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WHERE MUSIC MEETS IDEAS

C lose Encounters With Music stands at the intersection of music, art, and the vast richness of Western culture. Entertaining, erudite, lively commentary puts the

composers and their times in perspective to enrich and enlighten your concert experience.

Join our community of friends and patrons as we continue our tradition of bringing together sublime chamber music, distinguished performers, and musical commentary, all in convivial settings.

It’s a season of celebration and discovery as we introduce grand prize winners of the Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition and Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in their Berkshire debuts; present one of the preeminent Baroque ensembles, Tragicomedia, to usher in the holiday season; and add another notch on our belt of successful commissioning projects with a new work by American composer Robert Beaser, who has written for Glimmerglass and New York City Opera. A glamorous Russian piano duo offers rare repertoire for four hands, and we traverse some of the treasures of the Piano Trio literature. Our gala season finale is devoted to the northern European sensibilities of Edvard Grieg and his circle, complemented by readings from Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, and Hans Christian Anderson. A season not to be missed!

C lose Encounters With Music presents five concerts this season at the landmark Mahaiwe

Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington plus our season finale at Tanglewood’s stunning Ozawa Hall.

Join the growing number of culture enthusiasts who converge from the Berkshires, Hudson Valley, Northwest Connecticut, New York City, and Boston for each Close Encounters event! We are pleased to invite all ticket holders to an “Afterglow” reception following each performance October through May. Contributing Patrons at all levels are invited to a special Gala reception following the June concert (see Ticket Order Form).

For further information and to make reservations: 800.843.0778 or www.cewm.org

November 4 | Sunday | 2 PMThe Berkshire Museum’s Little Cinema | Pittsfield, MA

SHADOWS IN PARADISE

U nder the bright blue sky of California live

the German and Austrian émigrés. Alive by the skin of their teeth, they could work, perform their music in the famous Hollywood Bowl, or collaborate with the film industry, live in the glamorous atmosphere of Pacific Palisades, Bel-Air, Hollywood and Palm Springs, and long for their European homeland from which they had to flee: displaced persons in Paradise.”

Peter Rosen’s 2009 film captures the sense of cultural limbo and disconnection that afflicted 30,000 intellectuals who were exiled from Europe when Hitler came to power, in effect extinguishing the creative embers of Berlin in the twenties and practically overnight transforming L.A. into one of the capitals of world culture. With rare footage of Thomas Mann, Stravinsky, Brecht, Fritz Lang, among many luminaries.

Mr. Rosen will introduce his film.

Presented in collaboration with the Berkshire Museum.

For reservations: Berkshire Museum 413.443.7171

$15 includes light refreshment

March 3 | Sunday | 2 PMLenox Club | Lenox, MA

A N A F T E R N O O N W I T H

BENJAMIN LUXON

I n the 1970’s and 80’s, one of the most versatile and busy operatic singers on

the scene was Benjamin Luxon, gifted with a plush, effortless baritone.

A favorite of Benjamin Britten, who composed the title role of his television opera Owen Wingrave specifically for Luxon’s voice, he made his debut at both the Royal Opera House and Covent Garden, creating the role of the Jester in Peter Maxwell Davies’ opera Taverner, and at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Thereafter, he enjoyed a hectic international career singing all the great baritone roles (Onegin at the Met, Wozzeck at La Scala) and turning out over 100 recordings in all genres.

In 1988 while rehearsing at the Paris Opera, the piano began sounding to him like a hurdy gurdy, and a few years later his career was cut short in its prime by every musician’s nightmare—acute hearing loss.

These days he lives in the Berkshires and entertains audiences with his acting and with the spoken word, performing in plays and reciting poetry, including a recital of Victorian era poems and songs with fellow Brit and neighbor, author Simon Winchester.

Benjamin Luxon dips into his rich experiences to regale with anecdotes and observations, and shares his artistic credo and take on the current state of the music and opera world.

For further information and to make reservations: 800.843.0778 or www.cewm.org

$15 includes light refreshment

CONVERSATIONS WITH... Intimate & stimulating conversations about music & ideas

“…To experience the finest music presented by the leading musicians of our day, in the inviting atmo-sphere of the Berkshires, is the best of all possible worlds…The quality of Lincoln Center with an intimacy that exceeds it.”

—Yehuda Hanani | A R T I S T I C D I R E C T O R

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B E R K S H I R E LI V I N G

CLOSEENCOUNTERS

WITH MUSIC Innovative and captivating…a smart blend of classical, contemporary, and cutting-edge

2012–2013

Yehuda Hanani A R T I ST I C D I R EC TO R

www.cewm.org800 843 0778

“A chamber music series on a par with anything heard

at Tanglewood at the height of the season.

