SKANEATELES FESTIVAL

History

Spirit of the Festival

The idea for a Skaneateles Festival came together quickly in the spring of 1980 in discussions between musician Lindsay Groves and Skaneateles residents Beth Boudreau and Louise Robinson.

The first season, two weeks, was presented that August in the village’s Library Hall. Through the generosity of David and Louise Robinson, their home, Brook Farm, soon became the Festival’s center. At Brook Farm, musicians would live, eat, rehearse, relax, and perform, all because of the Robinsons’ hospitality. That same hospitality was extended to the thousands of concertgoers who sat under the stars and listened to music on Saturday evenings for the first 36 years of the Festival.

The phrase “Spirit of the Festival” flowed from the spirit of the Robinsons, and their legacy continues today.

1980

Who’s in this photo?
The inaugural season!

The first season features two weeks of concerts with Lindsay Groves as Music Director. The first night, Aug. 16, in Skaneateles Library Hall…

includes Mozart’s Quartet for Flute and Strings, K. 285, with Eleanor Robinson, flute;
Ravel’s Chansons Madecasses with soprano Donna Miller; and Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G minor with Mary Boyd, piano; Judy Clare, violin; Marilyn Smith, viola; and Lindsay Groves, cello. Brian Israel, pianist, performs Harris Lindenfeld’s “From the Grotte des Cambarelles” and Beethoven’s Archduke Trio with Steven Stalker, cello, and Janet Brady, violin.

The first concert at Brook Farm is Aug. 23. It includes Mozart’s Quintet in C minor, K. 516, and Brahms’ String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, and Edwin Gindon conducts Bach’s Cantata No. 82, “Ich habe genung,” with David Robinson, baritone.

1981

Who’s in this photo?
Rehearsing the *Trout Quintet*, upstairs at the library.
Frank Weinstock, piano; Michael Levin and Marilyn Smith, violins; Lindsay Groves, cello; Ed Castilano, bass.

The season expands to three weeks of concerts at Library Hall. Pianist/violinist Paul Hersh is the artist in residence. His debut is in Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations.

He performs with his son Stefan Hersh on violin in Brahms’ Sonata No. 1 in G Minor and plays piano in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 at Brook Farm. Frank Weinstock is the pianist in Schubert’s Trout Quintet for piano and strings: Michael Levin, violin; Marilyn Smith, viola; Lindsay Groves, cello; and Edward Castilano, bass.

1982

Who’s in this photo?
Claire Robinson Howard, harpsichord; Eleanor Robinson Wilcox, flute; Lindsay Groves, cello.

Three weeks of concerts continue at Library Hall, and Paul Hersh again is the artist in residence. Soprano Christine Klemperer performs in Schubert’s The Shepherd on the Rock.

Hersh performs Beethoven’s Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111, and violinist Joseph Genualdi makes his debut Sept. 2 in Schubert’s Octet, Op. 166 and performs Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with orchestra. This is also the first year of New York State Council on the Arts support.

1983

Who’s in this photo?
David and Louise Robinson with the musicians at Brook Farm.

This is the first season of four weeks. Performances move to St. James Episcopal Church. One Saturday concert is scheduled at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church. Paul Hersh and Joseph Genualdi are artists in residence.

Guitarist Eliot Fisk makes his Festival debut Aug. 18 in Bach’s Sonata in G Minor, originally for violin, and performs Paganini’s Cantabile for Violin and Guitar with Mark Kaplan. Mark Kaplan is the soloist in Haydn’s Concerto in C Major for Violin. Larry Combs is featured in Mozart’s Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581. Gail Williams, horn, appears in Schubert’s Auf dem Strom and Brahms’ Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano.

Brian Israel’s Trio for Flute, Cello and Harpsichord has its world premiere performed by Eleanor Robinson, Lindsay Groves, and Claire Howard. In the final concert, James Caraher conducts Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with soprano Julie Newell and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola with Joseph Genualdi and Paul Hersh.

This is the first year of recorded broadcasts on WCNY-FM.

1984

Who’s in this photo?
Louise Robinson and musicians take a break.

Violinist Andres Cardenes makes his Festival debut Aug. 9 in Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor and Dvořák’s Quartet No. 1 in D Major.

The Syracuse Vocal Ensemble, conducted by G. Burton Harbison, performs Haydn’s
Lord Nelson Mass. Guitarist Eliot Fisk performs eight pieces over three nights. Jonathan McPhee conducts the final concert, featuring Larry Combs in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major, Steven Doane in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major, Joseph Genualdi in Viotti’s Concerto in A Minor, and soprano Julie Newell in Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate!

1985

Who’s in this photo?
Young attendees with violinist Joe Genualdi and the orchestra.

Tenor Marcus Haddock sings Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge and a Bach aria from
My Soul Glorifies and Praises. Eliot Fisk plays Boccherini’s Quintet for Guitar and Strings
with Joseph Genualdi on violin and Paul Hersh on viola.

Andres Cardenes performs in Brahms’ Sextet for Strings, Beethoven’s Ghost Trio, Op. 70,
and solos in Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Pianist Jeffrey Kahane debuts in Mozart’s Piano Trio, K. 548. David Zinman makes his first conducting appearance in the final concert, featuring Steven Doane in Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2, Joseph Genualdi in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, and soprano Julie Newell in Handel’s Care Selve and Let the Bright Seraphim.

