romp inspired by the interplay between bees and roses.
LA MUSICA BASSIST SCOTT FAULKNER.
Musical Chefs – April 8 Meet the musicians up close and outside the confines of the stage environment with this fun and interactive event putting everyone on the edge of their culinary comfort zones. Hosted by Michael’s On East, select members of La Musica swap their bows and ties for burners and tongs and lead the crowd through a series of cooking demonstrations culminating in the evening’s meal. “This is an opportunity to enjoy an evening together without that formality and distance,” says bassist Scott Faulkner. Conducting the appetizer portion, Faulkner will be guiding attendees through the construction of Saucy Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps. Each station comes equipped with the proper equipment and required ingredients. Expect the laughs full and frequent.
