Summer session special
One of the great pleasures of living in Idyllwild is the year-round availability of world-class live entertainment, much of it free to attendees.
The Idyllwild Arts Summer Program hosts three evenings of Chamber Music, headlined by the renowned Pacific Trio, artist-in-residence for the series. With pianist Edith Orloff, violinist Roger Wilkie and cellist John Walz, the resident trio is sure to inspire and enchant. The New York Times said of their Lincoln Center debut, “The members of the trio played with warmth, expertise, and unanimity … elegantly tapered, yet directly emotive playing.
Founded in 1979 in Los Angeles by Orloff and Walz, the trio has delighted audiences internationally. The Pacific Trio is joined in the series by celebrated musicians from the Summer Chamber Festival faculty performing a wide range of chamber music selections from the Baroque to the present, with music for strings, brass, winds and piano.
Prior to each concert, Rich Capparela, well-known classical KUSC on-air syndicated announcer and classical music aficionado, provides commentary on each night’s selections.
When Capparela left his native New York for California in 1980 and began his stint at KUSC, the Los Angeles Times called his on-air personality “occasionally zany.” Capparela’s warmth and humor, as well as his encyclopedic knowledge of classical music, have added a new dimension of accessibility to classical music radio.
In 1980, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner called Capparela “one of the ten best things about living in Los Angeles.” Capparela’s talks begin at 7:30 p.m. in Stephens Recital Hall on the Idyllwild Arts campus and concerts start at 8 p.m.
On the program for Wednesday, July 26, is J.S. Bach’s Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, BWV 1029, Menotti’s Suite for Two Cellos and Piano and Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G minor, K.478.
On Saturday, July 29, the program features Ibert’s Trio for Violin, Cello and Harp, Turina’s Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 67 and Dvorak’s, Sextet for Strings in A, Op. 48.
Finally, on Wednesday, Aug. 2, audiences will hear Beethoven’s Trio in E-flat, Op. 70 No. 2, Prokofiev’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in F minor, Op. 80 and Brahms’ Trio in C, Op. 87.
Joining the Pacific Trio throughout the series are violinists Connie Kupka, Stirling Trent and Pasha Tseitlin; violists Gina Coletti and Connie Kupka; cellists David Speltz and Marek Szpakiewicz; and harpist Allison Allport.
All concerts are free and open to the public. Seating is limited.