For this, we year-rounders are blessed."

— R O G OV OY R E P O R T

Close Encounters With Music is a non-profit organization. Partial funding

provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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June 8 | Saturday | 6 PMOzawa Hall | TanglewoodLenox, MA

N O R D I C L I G H T S

GRIEG REVIVAL

R esonating with the season of the midnight sun, this gala

performance brings to the fore the national composer of Norway, Edvard Grieg, as well as its pres-ent-day leading violinist, Arve Tellefsen. Fjords, pine forests, and the enchantment of fairy tales inhabit Grieg’s gorgeous songs and the folkloric Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major. His friendship with Johannes Brahms, another North European mas-ter, is marked by the perfor-mance of Brahms’s Trio in B Major Opus 8, and a sampling of his superb piano works will demonstrate what earned him the moniker “Chopin of the North.” Readings from Hans Christian Anderson and Grieg’s colleague Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt complement the music. An intoxicating season finale!

Mischa Bouvier, baritone; Arve Tellefsen, violin; Adam Neiman, piano; Yehuda Hanani, cello G U E S T N A R R AT O R T B A

Non-Subscriber Individual Tickets: $50 | Orchestra and Loges $40 | Balconies

April 20 | Saturday | 6 PMMahaiwe Performing Arts Center

GRAND PIANO TRIOS I

Schubert and Schoenfield

A 20th century classic side by side with Schubert at

the summit: Often described as a Post-Modern Gershwin or Jewish Ives, Paul Schoenfield combines ingredients of jazz, klezmer and whimsy in his irresistible, irreverent Café Music. Schubert's final year was staggeringly productive. The B-Flat opus 99 captures the meteoric luminosity of his inevitable death, as well as his inimitable melodic lyricism. Both composers utilize folklore and the point of departure for each is the easy charm of the institution of the Viennese café. Violinist Erin Keefe (hailed as

“an impressive violin soloist” by The New York Times) and award-winning pianist Jeffrey Swann join for this evening of fascinating contrasts.

Erin Keefe, violin; Jeffrey Swann, piano; Yehuda Hanani, cello

TICKET ORDER FORMSubscribe now and save 30%, plus enjoy guaranteed Orchestra seating at the Mahaiwe and Ozawa Hall and a free exclusive-to-subscribers February concert. (If you must miss a concert, tickets make a perfect gift or may be returned for a tax deduction.)

N A M E

A D D R E S S

C I T Y S TAT E Z I P

T E L E P H O N E E - M A I L

Payment | ❏ Check ❏ Mastercard ❏ Visa ❏ American ExpressMake checks payable to Close Encounters With Music, Inc.

C A R D N O .

E X P. D AT E S E C U R I T Y C O D E ( 3 O R 4 D I G I T S )

S I G N AT U R E

S U B S C R I P T I O N S

6 concerts plus free February 23 concert for subscribers only PLEASE NOTE: All 5 Mahaiwe tickets include $2 restoration fee No. Total $Regular ______x $185 + $10 =_______ Senior (65+) ______x $160 + $10 =_______ Sponsor* ______x $350 + $10 =_______ Patron** ______x $680 + $20 =_______ Benefactor*** ______x $1,000 =_______ Endowers Circle**** ______x $2,000 & above =_______

I N D I V I D UA L T I C K E T S

Piano Four Hands | Oct 20 ____ x $40 + $2 =_______Tragicomedia | Dec 9 ____ x $40 + $2 =_______Eliot Fisk | March 23 ____ x $40 + $2 =_______Grand Piano Trios I | April 20 ____ x $40 + $2 =_______Grand Piano Trios II | May 18 ____ x $40 + $2 =_______Grieg Revival | Ozawa Hall | June 8 ____ x $50/40 =_______

I would like to further support Close EncountersWith Music with a tax-deductible contribution. _______

Total $ _______

*Sponsor receives 1 ticket for Priority Seating at each concert, an invitation to the February exclusive salon event and June gala reception, a gift CD, and recognition in the program.

**Patron receives 2 tickets for Priority Seating at each concert, 2 invitations to the February event and the June reception, plus all the benefits above.

***Benefactor receives 4 tickets for Priority Seating at each concert, 4 invitations to the February event and the June reception, plus all the benefits above.

****Endowers Circle receives an invitation to a special Endowers-only event, plus all the benefits above.

Close Encounters With Music, Inc. is a non-profit organization. Your contributions are tax deductible to the amount permitted by law.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC PO Box 34 | Great Barrington, MA 01230 | 800/843-0778 www.cewm.org | e-mail: cewmusic@aol.com Also available at the Mahaiwe Box Office | 413/528-0100 or 14 Castle Street | Great Barrington, MA 01230

All Close Encounters With Music events are wheelchair accessible.

