45 Years Of The Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival
CAPE COD, MA — The Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival is almost back, with a stacked festival season set to kick off next week.
This year, the beloved music festival season celebrates 45 years with 10 live performances over three weeks in five venues across Cape Cod.
“Whether you are vacationing in Provincetown or living in Falmouth, a string quartet is coming to a venue near you,” said CCMF Artistic Directors Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu, in a statement.
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“The Escher Quartet, the Ying Quartet, and the Boston-based Borromeo Quartet will be performing multiple concerts throughout the Cape. Alongside will be stellar performances by Juilliard faculty, alumni and students in what has become a decades-long collaboration with the esteemed school.”
Prominently showcasing acoustic sounds, this year’s festival is centered around the string quartet, organizers said. Each week is anchored by back-to-back concerts by some of the leading string quartets of today, including Borromeo, Ying and Escher.
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Some shows, like the opening night Jazz at the Seashore concert, are free while others cost $40 for adults and $20 for students. Those under 14 get in free. Tickets can be found at the link here.
Below is the lineup of 2024 concerts, courtesy of the festival:
Shows
JAZZ AT THE SEASHORE: DIZZY AND THE DUKE
Tuesday, July 30 at 7 p.m.
Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor’s Center, 50 Nauset Rd., Eastham, MA
Tickets: Free. First come, first served.
“A popular summer favorite, the Festival kickstarts with its annual free outdoor community concert! This year’s program features Dan Block (Faculty, Juilliard Jazz Studies Program) and friends performing an evening of jazz standards by Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and more.”
DOUBLE HEADER: BORROMEO STRING QUARTET
Thursday, Aug. 1 at 5:30 p.m.
Falmouth Academy Simon Center for the Arts, 7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth
Friday, August 2 at 5:30 p.m.
Wellfleet First Congregational Church, 200 Main St., Wellfleet
“Returning to the festival for the 34th time by popular demand, the Borromeo String Quartet continues to strengthen and deepen its reputation as one of the most important ensembles of our time. The Quartet is admired and sought after for both its fresh interpretations of the classical music canon and its championing of works by 20th and 21st century composers. The BSQ has been ensemble-in-residence at the New England Conservatory and Taos School of Music, both for 25 years, and has, for over two decades, enjoyed a long-term relationship with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum where it continues to regularly appear. “The Borromeo’s playing was restless and insistent, from the piece’s edgy opening to the coda, played with a thrilling sense of abandon…simply the best.” (The Boston Globe) The Aug. 1 Falmouth concert comprises works by Bach, Mozart and Sibelius followed by Beethoven and Schubert in Wellfleet Aug. 2.”
DOUBLE HEADER: YING QUARTET
Monday, Aug. 5 at 5:30 p.m.
Chatham First Congregational Church, 650 Main St., Chatham
Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 5:30 p.m.
Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Rd., Cotuit
“In back-to-back concerts, the Grammy Award-winning Ying Quartet returns to the Festival for the third time. Hailed for its high caliber playing, “The Ying Quartet comes as close to the ideal as possible (The Los Angeles Times)”. As longtime quartet-in-residence at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. The Quartet is also the ensemble-in-residence at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and from 2001-2008, the members of the Ying Quartet were the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University. As part of its current commitment to celebrating the works of Antonin Dvořák, Ying Quartet’s Festival programs are anchored by two of Dvořák’s very best chamber works: the Opus 106 quartet, and the Opus 81 piano quintet.”
TANGENT WINDS and Jon Nakamatsu festival debut
Friday, August 9 at 5:30 p.m.
Wellfleet First Congregational Church, 200 Main St., Wellfleet
“CCCMF has become a breeding ground for tomorrow’s leading musicians! Audiences have a rare opportunity to see tomorrow’s stars today at the Festival debut performance of the Tangent Winds. Joined by CCCMF Co-Artistic Director Jon Nakamatsu (piano), this emerging ensemble presents an appealing program of lyrical, accessible works by Beethoven, Barber and Thuille. Formed while its members were studying at Juilliard, the Tangent Winds was awarded the Bronze Medal at the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.”
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Monday, Aug. 12 at 5:30 p.m.
Chatham First Congregational Church, 650 Main St., Chatham
“Contributing to the perpetual “nature versus nurture” debate is A Family Affair. CCCMF’s Artistic Director Jon Manasse (clarinet) is just one of several professional musicians in his immediate family. Joining him on stage for this special concert are Festival favorite cellist Julian Schwarz, his wife Marika Bournaki (celebrated concert pianist), Jon Manasse’s award-winning sons Alec and Jordan Manasse, his nephew Zachary Silberschlag (principal trumpet of The Israel Philharmonic), and more. Program includes a variety of great essential works by Mendelssohn, Vivaldi, Dvořák, and Mendelssohn, as well as by living composers Svante Henryson and Stanley Friedman.”
ESCHER STRING QUARTET
Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Rd., Cotuit
Thursday, Aug. 15 at 5:30 p.m.
Falmouth Academy Simon Center for the Arts, 7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth
Friday, Aug. 16 at 5:30 p.m.
Wellfleet First Congregational Church, 200 Main St., Wellfleet
“The Escher String Quartet returns to the Festival for the fifth time. In three highly anticipated shows, they end the Festival on a high note. The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. A former BBC New Generation Artist and recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the quartet has performed at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall and is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall. In its hometown of New York, the ensemble serves as season artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Earlier this season, the Escher String Quartet embarked upon a major project – performances of the complete cycle of quartets by Bela Bartok, culminating in a single concert performance of all six at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Escher String Quartet returns to Cotuit for one night Aug. 13 with works by Mozart, Bartók, and Ravel. The quartet is joined by CCCMF’s Artistic Directors Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu in back-to-back shows Aug. 15 and 16 performing works by Fauré and Brahms.”
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