Seven Musicians, Two Rarely Heard Masterpieces: Chamber Music Monterey Bay Opens Its 60th Season Nov. 7

When travel barriers kept the scheduled ensemble from reaching the United States, CMMB gathered a cast of celebrated chamber musicians for an opening night built around Chausson and Schubert.

Sixty years ago, a small group of music lovers on the Monterey Peninsula decided this coast deserved world-class chamber music close to home. On Saturday, Nov. 7, Chamber Music Monterey Bay (CMMB) opens its 60th Anniversary Season at Sunset Center in Carmel with a concert that could only have come together this year.
The ensemble originally announced for opening night was unable to enter the United States. Rather than scale the evening down, CMMB scaled it up. Seven musicians from several generations of American chamber music will share the stage for two works that need more players than a standard quartet, and that audiences rarely get to hear live.

The evening opens with Ernest Chausson's Concert in D for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Op. 21. Chausson wrote it between 1889 and 1891, and it was first performed in Brussels in 1892 with the great violinist Eugène Ysaÿe as soloist. Its unusual scoring, a full string quartet plus solo violin and piano, means presenters seldom program it. The result is lush and orchestral in feel, with the solo violin and piano soaring over the quartet.

After intermission comes Franz Schubert's String Quintet in C Major, D. 956. Schubert finished it in the autumn of 1828, only weeks before his death at 31, and never heard it played. He added a second cello to the usual quartet, giving the music a deep, warm foundation. Many musicians consider it one of the greatest works of chamber music ever written.

"When we learned the original ensemble couldn't travel, we asked ourselves what kind of evening would truly honor 60 years," said Luke Fleming, violist and CMMB Artistic Program Director, who will also perform. "These are two pieces I've always wanted to bring to Carmel, and both need a bigger group than a quartet. Having this many extraordinary friends on one stage is the reason they're finally possible."
The opening night musicians are:
Orion Weiss, piano
Grace Park, violin
Todd Phillips, violin
Brendan Speltz, violin
Luke Fleming, viola
Andrew Janss, cello
Peter Stumpf, cello

"Our audiences have trusted us for six decades to bring them the finest chamber music in the world," said Elizabeth Brooks, Executive Director of Chamber Music Monterey Bay. "This opening night keeps that promise. It's a one-time gathering of artists you won't see together anywhere else, and it's the right way to begin our 60th season."

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. A free 30-minute pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. in the concert hall, led by a musicologist, offers ticket holders background on the composers and the evening's program.

Individual tickets are $30–$75. Through CMMB's Kids Up Front & Free! program, young music lovers in grades 3–12 and music teachers attend free, and chaperones pay $15. College and university students and active-duty military receive discounted tickets by calling the CMMB office.

Tickets are available at chambermusicmontereybay.org or by calling the CMMB office at 831-625-2212, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.