1986

Who’s in this photo?
Brook Farm with David & Louise and musicians.

In memory of Brian Israel (1951–1986), Barbara Rabin, clarinet, and Patricia DeAngelis, piano, perform his Trois Grotesques. Eliot Fisk is featured in Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet, and Joseph Genualdi solos in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4.

Howard Boatwright plays the violin in his Serenade for Two Winds and Two Strings with Larry Combs, Gail Williams, and Lindsay Groves. Andres Cardenes plays Paganini’s Caprices for Violin No. 1 and appears in Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat Major, in Prokofiev’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in D Major, and in Shostakovich’s Quintet for Piano and Strings in G Minor, the latter two with Barbara Lister-Sink on piano. Pianist Robert Weirich makes his Festival debut Aug. 29, substituting for Paul Hersh in Saint-Saëns’ Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs, joining Eleanor Robinson, flute; Larry Combs, clarinet; and Laura Ahlbeck, oboe. David Zinman conducts the final concert with soprano Julie Newell in Berlioz’ Les Nuits d’été. The Festival Educational Outreach Program begins, and WCNY-FM will air fall broadcasts of concerts.

1987

Who’s in this photo?
*Knoxville: Summer of 1915* with soprano Julie Newell.

This is Robert Weirich’s first full season as a performer. He appears all four weeks and in the first week plays in Dvořák’s Piano Quintet, Op. 81 with Andrzej Grabiec and Kathleen Tesar, violins; Michelle LaCourse, viola; and Lindsay Groves, cello; and solos in Schumann’s Kinderscenen, Op. 15.

Joseph Genualdi and Paul Hersh perform Grieg’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in C Minor. Violinist Ida Levin appears in Dvořák’s String Sextet in A Major and Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major and solos in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, Yakov Kreizberg conducting. Tenor Marcus Haddock and Robert Weirich, piano, perform Turina’s Poema en forma de canciones. Richard Sherman, flute, and Barbara Lister-Sink, piano, give the world premiere of Andrew Waggoner’s Claene. Jonathan McPhee conducts the orchestra in his Music for a Summer’s Day. This is the first year of support for artists’ fees from the National Endowment for the Arts.

1988

Who’s in this photo?
Enjoying rehearsal at Brook Farm.

The Festival Educational Outreach Program presents Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf to 900
schoolchildren at Allyn Arena in June. Thomas Benjamin’s Nocturne/Aubade/Danse has its world
premiere, with Andrea Bonsignore-Berry, oboe; Alan Ross, violin; Michelle LaCourse, viola; and
Lindsay Groves, cello.

Robert Weirich gives his first lecture-recital, on Elliott Carter’s Piano Sonata. Cellist
Yuli Turovsky plays in Schubert’s Quintet for Strings, D. 956 and Tchaikovsky’s sextet
Souvenir of Florence, solos in Boccherini’s Concerto for Cello and Strings, and
conducts Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. Robert Weirich plays Mozart’s
Piano Concerto No. 22 in the final concert, David Zinman conducting.

1989

Who’s in this photo?
Violinist Joe Genualdi with orchestra.

Pianist Ruth Laredo and violinist Kurt Nikkanen perform in Franck’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, Dvořák’s Dumky Trio, and Schumann’s Quintet for Piano and Strings in E-flat Major.

Kurt Nikkanen plays Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3, Jonathan McPhee conducting. Pianist Ian Hobson performs in Mendelssohn’s Piano Quartet in B Minor and Beethoven’s Archduke Trio, and conducts a concert of two pieces by Delius and Dvořák. Eric Ruske, horn, appears in Schubert’s Auf dem Strom, Harbison’s Twilight Music for Horn, Violin and Piano, and is soloist in Dukas’ Villanelle for Horn and Orchestra, Emily Freeman Brown conducting. Andres Cardenes and Deborah Hoffman perform the world premiere of Ricardo Lopez’ Jaromiluna for Violin and Harp, commissioned by Cardenes. In the final concert, Andres Cardenes solos in the Barber Violin Concerto, David Zinman conducting.

1990

Who’s in this photo?
Conductor David Zinman and violinist Andres Cardenes (with Louise Robinson).

In February, the Festival and WCNY-FM win the Lucien Wulsin Award from National Public Radio’s Performance Today for the Aug. 19, 1989 recording of Delius’ On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, Ian Hobson conducting.

Joseph Genualdi is the violin soloist in Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. The Peabody Trio performs Dvořák’s Piano Trio in F Minor. Aug. 16 is the American premiere of Joseph Thalken’s Introduction and Jazz Waltz for violin, soprano, saxophone, and piano, with Thalken on piano. Paul Hersh, piano; Andres Cardenes, violin; and Anne Williams, cello, perform Brahms’ Piano Trio in C Minor. In the final concert, Kenneth Kiesler conducts Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Andres Cardenes (violin), Anne Williams (cello), and Robert Weirich (piano).

1991

Who’s in this photo?
Children’s Fair concert with David Robinson, narrator, and Bob Weirich, conductor.

In Robert Weirich’s first year as music director, he begins a three-year programming cycle with the Year of the Composer, honoring one each week. George Rochberg, Curtis Curtis-Smith, and Otto Luening are in attendance, but John Adams is not.

