- Pianist Wu Han Serves as Artistic Advisor for Chamber Music at The Barns, the first artist to hold the role for two consecutive seasons
- 2018-2019 Season is comprised of a collection of concerts inspired by Austria's Vienna
- Wolf Trap Opera and Washington Concert Opera collaborate on Le vin herbé, a modern retelling of Tristan and Isolde
- Patrons Invited to Meet Artists at Post-Performance Receptions
Members purchasing early, public on-sale August 10
Vienna, Virginia (August 2, 2018) – Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts today announced the 2018-2019 Chamber Music at The Barns season, curated by pianist Wu Han, already announced as Artistic Advisor for Chamber Music at the Barns’ 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons. Chamber Music at The Barns takes place at Wolf Trap’s historic and intimate 382-seat indoor venue, and runs November through April. This release complements the announcement of the entire 2018-2019 Barns season, which includes pop, jazz, blues and more. Ticketing information and a calendar of Chamber Music at The Barns performances are here. Print-ready images may be found here.
“We are so fortunate to have a superlative musician as our Artistic Advisor for both the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 Chamber Music at The Barns seasons,” said Lee Anne Myslewski, Director of Artistic Administration at Wolf Trap Foundation. “Wu Han has unparalleled interpretive skills at the piano, and brings a profound knowledge of the chamber music canon to her position. She has strong relationships with the best musicians in the country and offers up a rich roster of the highest caliber. Wu Han has curated a musical journey that uses our sister city, Vienna, Austria as a central hub from which to explore relationships and musical themes.”
The season opens with Artistic Advisor Wu Han with her husband and frequent collaborator David Finckel, performing the complete cycle of Beethoven cello sonatas. “This program naturally charts the progression and evolution of Beethoven’s musical language, as he produced these sonatas over the course of his early, middle and late periods of composition,” said Wu Han. “In one evening, the audience will acquire invaluable insight into Beethoven’s lifelong compositional development.”
Wu Han chose to center the 2018-2019 season on the cultural epicenter of Vienna, the origin of so many of the world’s greatest works of chamber music. Throughout the season, different programs explore Vienna’s influence on chamber music around the world. The Montrose Trio performs Haydn, Brahms, and Dvořák in their program, “Vienna to Prague.” Making their Barns debuts, the Sitkovetsky Trio and violinist Sean Lee chart a course from Vienna to Hollywood in their program featuring R. Strauss, Kreisler, and Korngold. And in the season finale, Wu Han returns to the stage with music for piano four-hands, joined by fellow pianists Gloria Chien and Gilles Vonsattel, in “Vienna to Paris.”
Both veteran and rising string quartets make appearances during the season. The St. Lawrence String Quartet returns to The Barns after over a decade with works by Haydn and his protégé Mozart. Later in the season, the Calidore String Quartet, recent winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, performs with pianist Juho Pohjonen in their Wolf Trap debuts in an homage to impresario Ignaz Schuppanzigh, the originator of the modern chamber music recital. Additionally, three soloists
David Finckel, violinist Arnaud Sussmann, and violist Paul Neubauer―come together for an evening of Beethoven, Mozart, and Dohnányi.
Vocal music features prominently on the 2018-2019 chamber music season. A season centered on Vienna would not be complete without Schubert Lieder, and baritone Michael Sumuel joins Wu Han and others for an all-Schubert evening that also includes the composer’s Piano Trio in E-Flat Major and the ubiquitous Trout Quintet. Later, Wolf Trap Opera partners with Washington Concert Opera to present Le vin herbé, a rare modern retelling of Tristan and Isolde in a chamber music setting, by Swiss composer Frank Martin. Washington Concert Opera’s critically-acclaimed maestro, Anthony Walker, to conduct.
Select performances of Chamber Music at The Barns are recorded for national broadcast on “Center Stage from Wolf Trap,” an hour-long program hosted by Classical WETA announcer Rich Kleinfeldt and Lee Anne Myslewski, Wolf Trap's Director of Artistic Administration, Wolf Trap Opera and Classical Programming.
With its informal setting and stunning architecture, The Barns at Wolf Trap is a one-of-a-kind musical experience. Comprised of two 18th-century barns made of hand-hewn wood beams and panels, the space is noted for its acoustic excellence and historic charm. At Chamber Music at The Barns performances, patrons are invited to ask artists questions during lively mid-performance Q&A sessions and are also invited to meet the artists at a post-performance reception in the English Barn.
Through Wolf Trap’s Young at Arts initiative, patrons may get an accompanying free youth (17 and under) ticket for each adult ticket purchased to select shows. See wolftrap.org/chamber for more information.
Wolf Trap members (donors of $75 and above) are invited to purchase their tickets beginning today, in advance of public on-sale. Tickets go on sale to the public August 10. Tickets may be purchased at wolftrap.org.
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Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally and internationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues: the outdoor Filene Center and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. The 7,028-seat Filene Center is operated in partnership with the National Park Service and annually showcases an extensive array of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, and theatre, as well as multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns at Wolf Trap is operated by the Wolf Trap Foundation year round, and during the summer months is home to the Grammy-nominated Wolf Trap Opera, one of America’s outstanding resident ensemble programs for young opera singers. Wolf Trap’s education programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, grants, and a nationally recognized internship program.
Tickets for The Barns at Wolf Trap
The most up-to-date information on artists, performances and ticket availability may be found on Wolf Trap’s website, WolfTrap.org.
Online: WolfTrap.org
By phone: 1.877.WOLFTRAP
Media Information
Please do not publish this contact information.
High-resolution images are available here.
Erick Hoffman, Director, Public Relations Emily Stout, Manager, Media Relations
703.255.1917 or erickh@wolftrap.org 703.255.4096 or emilys@wolftrap.org