An opening night of substance at Seattle’s Chamber Music Festival

Ehnes Quartet

Benjamin Beilman and Byron Schenkman

By Thomas May, 06 July 2022

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“Benjamin Beilman phrased with a glowing but meditative tone”

Reviewed at Benaroya Hall: Nordstrom Recital Hall, Seattle on 5 July 2022

Bach, Sonata for violin and keyboard no. 4 in C minor, BWV1017

Bartók, String Quartet no. 6, Sz.114

Brahms, String Quintet no. 2 in G major, Op.111

Benjamin Beilman, Violin

Byron Schenkman, Piano

James Ehnes, Violin

Amy Schwartz Moretti, Violin

Che-Yen Chen, Viola

Edward Arron, Cello

Tessa Lark, Violin

Noah Bendix-Balgley, Violin

Paul Neubauer, Viola

Arnaud Sussmann, Violin

Efe Baltacigil, Cello

Seattle Chamber Music Society launches its 2025 summer festival

Thomas May, 6th July

The Seattle Chamber Music Society opens its 2025 summer festival with a program of striking emotional depth, musical refinement and rapturous ensemble connection.

****1

A restorative opening night at Seattle Symphony, with French accents

Thomas May, 17th September

Former music director Ludovic Morlot steps in to open the currently leaderless orchestra's new season with echoes of their shared past and a world premiere.

****1

Patricia Kopatchinskaja's stunning return to Seattle

Thomas May, 30th January

PatKop gives a life-or-death account of Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto with the Seattle Symphony and Thomas Dausgaard on a programme framed by Scandinavian colours.

*****

Feddeck channels North Sea in Seattle

Erica Miner, 16th November

James Feddeck conducts the Seattle Symphony in a premiere of Angelique Poteat's cello concerto by plus Britten and Rachmaninov.

***11

An evening of Mendelssohn and Schumann with the Seattle Symphony and Gidon Kremer

Thomas May, 12th October

Music by Mendelssohn framed Schumann’s misunderstood Violin Concerto in this sensitive concert led by Ludovic Morlot and featuring guest violinist Gidon Kremer.

****1

A gorgeous chamber music première in Seattle

Thomas May, 20th July

Framed by passionate performances of Mendelssohn and Brahms, a gorgeous neo-Romantic work by Steven Stucky is unveiled in this installment of the 2015 Summer Festival.

****1

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Thomas May

Thomas May is a writer and translator based in Seattle. His books include Decoding Wagner and The John Adams Reader, and he blogs about the arts at memeteria.com. He has written for The Washington Post, Gramophone, Listen, Symphony magazine, OPERA America, crosscut.com, and many other publications.