From Russia with Love with Gilles Vonsattel
Sunday, August 9 at 4PM
Chamber Concert & Meet The Musicians
Classical Tahoe Pavilion
Prokofiev: Sonata for Two Violins
Daniel Khalikov, Violin and Kristi Helberg, Violin
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor
Gilles Vonsattel, Piano; Sarah Vonsattel, Violin; Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, Cello
The vivid painted spires and domes of St. Petersburg, Russia come to life in sound with the playful, yet striking, Prokofiev Sonata for Two Violins and the richly expansive Piano Trio by Tchaikovsky. Featuring the dynamic piano soloist Gilles Vonsattel and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Classical Tahoe violinist Sarah Vonsattel, along with other Classical Tahoe musicians.
Chamber concerts display the individual artistry of Classical Tahoe musicians in an intimate setting.
Meet the Musicians is a casual exchange of ideas with the concert’s musicians that unfolds organically either on-stage or following the performance in the courtyard. Music and conversation – beautiful and personal.
Beethoven and Brahms with Gilles Vonsattel, Piano
Friday, August 7 at 7PM
Orchestra Concert
Classical Tahoe Pavilion
Johann Strauss: Overture to Die Fledermaus
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
Gilles Vonsattel, Piano
Brahms Symphony No. 3
For the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, the sounds of Vienna will fill the Classical Tahoe Pavilion. The city that was home to Beethoven, Brahms and Strauss produced the flirtatious Fledermaus Overture, but also the drama heard in the performance of illustrious piano soloist Gilles Vonsattel, who joins the orchestra for Beethoven’s mighty and passionate Piano Concerto No. 3.
The concert concludes with another giant of symphony composers, in a performance of Johannes Brahms’ heroic Symphony No. 3
Gilles Vonsattel
Pianist

A "wanderer between worlds"...
– Lucerne Festival
An "immensely talented" and "quietly powerful pianist".
– New York Times

Swiss-born American Gilles Vonsattel is an artist of extraordinary versatility and originality. Comfortable with and seeking out an enormous range of repertoire, Vonsattel displays a musical curiosity and sense of adventure that has gained him many admirers. Recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the Naumburg and Geneva competitions as well as the 2016 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, he has in recent years made his Boston Symphony, Tanglewood, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony debuts, while performing recitals and chamber music at Ravinia, Tokyo’s Musashino Hall, Wigmore Hall, Bravo! Vail, Music@Menlo, the Gilmore festival, the Lucerne festival, and the Munich Gasteig. His 2014 New York solo recital was hailed as “tightly conceived and passionately performed…a study in intensity” by The New York Times.
Reengaged by the San Francisco Symphony, he has also appeared with the Warsaw Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, l’Orchestre Symphonique du Québec, Boston Pops, Nashville Symphony, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Staatskapelle Halle, and L’orchestre de chambre de Genève. Chamber partners include musicians such as James Ehnes, Frank Huang, Ilya Gringolts, Nicolas Altstaedt, David Shifrin, David Finckel, Stefan Jackiw, Jörg Widmann, Gary Hoffman, Carter Brey, David Requiro, Paul Huang, Anthony Marwood, Paul Neubauer, Paul Watkins, Philip Setzer, Emmanuel Pahud, Karen Gomyo, David Jolley, Ida Kavafian, and the Swiss Chamber Soloists. He has appeared in concert with the Emerson, Pacifica, Orion, Ebène, Danish, Miró, Daedalus, Escher, and Borromeo Quartets. Deeply committed to the performance of contemporary works, he has premiered numerous works both in the United States and Europe and worked closely with notable composers such as Jörg Widmann, Heinz Holliger, and George Benjamin. His 2011 recording for the Honens/Naxos label of music by Debussy, Honegger, Holliger, and Ravel was named one of Time Out New York’s classical albums of the year, while a 2014 release on GENUIN/Artist Consort received a 5/5 from FonoForum and international critical praise. His latest solo release (2015) for Honens of Scarlatti, Webern, Messiaen, Debussy, and George Benjamin’s Shadowlines received rave reviews in Gramophone, The New York Times, and the American Record Guide.
Recent projects include Berg’s Kammerkonzert with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, a tour with Jörg Widmann and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Mozart concerti with the Vancouver Symphony and Florida Orchestra, performances at Seoul’s LG Arts Centre and at the Beijing Modern Music Festival, collaborations with Kent Nagano with L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Munich Philharmonic (Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety) as well as numerous appearances internationally and throughout the United States with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Mr. Vonsattel received his bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Columbia University and his master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal. He is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and makes his home in New York City. Gilles Vonsattel is a Steinway Artist.
Sarah Vonsattel
Violinist

Violinist Sarah Crocker Vonsattel has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2008. She previously held positions in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony. Sarah has appeared as soloist with the musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, among others. Recent performances include appearances at Lake Tahoe Summerfest, the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, the Bronxville Chamber Music Series, Downtown Music at Grace Church, the New Marlborough House Concerts, and the Syracuse Society for New Music.
As a founding member of the Verklärte Quartet, Sarah was a Grand Prize Winner of the 2003 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, leading to concert tours in the U.S. and Italy with this ensemble. A proponent of new music, Sarah has appeared with the iO string quartet and the Talea Ensemble and can be heard on the Bridge Records label performing the music of Poul Ruders and Tod Machover. She has appeared as both performer and faculty member at festivals including the Orfeo International Music Festival (Italy), the Wellesley Composers Conference (Massachusetts), and the Musical Friends Academy (Tunisia). She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was a student of David Updegraff, and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Ronald Copes and Naoko Tanaka. In her spare time, she enjoys distance running and traveling.
To sponsor guest soloist Gilles Vonsattel, to sponsor Sarah Vonsattel, sponsor a concert, or dedicate a piece of music on this program, inquire with Karen Craig, Executive Director. Karen@ClassicalTahoe.org. Benefits available with Named Gift Opportunities.