In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue, Savannah Music Festival favorite Sebastian Knauer brings a program of American music anchored by the solo piano version of the celebrated composition. Knauer has appeared in almost every season of SMF since 2004 in roles including recitalist, soloist, conductor and chamber musician. He began...
This opening concert of the series traces a journey from Bach to Brahms and Shostakovich, through the Romantic Era, featuring two composers that admired Bach immensely.
Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. Violinists Adam Barnett-Hart and Brendan Speltz have been residents in the Philip Dukes & Friends series for the past two seasons. For this season of SMF, the full quartet returns for their first featured appearance since 2021, welcoming Dukes to...
This concert features two composers that were most definitely not influenced by JS Bach, and in the case of Tchaikovsky, Bach's music was very much "back and beyond." Although he acknowledged his technical skills, he in no way regarded Bach as a musical legend.
Back for his second chamber music residency at Savannah Music Festival, clarinetist Michael Collins performs his first Savannah recital, also featuring returning pianist Ana-Maria Vera. As Gramophone noted, "Collins plays with an irresistible exuberance.
No series featuring the music of Bach would be complete without his music for voice. Collaborating with the Savannah VOICE Festival to present Mark Delavan (who played Gianni Schicchi in the collaborative Puccini production at SMF 2015), the Bach Cantata in the first half is contrasted by a second half of songs by Copland and...
For this long-anticipated Savannah Music Festival debut, celebrated pianist Emanuel Ax brings a unique program of Beethoven Sonatas interspersed with works by Schoenberg. “Ax’s playing is always marvelously articulate and totally unfussy. Nothing is done for effect or to draw attention to the player rather than to what he is playing; though his range of...