Yizhak Schotten, viola, and Katherine Collier, piano, make their debut with Deborah Chodacki in Bruch’s Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Piano, and Viola. Curtis Curtis-Smith, piano, and Reneta Knific, violin, perform his Fantasy Pieces for Violin and Piano. Commemorating the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death, four chamber pieces are performed, along with the oboe concerto with Thomas Gallant, the clarinet concerto with Larry Combs, and the Symphonies No. 35 and 39. In the final concert, Peter Bay makes his conducting debut, leading Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8.

1992

Who’s in this photo?
12-year-old Hilary Hahn makes her Festival debut.

“Music from the Skaneateles Festival” is released, a CD featuring benefit concert performances from 1987 and 1990. In January, the Festival wins the ASCAP–Chamber Music America Award for Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music. The season is the Year of the Performer.

On Aug. 20, violinist Hilary Hahn, age 12, and pianist Awadagin Pratt make their debuts.
She performs Tartini’s Sonata in G Minor, “The Devil’s Trill” with Robert Weirich, piano,
and he appears in Schumann’s Piano Quintet with Hahn and Joseph Genualdi on violin.
Hilary Hahn solos in Bach’s Concerto No. 2 in E Major with Joseph Genualdi (violin) and
Awadagin Pratt (harpsichord) as orchestra leaders. Paul Hersh, viola, and Robert Weirich, piano, perform Brahms’ Sonata in E-flat. In the final concert, David Zinman conducts and
Andres Cardenes is the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

1993

Who’s in this photo?
David Robinson and friends meet “Babar” the elephant.

The season is the Year of the Listener. Robert Weirich conducts two Saturday orchestra concerts, one a program of symphonic jazz with Jean Kopperud as soloist in Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for Clarinet and Jazz Ensemble. Julie Newell, soprano, and Patrick Mason, baritone, sing Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles with Kwang-Wu Kim and Robert Weirich, piano four-hands. George Rochberg introduces his Sonata-Aria and Piano Trio No. 3.

In his 13th appearance in 14 years, Paul Hersh plays piano in Dvořák’s Piano Quartet in E-flat and Mozart’s Piano Trio in E-flat, K. 498, and viola in Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence. Chester Biscardi’s Tango for clarinet, horn, violin, cello, piano, and percussion receives its first performance. Hilary Hahn plays a Schubert sonata with pianist Dana Burnett; Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A Major with Deborah Chodacki, clarinet; and Spohr’s Violin Concerto No. 8, David Zinman conducting.

1994

Who’s in this photo?
Soloist Hilary Hahn rehearses with the orchestra.

Robert Weirich solos in Mozart’s Piano Concerto in G Major, K. 453. Awadagin Pratt and David Kim perform Brahms’ Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 108, and Pratt is the soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Ian Hobson conducting. Jeffrey Kahane conducts Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, with Steven Doane, cellist.

The Brentano Quartet performs Mozart’s String Quartet in D Major, K. 499, and Beethoven’s String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3. Julie Newell is the soprano in Robert Weirich’s composition for the Festival’s 15th Anniversary season, Tea at the Cuddeback Place, with text by Peggy Manring. In the final concert, Hilary Hahn is the soloist in Saint-Saëns’ Havanaise, Op. 83 and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28, Robert Weirich conducting.

1995

Who’s in this photo?
Rehearsing on the dock at Brook Farm.

Peggy Pearson, oboist, makes her debut in John Steinmetz’ Mixed Blessing and is the soloist in Strauss’ Oboe Concerto, Robert Weirich conducting. Barry Snyder, piano, and Curtis Macomber, violin, perform Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, and Snyder and Steven Doane perform Chopin’s Sonata for Piano and Cello.

Peter Bay conducts an all-Mozart concert featuring Symphonies No. 10 and 38 and the Piano Concerto No. 21, Deborah Lee soloist. In the final concert, David Zinman conducts
Andres Cardenes and Kathleen Winkler in Bruch’s Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins,
Hilary Hahn in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 104.

1996

Who’s in this photo?
Music of the Gamelan Angklung.

The Peabody Trio performs piano trios by Haydn in E minor and Ravel. Robert Weirich’s
A Flurry of Fanfares for brass has its first performance. William Cowdery (fortepiano)
and Robert Weirich (harpsichord) solo in an orchestra concert featuring Bach’s
Clavier Concerto in E-flat Major and Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 414,
Robert Kapilow conducting.

Kapilow discusses Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in a What Makes It Great? program.
Curtis Curtis-Smith appears in Meet the Music, and Robert Weirich (piano), Renata Knific (violin), and Pamela Frame (cello) perform his Piano Trio No. 2. Janet Brown (soprano) and Robert Weirich (piano) give the first performance of Wes York’s Songs from the Lakota. Ellen Koskoff directs the Gamelan Angklung. The final concert is all Beethoven, Robert Weirich conducting: the Coriolan Overture, the Piano Concerto No. 4 with Awadagin Pratt soloist, and the Symphony No. 7.

1997

Who’s in this photo?
Hilary Hahn with orchestra at Brook Farm.

The Cassatt Quartet performs Mozart’s Quartet in D Major, K. 575, Sculthorpe’s From Ubirr with Simon 7 on didjeridoo, and Brahms’ String Quintet in D Major, joined by violist Kazi Pitelka.

Paul Hersh speaks on Schubert the pianist in Meet the Music. The Chicago String Quartet
performs quartets by Haydn (D Major) and Dvořák (C Major), and Brahms’ Piano Quintet with
Paul Hersh. Tenor Marcus Haddock performs Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge and five arias.

The Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581 features Larry Combs (clarinet),
Andrés Cárdenes and Hilary Hahn (violins), Melissa Micciche (viola), and Anne Martindale Williams (cello).

Robert Weirich (piano) and Rebecca Karpoff (soprano) give the premiere of Weirich’s
Going Home, with text by Peggy Manring. In the final concert, Hilary Hahn solos in the
Barber Violin Concerto, Victor Yampalsky conducting.

1998

Who’s in this photo?
Awadagin Pratt rehearses with Bob Weirich conducting.

Chamber Music America presents its Distinguished Service Award to David and Louise Robinson. Robert Weirich conducts an all-Mozart opening concert and solos in the Piano Concerto No. 27.

Pianist Andrew Russo makes his debut with the Arcadian Trio in an evening that includes
Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 1. Joseph Thalken conducts his own Festival-commissioned works,
two pieces for narrator and chamber orchestra: Fritz the Magic Fiddler and The Magic Bonbons. Two compositions by Robert Weirich are performed: Melissa Micciche, viola, in The Visitant, and Weirich, piano, with William Ver Meulen, horn, in Steamboat Stomp. Hilary Hahn’s performances include Bach’s Partita No. 1; Milstein’s Paganinium for solo violin; Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, Peter Bay conducting; Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata No. 9 with Robert Weirich, piano; and Dvořák’s String Quintet in E-flat.

1999

Who’s in this photo?
*Noye’s Fludde*: a co-production with the Festival, Syracuse Stage, Opera, and Symphony, along with the Bell Choir of the First Presbyterian Church.

The Festival performs its first opera, Britten’s Noye’s Fludde, Grant Cooper conducting. The Magellan String Quartet, with various accompanists, performs Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro, Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night, and Strauss’ Sextet from Capriccio. Awadagin Pratt (piano) joins the Miro String Quartet in Dvořák’s Quintet in A Major, Op. 81.

The Miro String Quartet performs Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 and Bartók’sString Quartet No. 3. Awadagin Pratt solos in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 and conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3. Violinist Hilary Hahn performs Beethoven’s Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1 with David Northington (piano) and Lindsay Groves (cello); Brahms’ String Sextet in G Major; and Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 2 with Robert Weirich (piano).

In the final concert, Jeffrey Kahane conducts Hilary Hahn in Edgar Meyer’s Violin Concerto, commissioned by Sony for Hahn, with Meyer in attendance. This is the concerto’s second performance; Hahn records it later that fall.

2000

Who’s in this photo?
Bassist Edgar Meyer with Artistic Director Bob Weirich.

In Diane Walsh’s first year as artistic director, she debuts in the opening night concert playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, Grant Cooper conducting.

In her first night of chamber music, she performs in Haydn’s Trio in E Major, Harbison’s Variation for Clarinet, Violin and Piano, and Strauss’ Piano Quartet. Violinist Ilya Kaler performs four pieces in one evening: Dvořák’s Five Bagatelles; Martinů’s Three Madrigals; Janáček’s Sonata with Diane Walsh; and Smetana’s Piano Trio in A Minor. Yehudi Wyner’s Quartet for Oboe and String Trio receives a premiere performance with Peggy Pearson on oboe. Violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Garrick Ohlsson present a recital of sonatas by Brahms, Bach, and Haydn. Baritone Sanford Sylvan performs songs by Brahms with Diane Walsh on piano and, in the final concert, three arias by Mozart, Peter Bay conducting. Diane Walsh also performs with Broadway’s comic genius Bill Irwin.

2001

Who’s in this photo?
Concert at Brook Farm.

A CD is released, Chamber Music by the Lake, Volume I, featuring highlights of the 2000 season. The Chip Jackson Jazz Quartet performs on opening night.

Eugene Drucker (violin) performs Mozart’s Piano Trio in E Major, K. 542, Fauré’s Sonata No. 1, and Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 2, all with Diane Walsh on piano. Pianists Andrew Russo and Diane Walsh present Crumb’s Celestial Mechanics and Schubert’s Allegro “Lebensstürme”. Ilya Kaler is the soloist in Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2, David Amado conducting. Baritone Sanford Sylvan and pianist Diane Walsh perform Schumann’s Liederkreis, and Sylvan sings Barber’s Dover Beach with violinists Todd Phillips and Catherine Cho, violist Maria Lambros, and cellist Marcy Rosen. Hilary Hahn and Peggy Pearson are the soloists in Bach’s Concerto in C Minor for Violin and Oboe. In the final concert, Hilary Hahn is soloist in Bach’s Violin Concerto in A Minor, and she and David Brickman are soloists in Bach’s Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins, Peter Bay conducting.

2002

Who’s in this photo?
Inaugural Robinson Award winner Adam Gay.

A second CD is released, Chamber Music by the Lake, Volume II, highlights of the 2001 season. Eugene Drucker and Diane Walsh perform Bartók’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano.

Clarinetist David Krakauer’s program, “Beyond Crossover,” ranges from Brahms to Messiaen to Reich to klezmer. Diane Walsh accompanies baritone Sanford Sylvan in Fauré’s Mirages and Ravel’s Don Quichotte à Dulcinée. Eliot Fisk performs his guitar transcriptions of Bach’s Suite No. 6 for Cello and Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Violin. Marco Parisotto conducts the Festival Orchestra in Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony. Robert Weirich joins Hilary Hahn for Bloch’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano and soprano Janet Brown for six songs of Strauss. Hilary Hahn solos in the final concert in Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Peter Bay conducting.

