“An die Musik” (To Music) heralds the opening of Rembrandt Chamber Musicians’ 2023 – 2024 season. Inspired by Franz Schubert’s ode, we celebrate the enchanting power of music, its ability to kindle “warm love” within hearts and to transport listeners “to a better world.”
An die Musik is not only the title of our inaugural concert; it represents the spirit of our 34th season, and indeed, of every season with Rembrandt Chamber Musicians. Year after year, we delight in the diverse spectrum of chamber music, gathering as a community of friends to enjoy our five unique concert experiences.
This season, we invite you to travel with Rembrandt from the masterpieces of Baroque giants like Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach to the intimate and poignant works of celebrated 20th-century icons such as Shostakovich, Copland, and Britten. Connect with the viola’s deep and passionate sound through the music of Dvořák and Mozart, and allow the intensity and emotion of German Romanticism in the works of Mahler and Schumann to sweep you away.
Join us on this unforgettable journey, and experience Rembrandt Chamber Musicians’ 34th classic, engaging, and adventurous season.
Here’s to music!
Concert I: An die Musik
7:00 PM, Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at The Cliff Dwellers
7:00 PM, Wednesday, October 11, 2023 at Nichols Concert Hall
A program of poignantly beautiful songs and beguiling instrumental works, An die Musik (To Music) includes Franz Schubert’s beloved song of the same name and the soprano showpiece “The Shepherd on the Rock”. Rembrandt opens our season with a program filled with music’s power to evoke “warm love” in one’s heart and transport the listener “to a better world.”
Franz Schubert: “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” (The Shepherd on the Rock), D. 965
Max Bruch: Selections from Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, Op. 83
Schubert: “An die Musik” (To Music), D. 547
Schubert: Trio in B-flat Major for Violin, Cello, and Piano, D. 898
Artists: Jennifer Haworth, soprano; Jonathan Gunn, clarinet; John Macfarlane, violin
Carol Cook, viola; Calum Cook, cello; Henry Kramer, piano
Concert II: Holiday Baroque
8:00 PM, Friday, December 01, 2023 at Epiphany Center for the Arts
7:00 PM, Friday, December 01, 2023, at the Church of the Atonement
3:00 PM, Sunday, December 03, 2023, at Alice Millar Chapel
Flute, piccolo, archlute, trumpet, and violin solos share center stage with soprano showstoppers in the newest edition of Rembrandt’s cherished annual tradition, Holiday Baroque. Featuring festive works by Handel, Vivaldi and Bach alongside lesser known gems by Alessandro Marcello and William Corbett, Holiday Baroque is sure to fill you with the spirit of the season.
George Frideric Handel: “Let the Bright Seraphim” in D Major, from Samson HWV 57
Antonio Vivaldi: Trio Sonata in C Major, RV 82
Handel: “Gloria” in B-flat, HWV deest
Alessandro Marcello: Oboe Concerto in D Minor, arr. piccolo
William Corbett: Sonata No. 5 E Major, Op. 3
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050
Artists: Josefien Stoppelenburg, soprano; Jennifer Gunn, flute and piccolo; Ryan Berndt, trumpet; Brandon Acker, archlute; Stephen Alltop, harpsichord; Eoin Andersen, violin; John Macfarlane, violin; Carol Cook, viola; Calum Cook, cello; Alexander Horton, bass
Concert III: Viola! Viola!
7:00 PM, Sunday, January 28, 2024, at Nichols Concert Hall7:00 PM, Monday, January 29, 2024 at Epiphany Center for the Arts
7:00 PM, Monday, January 29, 2024, at Guarneri Hall
A “curiously beautiful, enigmatic instrument” is how one contemporary viola virtuoso describes the earthy, chocolatey tone of the alto voice of string instruments. The viola, with its remarkable pitch, plays a starring rather than supporting role in this program. Join Rembrandt as we highlight this versatile instrument with friends and longtime collaborators, Carol Cook, and former Rembrandt High School Chamber Music Competition winner, Rose Armbrust Griffin, in Viola! Viola!
Antonin Dvořák: Terzetto in C Major, Op. 74
Frank Bridge: Lament for Two Violas
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Viola Quintet in G Minor, K. 516
Artists: Eoin Andersen, violin; John Macfarlane, violin Carol Cook, viola; Rose Armbrust Griffin, viola; Calum Cook, cello
Concert IV: Icons Under Scrutiny
7:00 PM, Friday, March 01, 2024, at The Cliff Dwellers
7:00 PM, Sunday, March 03, 2024, at Nichols Concert Hall
Ensconced in the pantheon of 20th-century composers, America’s Aaron Copland, England’s Benjamin Britten, and Russia’s Dmitri Shostakovich have each come to symbolize his respective country’s quintessential “national” sound and received high honors in their homelands. Ironically, each came under suspicion of disloyalty by their governments, with Shostakovich, at times, fearing for his life. This program offers a sonata by each, with violin, cello, and viola taking featured turns.
Aaron Copland: Sonata for Violin and Piano
Benjamin Britten: Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 65
Dmitri Shostakovich: Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op.147
Special Guests: 2024 Rembrandt Young Artists
Artists: John Macfarlane, violin; Carol Cook, viola; Calum Cook, cello; Jessica Choe, piano
Concert V: Wayfarer’s Melodies: A Musical Journey
7:00 PM, Sunday, May 19, 2024, at Nichols Concert Hall
Our season’s excursion ends with Wayfarer’s Melodies, an immersive experience in German Romanticism that includes a little known song cycle by “English Impressionist” John Ireland, whose works have a stylistic connection to the late 19th century. Join Rembrandt and celebrate the journey with works by Mahler and Schumann, alongside Ireland’s setting of texts by William Blake, William Shakespeare, and other masters of the English language.
Gustav Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), arr. C. Colnot and S. Hersh
John Ireland: Songs of a Wayfarer
Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44
Artists: Damien Geter, baritone; Scott Hostetler, English horn; Eoin Andersen, violin; John Macfarlane, violin; Carol Cook, viola; Calum Cook, cello; Marta Aznavoorian, piano
“At Rembrandt Chamber Musicians, we love to create programs that delight and inspire, stimulating your imagination and curiosity for this extraordinarily deep music.”
John Macfarlane, Artistic Director