Three Romantic Giants Open Midsummer’s Music Festival

German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Public domain image.

The Midsummer’s Music Festival began its 26th season on June 17 in Birch Creek’s Juniper Hall with a champagne toast. Door County Poet Laureate Ralph Murre commemorated the event by reading his poem “greensoaked,” written in honor of the chamber music festival.

German composer, violinist and conductor Ludwig Spohr. Public domain image.

Artistic Director James Berkenstock introduced the Three Romantic Giants of the evening’s program, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and the less familiar German composer, Ludwig Spohr, who, he explained, as a virtuoso violinist as well as a conductor and composer, was considered at the time to be the equal of Mendelssohn and nearly on par with Beethoven.

The concert opened with Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, a score written when the composer was 26. The piece, Berkenstock noted, is somewhat like a mini concerto for piano but with color commentary from the winds, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn. The quintet performed ably, the acoustics of the hall providing a surround-sound for the audience, a brightness that at times was almost unsettling in its intensity.

Spohr’s Six German Songs for Soprano, Clarinet, and Piano featured a performance by Door County’s own Cyndy Stiehl. Much as the winds augmented the piano in the earlier quintet, clarinetist Elizandro Garcia-Montoya here augmented the lyrics, enhancing the feeling behind the words. Stiehl’s elegant performance received a warm reception by the audience.

The final piece, Mendelssohn’s Quartet for Piano and Strings in B Minor, brought concertgoers to their feet in appreciation of the virtuosic performance of the musicians. The quartet began with a restless opening movement, followed by a slow “song without words” and continued with dramatic intensity in the two concluding movements. Pianist Jeannie Yu shone in her performance.

German composer, pianist, organist and conductor Felix Mendelssohn. Public domain image.

Listeners are surprised to learn that Mendelssohn was only 16 when he composed his quartet.

The evening concluded with a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception that offered the audience the opportunity to meet the musicians.

The concert will be reprised on June 24 at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Ephraim and on June 25 at the Prince of Peace Church in Sturgeon Bay.

A new feature in this year’s series of concerts is the incorporation of other artistic forms in the concerts. Performances at Woodwalk Gallery in Egg Harbor will feature an original work of art inspired by one of the program offerings. In addition, concertgoers are invited to bring a picnic to enjoy on the grounds.

And the concerts at Björklunden in Baileys Harbor will include a reading of an original poem by a Write On, Door County poet, verse related to one of the pieces of music on the program, much like Murre’s “greensoaked.”

This years Midsummer’s Music Festival offers chamber music concerts until July 23, and again from Aug. 23 through Sept. 5. For tickets and information visit midsummersmusic.com or call 920.854.7088