2003

Who’s in this photo?
KidsFest with the Imani Winds.

Eugene Drucker and Diane Walsh perform a sonata by Strauss and Bartók’s “First Portrait.” The lights go out across the Northeast on Aug. 14, but the blackout doesn’t prevent a full evening of candlelight music.

A Hindemith sonata for viola and piano is dropped from the evening’s program, but the audience’s cheers bring Kazi Pitelka and Andrew Russo out to perform it as an encore. An evening of Bach concertos features Andrew Russo in Concerto No. 4 and Concerto No. 5 for clavier. Members of La Fenice play a premiere performance of Fred Lerdahl’s Quartet for Oboe and Strings, with the composer present. Diane Walsh is the piano soloist in Mozart’s Concerto No. 21, Guillermo Figueroa conducting. Diane Walsh and violinist Hilary Hahn play Mozart’s Sonatas K. 301 and K. 526. Hilary Hahn performs Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in the final concert, Peter Bay conducting. A third CD is released, Chamber Music by the Lake, Volume III, highlights of the 2002 season.

2004

Who’s in this photo?
Claire Robinson Howard, David & Louise Robinson, Beth Boudreau, Lindsay Groves, Elinor Freer, David Ying, and Susan Mark.

The 25th Anniversary Season includes a fifth week of performances and welcomes back many friends from the early years. Eugene Drucker on violin, Roberta Cooper on cello, and Paul Hersh on piano play Beethoven’s “Archduke Trio.” Hersh is the pianist in Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet with David Brickman, violin; Melissa Matson, viola; Lindsay Groves, cello; and Ed Castilano, bass (three of the same musicians that performed this piece in 1981).

Guitarist Eliot Fisk performs music by Bach, Barrios, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Paganini. David Brickman (violin), Michael Kannen (cello), and Jon Nakamatsu (piano) play Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 1 and Dvořák’s “Dumky” Trio. David Wroe conducts Eliot Fisk in a Castelnuovo-Tedesco concerto and Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Members of La Fenice present the world premiere of Three Chorale Preludes for Oboe and String Trio by Peter Child, John Heiss, and John Harbison. Andres Cardenes is the soloist in Vieuxtemps’ Concerto No. 5 for Violin with Marco Parisotto conducting. Soovin Kim (violin), Yizhak Schotten (viola), and Michelle Djokic (cello) perform a Dohnányi serenade. David Zinman returns to conduct Schubert’s Symphony No. 4, and Diane Walsh is the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24. Hilary Hahn and Natalie Zhu (piano) perform an evening of Mozart sonatas. Hilary Hahn performs Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in the final concert, Peter Bay conducting.

2005

Who’s in this photo?
Mark Davis Scatterday conducts the Festival wind ensemble.

This is the first season for new artistic directors, the husband-and-wife team of cellist David Ying and pianist Elinor Freer. Opening night features the Ying Quartet in Debussy’s String Quartet in G Minor and, with Freer, the Bloch Quintet for Piano and Strings.

Lindsay Groves (cello) and Melissa Matson (viola) join the Ying Quartet for Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence. Soovin Kim and Tai Murray (violins), Brian Chen and Melissa Matson (violas), and Thomas Wiebe (cello) perform Dvořák’s American Quintet. The Turtle Island String Quartet presents a free community concert and joins the Ying Quartet for an evening of “4 + Four.” The Pacifica Quartet plays Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 1 and Janáček’s String Quartet No. 2. Mark Davis Scatterday conducts an evening of wind music, including Mozart’s Gran Partita and Dvořák’s Serenade in D Minor. Judy Loman plays harp in Debussy’s Danses sacrée et profane with Steven Copes and Maria Schleuning (violins), Lesley Robertson (viola), and David Ying (cello). Hilary Hahn and Natalie Zhu perform sonatas for violin and piano by Beethoven and Enescu. Brahms’ Quintet for Piano and Strings in F Minor features Copes, Schleuning, Robertson, Ying, and Freer. The season concludes with Hilary Hahn as soloist in the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Dvořák’s Czech Suite, Peter Bay conducting.

2006

Who’s in this photo?
SkanFest Master Class.

The season is dedicated to the memory of Dr. David Robinson, a Festival co-founder and owner of Brook Farm, who died July 9. The season opens with the Daedalus Quartet in a free community concert that concludes the Hyperscore program, in which the quartet performs new music composed by community residents using the Hyperscore software; the quartet had spent a week in May in residency in local schools.