October 20 | Saturday | 6 PM Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

“ D UA L LY ” N OT E D

MUSIC FOR FOUR HANDS

D oubling the sonorities and dazzle of the

piano, and turning the solitary recital into an eloquent dialogue, this duo piano evening features two Russian virtuosos of the highest order and a panoply of styles: From Mozart and Chopin (two Scherzos) to John Corigliano’s Gazebo

Dances, and a saucy Brazilian celebration by Darius Milhaud, the precise coordination of four hands on one instrument is thrilling. Also featured is Franz Schubert’s Fantasie for Piano in F minor, transcendently beautiful and one of the foundational works of the chamber music repertoire.

Natalia Lavrova, piano; Vassily Primakov, piano

December 9 | Sunday | 2 PM Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

TRAGICOMEDIAA Baroque Holiday Celebration

W ith its unique constellation of leading

instrumentalists and singers, Tragicomedia has exerted a strong influence in the field of early music since 1987, exploring every musical genre from lute song to fully-staged Baroque opera and winning awards for their recordings for EMI, Virgin, Hyperion and Harmonia Mundi. Featuring

rarely heard baroque instruments (mandolin, lirone, chitarrone, viola da gamba) for a rich palette of instrumental color, the program offers the repertoire of the Italian Cantata—namely those of Handel, Steffani and Barbara Strozzi (who takes 17th century women to task for their flightiness!) — in a festive performance.

Tragicomedia, Baroque Ensemble; Stephen Stubbs, director

March 23 | Saturday | 6 PM Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

A N E V E N I N G W I T H

ELIOT FISKOld, New, Borrowed and Blues

B ack by popular demand, guitarist extraordinaire

Eliot Fisk demonstrates again that the versatility and appeal of his instrument are almost limitless. He is joined by Metropolitan Opera star soprano Jennifer Zetlan and Yehuda Hanani in the world premiere of a newly-commissioned work by American com-poser Robert Beaser. The wide-ranging program fea-tures multiple traditions: German lieder, moody fado, J. S. Bach, tango, transpositions, improvisations, and more. The last student of legendary Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia, Eliot Fisk was awarded the Cruz of Isabel la Catolica for his service to the cause of Spanish music, per-forming to dazzling critical and public acclaim, including a command performance for King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Jennifer Zetlan, soprano; Eliot Fisk, guitar; Yehuda Hanani, cello

May 18 | Saturday | 6 PMMahaiwe Performing Arts Center

GRAND PIANO TRIOS II

Mozart, Beethoven, and Ravel

T he program begins with the great masters of the

German tradition, Mozart and Beethoven, then veers off to represent the man who chal-lenged their hegemony and forged his own exotic, shim-mering path—Maurice Ravel. Creating total-ly new sonori-ties, and con-temporary rhythms based on archaic Mediterranean and Basque dances, his groundbreak-ing Piano Trio is like a Picasso painting in music. Brimming with ardor and ecstasy, it’s the modern that returns to primitive. An all-star line-up includes two brilliant top-prize winners of the Tchaikovsky and Arthur Rubinstein International com-petitions.

Itamar Zorman, violin; Roman Rabinovich, piano; Yehuda Hanani, cello

February 23 | Saturday | 6 PMVentfort Hall | Lenox, MA

F O R S U B S C R I B E R O N LY

MIDWINTER FIRESIDE CONCERT

A program by rising stars: Hailed for its “gripping

intensity” and “suspenseful and virtuoso playing,” the Amphion String Quartet, is winner of the 2011 Concert Artists Guild Competition. Lyricism, excitement, poignancy and drama are the common elements in a program of early Beethoven

and Debussy’s masterful string quartet as Close Encounters showcases an exciting young ensemble in its Berkshire debut. Recent appearances have been at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, OK Mozart Festival, and Music@Menlo.

The Amphion String Quartet

A Free Event exclusively forSeason Subscribers

April 14 | Sunday | 12:30 PMBlantyre | Lenox, MA

ANNUAL LUNCHEON MUSICALE BENEFIT

C elebrate the Salon in the incomparable elegance of

Blantyre. The scintillating atmosphere of the 19th cen-tury institution that helped promote artists, painters and musicians as the intelligentsia gathered to exchange ideas, enhanced by gaiety and ambience. Savor a superb lunch and concert and sup-

port Close Encounters With Music. La vie est belle!!!

VentfortTragicomedia Blantyre

Fisk

Zetlan

Keefe Zorman

Rabinovich

Swann

Bouvier

Tellefsen

Primakov & Lavrova