As the busy summer season winds down and the East End’s fall days grow quieter and nights grow darker, flautist Maria Martin, founder and artistic director of the Bridgehampton Chamber Orchestra, finds herself We look forward to seeing what the organization does next. That’s BCM Fall 2024, with three Saturday concerts scheduled for the coming months at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, providing a calm and much-needed respite for the final weeks of the year. Dew.
This weekend’s first BCM 2024 Fall Concert, “Beethoven’s Heart,” will feature two Beethoven sonatas, “Moonlight” and “Pathétique,” performed by pianist Gilles von Sattel. For the past 15 years, audiences have come to know von Sattel as a regular at BCM’s summer concerts, but this year, unable to fit the festival into the schedule, Martin welcomed him as the opener for the fall series. Masu.
“Two of Beethoven’s most famous sonatas are just for piano, so it’s more like a recital. It’s different, but I think it’s going to be very interesting and Jill will be talking about the pieces,” Martin explained. “There’s something about Beethoven’s piano sonatas. He wrote 32 of them. Even Mozart, who was careless and wrote a lot, only wrote 18 sonatas. Beethoven’s sonatas are very It’s an intimate and very meaningful work, mainly because the piano was his instrument.”
She added that when the composer’s hearing began to fail, he turned to the instruments with which he was most familiar as he continued to compose.
“There’s something called perfect pitch, which allows us to recognize any sound as an interval," she says. “A lot of musicians have that. Whatever instrument you play first, your ears automatically hear the pitch. I play the piano first and hear the notes there. So did Beethoven. I think so.”
Martin says the composer’s sonatas on this weekend’s program are full of emotion. Both were written relatively early in Beethoven’s career: Pathetique in 1798, when he was 27 years old, and Moonlight just three years later, in 1801. By his mid-40s, Beethoven was completely deaf. He died in 1827 at the age of 56.
“While writing ‘Pathétique,’ his hearing was still good. By the time of 'Moonlight,' he was beginning to lose his hearing,” Martin said. “In Beethoven’s later years, when he wrote most of his sonatas, he didn’t feel comfortable being around people because he couldn’t hear what they were saying. The piano sonatas brought him back to life. It helped him think that his life was worth living. Instead of making him think of suicide, the piano was his happy place.”
The second concert of the series on November 16th will be the piano trio “Schumann and Ravel” performed by pianist Gloria Chen, violinist Soobin Kim, and cellist Paul Watkins. Like Beethoven, Schumann had troubles throughout his life.
“Schumann’s Trio is a major work. Robert Schumann went through a difficult period in his later years when he was mentally unstable,” Martin explained. “In 1850 he attempted suicide by throwing himself off a bridge. He died in 1856. He was not a happy camper. It was composed in the midst of good times and very happy connections.”
The second piece on November’s program is Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, written in 1914.
“It’s very French and has a different kind of flavor and a different way of being,” Martin said. “At the turn of the century, French composers were just finding their way. Ravel says that while he was still young, Germany was invading France, and he He was in the middle of writing a trio, worked like crazy, finished it in five weeks instead of five months, and then went off to war.
The series concludes on Dec. 7 with “Baroque Bounty,” a festive program to celebrate the approaching holiday season, with Martin making his BCM debut along with flautist Brandon Patrick George, violinist Kevin Zhu and cellist James Bake. He will perform with three young artists. The same goes for Michael Stephen Brown on the harpsichord.
While the music in this series is sure to be great as always, Martin says planning for fall concerts is much less hectic than for summer festivals. At Summer Festival, she has to direct and program 12 different concerts throughout the year. Held monthly at multiple venues across the East End.
“This fall series is a one-off,” she said. “It makes it easier for me.”
Also comforting for Martin is the fact that she’ll be performing with a musician she’s already familiar with in the series finale of “Baroque Bounty” on Dec. 7: fellow flautist Brandon Patrick George. . I’m a master’s student there.
“When he came to me, he was all set and had already completed his undergraduate work,” Martin said. “I loved his playing and his energy. We had similar approaches to music. It was a very good partnership. He and I were very compatible musically. It was really fun to teach him because he just gobbles it up.”