The Ying and Daedalus quartets play the Mendelssohn Octet. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein is the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Hugh Keelan conducting. Organist David Higgs presents an evening of solo organ music on First Presbyterian Church’s new Casavantes Frères organ. The 2006 Robinson Award winner, oboist Laura Britton of Westhill High School, performs Telemann and Saint-Saëns sonatas with pianist Elinor Freer and cellist David Ying. Zephyros Winds plays Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles and Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds with Reiko Aizawa. Quartetto Gelato presents an evening of music for oboe, English horn, accordion, violin, mandolin, cello, and tenor. Soprano Lauren Skuce sings Shostakovich’s Seven Romances on Verses by Alexander Blok with Steven Copes (violin), David Ying, and Elinor Freer. Copes, Ying, Freer, and Edward Castilano (bass) perform Libby Larsen’s Four on the Floor. Olga Kaler (violin), Masumi Per Rostad (viola), Rosemary Elliott (cello), and Seth Knopp (piano) play Brahms’ Piano Quartet in C Minor. The final concert includes Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Marina Piccinini as soloist in Mozart’s Flute Concerto, and violinist Ilya Kaler in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

2007

Who’s in this photo?
Mike Seeger and The New Lost City Ramblers.

Mike Seeger brings the sound of traditional southern mountain music to the first week, performing a selection of American music with the Ying Quartet. Baritone Timothy Jones sings songs by Berlin, Kern, and Gershwin in an evening of Reel Music.

The New Lost City Ramblers play old-time porch music at Brook Farm. Composer Kevin Puts spends a week in residence, and five of his compositions are performed across three evenings, including Einstein on Mercer Street with Timothy Jones (baritone), And Legions Will Rise with Lisa Kim (violin), Jose Franch-Ballester (clarinet), and Ayano Kataoka (marimba), and his Concerto for Oboe and Strings, Peggy Pearson soloist, Hugh Keelan conducting. A prelude concert features the Robinson Award winner, clarinetist Nina Elhassan of West Genesee High School, performing with David Ying (cello) and Elinor Freer (piano). Roger Tapping (viola) and Gilbert Kalish (piano) play Brahms’ Sonata in F Minor and join the Jupiter Quartet, who also perform quartets by Haydn and Mendelssohn. Twelve-year-old pianist Conrad Tao plays Mozart’s Concerto No. 21, Hugh Keelan conducting. A themed week devoted to food in music includes Satie’s Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear with Elinor Freer and John Novacek on piano, Paul Schoenfield’s Café Music with Mark Fewer (violin), David Ying (cello), and John Novacek (piano), and Bruce Adolphe’s The Bitter Salt Suite for Violin and Narrator featuring Mark Fewer and Robert Moss. Schubert’s Trout Quintet features Curtis Macomber (violin), Melissa Matson (viola), Steven Doane (cello), James Vandermark (bass), and John Novacek (piano). Soloists in the season finale include Steve Doane in Boccherini’s Cello Concerto in G Major and Jon Manasse in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major, Peter Bay conducting.

2008

Imani Winds draw a standing-room-only crowd for Music Is Fun!, the season-opening FamilyFest event. The Turtle Island Quartet present an afternoon community concert in the Clift Park gazebo. Joel Fan, piano, joins Imani Winds in Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano and Winds.

Martinu’s Sextet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, two Bassoons, and Piano features Valerie Coleman, flute, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe, Mariam Adam, clarinet, Monica Ellis and Gregory Quick, bassoons, and Joel Fan, piano. The Turtle Island Quartet presents A Love Supreme: The Music of John Coltrane at Brook Farm. Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Sutphen, of Manlius Pebble Hill School, the 2008 Robinson Award winner, performs a prelude concert with Sar-Shalom Strong, piano, and David Ying, cello. The Miro Quartet plays Schubert’s Death and the Maiden quartet, Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, and Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night, with Marka Gustavsson, viola, David Ying, cello, and Joanna Manring, reader. Soprano Sari Gruber sings Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Robert Moody conducting the Festival Chamber Orchestra. David Higgs plays a turn-of-the-century Parisian organ recital. Baritone Randall Scarlata sings Cabaret Songs by Schoenberg with Melvin Chen, piano. Franck’s Piano Quintet in F Minor features Ittai Shapira and Tai Murray, violins, Phillip Ying, viola, Alexis Pia Gerlach, cello, and Melvin Chen, piano. Tai Murray is the soloist in Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending, Hugh Keelan conducting. Harumi Rhodes, violin, David Ying, cello, and Adam Nieman, piano, play Arensky’s Piano Trio No. 1. Rachmaninoff’s Sonata in G Minor features Julie Albers on cello and Adam Nieman on piano. Peter Bay conducts the season finale, including Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, with Joanna Bassett, flute, Harumi Rhodes, violin, and James E. Bobb, harpsichord, and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Mark Fewer on violin and Brian Chen on viola.

2009

Who’s in this photo?
The premiere of “Summer Songs” based on works by local poets, narrated by Thom Filicia.

The highlight of the 30th anniversary season is the commissioning of a new piece of chamber music, Carter Pann’s Summer Songs, based on five poems from local residents about summer in Central New York. Excerpts are heard at a community concert at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, and the world premiere is August 28 in Skaneateles with the composer present.

Performing are Nelson Lee, violin; Jose Franch-Ballester, clarinet; David Ying, cello; Elinor Freer, piano; and Thom Filicia, narrator. Several musicians who performed in the Festival’s early days return, among them violinists Renata Artman Knific and Mark Kaplan, violist Michelle LaCourse, cellist Steven Doane, clarinetist Deborah Chodacki, and hornist W. Peter Kurau. Knific, Doane, and Xak Bjerken, piano, perform Beethoven’s Archduke Trio. Kaplan and Peggy Pearson, oboe, are soloists in the Bach Concerto for Oboe, Violin, and Orchestra. The Parker Quartet makes its Festival debut in Haydn’s String Quartet in G, Op. 76, No. 1; Mendelssohn’s String Quintet No. 2, with Michael Larco on viola; and Niels Gade’s String Quartet in D Major. Pianist Adam Nieman plays two pieces by Bach, one transcribed by Busoni. Robert Moody conducts the Festival Chamber Orchestra in Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Conrad Tao soloist. The Jupiter String Quartet plays Michael Torke’s Corner in Manhattan and Dvořák’s “American” Quartet, and its members join pianist John Novacek for two of his rags and Rachmaninoff’s “Élégiaque” Piano Trio. Guitarist Eliot Fisk appears for all four nights of the final week, including a solo recital. In Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet, he’s joined by Michi Wiancko and Mauricio Aguiar, violins; Philip Ying, viola; and Mimi Hwang, cello, and in Paganini’s Quartet No. 15 he’s joined by Aguiar on violin, Andres Cardenes on viola, and David Ying on cello. Cardenes conducts the Grand Finale orchestra concert, including Rodrigo’s Fantasia for a Gentleman with Eliot Fisk on guitar, and is the violin soloist in Piazzolla’s Four Seasons in Buenos Aires.

2010

Who’s in this photo?
Brook Farm concert featuring the Imani Winds.

Composer Paul Moravec spends a week in residence with Trio Solisti, which performs his Passacaglia, Scherzo, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tempest Fantasy, with Alan Kay on clarinet and Malcolm Ingram as reader.

Trio Solisti also plays its arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Tf3 (Time for Three) electrifies a Brook Farm audience of more than 600 with its originals and arrangements for two violins and double bass. Lionheart draws a capacity crowd to St. Mary’s of the Lake Church with a century of vocal music by Morales and Guerrero. New York State Baroque performs music by Buxtehude, Vivaldi, and Bach on period instruments. The Ying Quartet returns with Schnittke’s Piano Quartet, joined by Elinor Freer; Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1; and Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 9. Twenty-one-year-old conductor Joshua Weilerstein makes his debut with the Festival Chamber Orchestra in Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. Violinist Hilary Hahn returns for her first appearance since 2005, along with pianist Valentina Lisitsa and cellist Robert deMaine, in selections by Kodály, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, George Antheil, Fritz Kreisler, and César Franck. In the Finale, Hahn is the soloist in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 (“Turkish”), Daniel Hege conducting. It was the 14th season in which Hahn appeared since her debut in 1992. A new CD, Live from the Skaneateles Festival Volume IV, is released.

2011

Who’s in this photo?
Hyperscore participants from local schools.

The Festival introduces pop-up Music Blasts throughout the village and invites community members to compose short pieces of music in the Hyperscore II composition project. The Chiara Quartet opens the season with two pieces by composer-in-residence Stacy Garrop, ten Hyperscore II compositions, and a new work by Garrop, who curated Hyperscore II.

Andrew Russo joins the Chiara Quartet for Dvořák’s Piano Quartet. The Festival Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Robert Moody, plays the world premiere of Lee Actor’s Divertimento for Small Orchestra, commissioned by Jary and Julie Shimmer to celebrate the Robinson family and their commitment to the Skaneateles community. The Syracuse Vocal Ensemble joins the orchestra and Russo for Beethoven’s Fantasia in C Minor. Members of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) divide into chamber ensembles and reunite for a Brook Farm concert including Bartók’s Divertimento for String Orchestra. So Percussion and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet make their Festival debuts, the latter performing arrangements of Boccherini, Bizet’s Carmen Suite, and post-bop classics by John Coltrane and Miles Davis. The Marcus Roberts Trio presents two outreach concerts in Syracuse and an evening of jazz at Brook Farm. An evening of solo piano features Jon Nakamatsu. Peter Bay returns to conduct the Festival Chamber Orchestra and soprano Sari Gruber in two works by Mozart and Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras for soprano and eight cellos.

2012

Who’s in this photo?
“Happy Hour” concert at Anyela’s.

The season opens with a week devoted to Bach and his later champions, including Mendelssohn, whose Piano Trio No. 2 is performed by Jung-Min Amy Lee on violin, David Ying on cello, and Elinor Freer on piano.

Harumi Rhodes, violin, and Rebecca Albers, viola, join Ying for Dmitri Sitkovetsky’s transcription of the Goldberg Variations. “Not Your Mother’s Chamber Music Concert” is presented twice, at the RedHouse in Syracuse and later in Skaneateles, featuring the Imani Winds performing three Civil War–era spirituals with readings by George Kilpatrick, and excerpts from Jason Moran’s Cane, followed by the Jasper Quartet performing the last two movements of Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16. The Ying Quartet, with first violin Frank Huang, joins the Jaspers and other local musicians for a Brook Farm concert that includes Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Copland’s Appalachian Spring (with the Imani Winds), and Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony.

The third week includes an organ recital by Chelsea Chen, a solo piano recital by Peter Serkin, Andrew Appel with the Four Nations Ensemble, and the Musica Viva Internationale! program led by accordionist Alexander Sevastian at Brook Farm. ECCO and Time for Three return for the final week, each performing at Brook Farm. ECCO’s season finale features Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite and Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings.

2013

Who’s in this photo?
The Pacifica Quartet and friends.

