Manchester Music Festival Young Artists on Tour
This past week, the MMF Young Artists went on tour in the greater Vermont area, offering free concerts of some of this summer's best pieces.
On August 1, 2023, the ten MMF YAs traveled to Colchester, VT for a live radio broadcast, in the state-of-the-art Stetson Studio. In between the concert selections, VPC host Helen Lyons conducted Q&A interviews with the talented young musicians. You can enjoy the broadcast anytime on vermontpublic.org.
On August 3, 2023, the Manchester, Music Festival Young Artists, under the aegis of Philip Setzer, newly engaged Artistic Director for MMF, performed a brilliant concert at the Dorset Church .
This program was introduced by Executive Director Betsy Bleakie, who reminded that these 10 pre-professional musicians were chosen from 115, to spend five weeks with the MMF Young Artists program.
Comprised of selections from entire works studied and performed for the festival, the evening's initialI offering was the first and fourth movement of Joseph Hayden's string Quartet in E-flat Major, Op 33, No. 2, "The Joke." Jocular from the start, both movements clearly hint at “the joke" to come.
The ensemble was excellently lead by first violin, Bree Fotheringham, with players: Kaylee Bontrager, second violin; Brian Anderson, viola; Dylan Kinneavy (cello Movement 1) and Ignacio Garcia Nunez (cello Movement 4.) The fourth movement, a jolly caper, after amusing hesitations and interruptions, ended mid-tune.
From the Sextet in A Major, Op. 48, by Antonin Dvorak, Kaylee Bontrager, first violin; Hannah, Corbett, second violin; Julia Patecka, first viola; Brian Anderson, second viola; Ignacio Garcia Nunez, first cello; and Dylan Kinneavy, second cello presented with authority and sensitivity the slow movement, or Dumka. The players beautifully expressed the idea, especially the plaintive, elegiac, final bars.
To the performance of the second movement or Blues, from the Sonata for Violin and Piano, by Maurice Ravel, only superlatives apply to Bree Fotheringham, violin; and Hang Zhong, piano. Broadway clearly influenced the piece which evokes the Blues, authoritatively played by this remarkable duo.
Beethoven’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 16, first movement: Grave-Allegro ma non troppo, was very beautifully, played by Johannes Rosenberg, violin; Julia Patecka, viola; Ignacio García Núñez, cello; Hang Zhong, piano. The four played in perfect authority, dynamic expression, and beautiful tone. They captured Beethoven’s intent.
For the penultimate piece, by Leos Janacek: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Johannes Rosenberg, violin, and Andrew Cannestra, piano, played the second movement, Ballade which expresses the drastic nature of living through the first world war. These performers, with superior command of their instruments, presented this work with beauty and sensitivity.
Finally, and memorably, Hannah Corbett, violin; Dylan Kinneavy, cello, and Andrew Cannestra, piano presented the Shostakovich Piano Trio, No. 2, in E minor, Op. 67, third movement: Largo, and fourth movement: Allegretto-Adagio. The players expressed the tragic destruction of war, with beautiful interaction. The intent of Shostakovich, clearly demonstrated by these two, culminated in the beautiful hymn to the fallen.
This Young Artist concert celebrated new Artistic Director, Philip Setzer, who, with Lawrence Dutton, violinists both, in 1976 founded the Emerson String Quartet, one of the world's premier chamber music ensembles. As the quartet will soon disband, after 40 years, dispersing to teach and do solo work, the Manchester Music Festival is extremely fortunate and happy that Philip Setzer has taken the helm of the festival.
The Young Artists of this carefully chosen class, who won scholarships to the MMF program, represent a vast swath of the United States, as well as Spain, Germany, and China. All having studied with world renowned musicians, individually they have performed in Japan, China, Switzerland, Germany, as well as the United States.
The Young Artists variously, teach, compose, win music prizes, and participate in other festivals. Collectively, they are passionate about music, and ardently continue their studies. An outstanding MMF class of Young Artists, we are sure to see each of them again, on the world stage.
Next July, as annually, the Young Artists will perform on Sunday afternoons, and in some cases will participate in the Manchester Music Festival’s main stage Thursday evening concerts, at Manchester: SVAC: Arkell Pavilion.
Authored by: Clarissa Lennox