“I had a really good experience at the Manhattan School of Music,” George admitted in a recent phone interview. “Maria is an amazing flutist and her level of playing and artistry is very advanced and she wants that for her students as well and she inspires them to play their best. She was very encouraging. When I came to New York, I had ideas about what I wanted to do, and she was very encouraging and helped me find my voice.
“During my graduate studies, I was learning repertoire, preparing for competitions, and doing things to challenge myself to get better,” he added. “She wasn’t trying to mold me into a certain type of player, she was just interested in finding out what I wanted to say and what kind of person I was as a player. Someone who plays well. There are a lot of people out there, but it’s special to have a teacher who helps you find your voice.”
George, 38, arrived in New York City 16 years ago to pursue a career in music after taking his first steps in Ohio. The Dayton native started playing the flute at age 10, in fifth grade at a public school. In 7th grade, I enrolled and spent time at Stivers School of the Arts, Dayton’s only public visual and performing arts school. During his junior high and high school years, he developed a talent for playing the flute. He then earned a degree in music from Oberlin College, and like many creative Midwesterners, the East Coast soon beckoned.
“I’ve always wanted to play solo music and chamber music, and I think going to New York was appealing because there are so many opportunities for people to find their own creative path,” George said. explained. “That’s why I wanted to go, because it’s a destination for a lot of young creatives, because you get the opportunity to grow and challenge yourself. Of course the standard is off the charts, and the Manhattan School of Music is one of the best in New York. It was a big conservatory and I wanted to find my way as a soloist at the same time. That was a draw for me.”
And find out how he did it. In addition to performing on chamber music programs such as Baroque Bounty, his BCM debut with his former mentor, George is also a member of the Grammy Award-winning quintet Imani Winds. The New York City-based group performed on Shelter Island in April at a concert sponsored by Shelter Island Friends of Music and is known for its diverse program. Founded in 1997 by flutist Valerie Coleman, Imani Winds presents a diverse program of new music aimed at introducing audiences to a wide range of composers, from classical works and jazz to world music forms. We have built a reputation on commissions. George joined Imani Winds in 2018 and is in his seventh season with the quintet.
“Imani Winds was never intended to be an ensemble focused on jazz or classical influences, but we play music that is representative of the world we live in,” George explained. “Expression is important, but music that speaks to the times we live in is also important. To do that, we need to consider not just classical music, but the overall musical context. Wanting to play a program that speaks to the times, the group explored different types of music, like oud player Simon Shaheen, who is known for Middle Eastern music. To me, that’s really interesting. I play a lot of standard repertoire that everyone knows and loves, but I also play programs that come naturally.
“In the grand scheme of things, this kind of style adoption has been going on for centuries,” he added. “But I love that now groups like Imani are standardizing it and incorporating that influence into classical music, which is made up of composers from different places.”
At the December concert, George and other musicians will perform works by members of the Bach family, Telemann and others.
“Mariya is the artistic director, and it’s her responsibility to bring together the artists and put together the program,” George said. “I respected that she asked me my thoughts on the repertoire I wanted to play. I suggested playing a J.S. Bach sonata. Knowing what else was on the program We chose it based on factors such as finding pieces that complement it.
“It’s very common to hear a lot of Baroque music performances around the holidays,” he added. “A lot of this chamber music is written for intimate settings and is often celebratory. Whether it’s a small gathering of friends or a large concert, it’s great to host these. Very appropriate.
“BCM is going to be really fun,” he continued. “I came to Bridgehampton as a graduate student to hear concerts, and the level of performance, the program, and the audience were amazing.”When Marija started this event, she realized that there was a need for a festival like this. I realized that the love of music and the love of chamber music in that community is so strong.”
BCM Fall 2024 Schedule: “Beethoven’s Heart,” Saturday, Oct. 26, 5 p.m. “Schumann and Ravel,” Saturday, Nov. 16, 5 p.m. “Baroque Bounty” Saturday, Dec. 7, 5 p.m. Tickets are $75, $50 and $10 for students at bcmf.org/autumn-series. Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church is located at 2429 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton.