Chamber music Stl

October 2021

A Devilish Concert

Hello All, A brief reminder that Monday and Tuesday 10/25 & 10/26) brings our “Fright Fest, Revenge” concert pair. This first program in our Pillsbury Cookie Concert series will be a lot of fun. Violinist Hannah Ji and pianist Peter Henderson will open the concert with a “fiendish” sonata by Giuseppe Tartini. I use the word fiendish because the piece is fiendishly difficult and because the work is subtitled The Devil’s Trill. Wait until you hear the story I share about this work. After Tartini, Peter will perform some excerpts from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Most of us are familiar with the brilliant orchestration of that work by Ravel but Mussorgsky composed the work for solo piano. So many of the movements fit the “music from the dark side” theme of our program saluting Halloween that it seemed a perfect addition to the program. After intermission, you will experience a departure from our usual concert format. Andrew Greene is a leading authority on orchestral ragtime and its relation to some early film music. Andrew will conduct CMSSL musicians as they perform the music live to a showing of Buster Keaton’s silent film comedy, The Haunted House. Andrew will share some stories and perform a few tunes of the era to put us all in the mood. Please join us for the fun and a post-concert reception in honor of our Concert Sponsor, Thomas and Carol Voss. Let’s see…a Pillsbury Cookie Concert….I bet you will never guess what will be served. Don’t forget that entrance to the Sheldon requires proof of vaccination or a recent COVID 19 test and wearing masks inside. Click HERE for the complete Sheldon safety protocols. See you next week, Marc

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Revised Tutorial

Need help with viewing our Virtual Concerts? Take the 5-minute Virtual Concert Tutorial! Click on the purple box below. TROUBLESHOOT CHECKLIST Add our virtual concert dates to your calendar so you don’t miss them! Make sure you have the correct ticket password for your virtual concert night. Access to the concert begins at 12:01 am CT on concert day until that Thursday at midnight.  During that time, a red “Watch Now” button will appear on the home page, and on the concert page. Follow the prompts to enter the password printed on your ticket. This password will grant access to the performance for 72 hours from designated virtual concert date. Stream this program on a TV by connecting it to a laptop, phone, or other device with an HDMI cable. Helpful information on how to use various devices can be found here. Be sure to check your device’s connection and volume level before the virtual concert begins. Pause the concert at any time using the toolbar at the bottom of the concert video window. Please visit the Home page for general information about Chamber Music Society of St. Louis, or visit the Concerts 2021-22 page, located on the Concerts tab, for the specifics on all of the programs included in our 2021-22 Season. Thank you for supporting Chamber Music Society of St. Louis. Virtual concert access is included with every Live Concert Subscription and Live Concert Single Ticket purchase. Our 2021-22 Season programs are being presented in front of a live audience, and virtually. Live concerts will be held in the Sheldon Concert Hall on the dates listed on your ticket. Virtual performances are accessed on our website, using the access password printed on your ticket or pass.

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Dive In – Farewell – and Welcome

  Welcome to Fall Everyone, We are chomping at the bit to get back to performing for you….in person! Last season was, as they say, one like no other. This season will be that as well. While this year we will have to abandon our cabaret-style in the interest of safety, you will enjoy the glorious acoustic of the Sheldon Concert Hall in a comfortable socially distanced seating plan. As you read this, there will be about one week until we open our 2021-22 Season with “Water Music” on Monday and Tuesday October 11 & 12. That leaves you just enough time to SUBSCRIBE, if you have not already, and get your seats set for the season….HINT HINT. With this concert title, I’m pretty sure it won’t surprise you that the we will be performing music having to do with water. I also suspect that it will not surprise you that a prominent piece on this program is music from Handel’s iconic audience favorite, Water Music… his Suite #3 in G Major. What may surprise you is that you will also hear a work by Missouri’s own Scott Joplin and it has a connection to St. Louis. We will perform a couple of lovely pieces by Debussy, Chopin and Amy Beach that you may not know… but the program closer…..another icon of the chamber repertoire…Schubert’s monumental Trout Quintet, will undoubtedly be familiar. I want to take this opportunity to thank Alvin McCall for his dedication and service as CMSSL Education Coordinator. This summer Alvin has informed us that he wished to step down after years of excellent administration of our education programs. Alvin so generously gave his personal warmth, skills and time to nurture students participating in our Master Class Series and Young Artist Chamber Program. We say farewell to Alvin but welcome Alvin’s successor as Education Coordinator, Adrian Walker. Alvin and Adrian worked together over the summer to effect a smooth transition and we started off with a successful Violin Master Class last week. Of course, Alvin will still be with us performing as a cellist. Thank you Alvin! Lastly, please remember that, like most of the arts venues in St. Louis, the Sheldon requires anyone aged 12 or older, attending a ticketed event at The Sheldon, will be asked to show proof of full vaccination OR a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 48 hours before time of entry into the event. CLICK HERE for the complete Sheldon Vaccination and Testing Policy. See you when we DIVE into the 2021-22 Season with “Water Music” next Monday and Tuesday, Marc Marc Gordon Executive & Artistic Director Chamber Music Society of St. Louis

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