Nature is the season’s theme, beginning with the natural sounds of the voice. Jennifer Aylmer, soprano, and Randall Scarlata, baritone, are soloists in songs for voice and piano (Laura Ward) by Schubert and pieces from Verdi to Bernstein.

The Ying Quartet perform Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” and Verdi’s String Quartet in E minor. Anonymous 4’s voices fill St. Mary’s of the Lake Church with a variety of traditional and modern works, including a new work, “the wood and the vine,” by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer David Lang. Pianist and composer Donal Fox’s solo piano recital, “Innovations in Blue,” blends classical and jazz. Violinist Hilary Hahn, joined by pianist Cory Smythe, performs a chamber concert of Lera Auerbach, Schoenberg, Mozart’s Violin Sonata in A, and Schubert’s Fantasie in C, a program she would later present in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. A Brook Farm concert of jazz improvisations on the classics, featuring Fox’s Innovations Trio and Hahn, draws a Festival record-breaking audience of 1,172. The Eastman Chamber Winds, conducted by Mark Davis Scatterday, conclude a week of music inspired by nature. Members of the string orchestra A Far Cry present two chamber concerts—Tůma, Biber, Dvořák’s “American” String Quintet, and Schubert’s String Quintet in C—and conclude the season at Brook Farm with Johann Stamitz’s Sinfonia and Josef Suk’s Serenade for Strings.

2014

Who’s in this photo?
The Festival receives the CMAcclaim award from Chamber Music America.

The Festival’s 35th anniversary season marks the end of Elinor Freer and David Ying’s 10 years as artistic directors. Performers from the Festival’s early seasons – Joseph Genualdi and Curtis Macomber, violin; Maria Lambos and Melissa Matson, viola; Steven Doane and Rosemary Elliott, cello; Stewart Rose, horn; and Robert Weirich, piano – return for a concert of Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3, two pieces for horn and piano, and Brahms’ String Sextet No. 2. Fireworks Ensemble (including saxophone, guitar, piano, and percussion) headline a Brook Farm concert that ends with fireworks over the lawn.

Freer and Ying’s final Festival performance together is Kreisler’s “Tambourin chinois.” The Shanghai Quartet appears in two chamber concerts and joins the ensemble Music from China, which introduces the sounds of the erhu, gaohu, banhu, pipa, yangqin, liuqin, and daruan. Chamber Music America presents its CMAcclaim Award, recognizing extraordinary cultural contributions in a locality, to the Festival. Alan Kay and Ran Dank perform Yuste’s “Vibrations of the Soul” for clarinet and piano, and the Brahms Piano Quartet in G minor features Erin Keefe on violin, Philip Ying viola, David Ying cello, and Dank piano. ECCO and Time for 3 return for the final week. ECCO’s chamber performance includes Mendelssohn’s String Quintet No. 1. Tf3 rocks the audience at Brook Farm, and ECCO’s full orchestral performance concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings.

2015

Who’s in this photo?
Soprano Lisette Oropesa performs at Brook Farm’s A Night at the Met.

This is the debut season for new artistic directors Aaron Wunsch and Julia Bruskin, whose first performance, on opening night, is the Britten Sonata for Cello and Piano. Pianist Orion Weiss joins Wunsch for three Dvořák Slavonic Dances and accompanies Metropolitan Opera soprano Lisette Oropesa on four songs by Bizet.

Oropesa is the soloist in a Night at the Met concert at Brook Farm with Met Opera Orchestra musicians, conducted by Daniel Stewart, in a selection of arias and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, arranged by Klaus Simon. Bruskin’s trio, the Claremont Trio, performs Dohnányi’s Sextet for Piano, Strings and Winds – joined by Anthony McGill, clarinet; Stewart Rose, horn; and Beth Guterman, viola. Roomful of Teeth pairs with the NOW Ensemble for their first performance together, including premieres of Festival-commissioned works by Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw (“Ritornello 2.4”) and Judd Greenstein (“Nothing New”). Musicians from ECCO perform music for two, three, four, five, and six, finishing with Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence.” Clarinetist David Krakauer leads a quartet in new and traditional klezmer music. The Miró Quartet performs Haydn and Beethoven, is joined by Wunsch for Schumann’s Piano Quintet, and performs the Mendelssohn Octet with the Aeolus Quartet. Patrick Zimmerli’s “Aspects of Darkness and Light” has its world premiere, with saxophonist Joshua Redman and string quartet Brooklyn Rider, in the last concert held at Brook Farm.

2016

Who’s in this photo?
The opening of the Robinson Pavilion features Wynton Marsalis and the JLCO.

This season marks the opening of the Festival’s new outdoor venue, the Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s Vineyards. Pianists Aaron Wunsch and Rieko Aizawa play Corigliano’s Gazebo Dances, and Wunsch and the Parker Quartet offer Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A Major.

Aizawa, the Parkers, and Ian Swensen combine for Chausson’s Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet. Conducted by Tito Muñoz, the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra is joined by violinist Sarah Crocker Vonsattel for Dvořák’s Romance in F Minor and pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner in the Glass Concerto No. 2. Hilary Hahn returns for a special Summer Suite performance—with pianist Natalie Zhu and cellist Robert deMaine—for trios by Mendelssohn (No. 2) and Tchaikovsky (in A minor). John Moore is baritone soloist in Fauré’s La Bonne Chanson. Zhu joins Todd Palmer (clarinet) and Jennifer Choi (violin) for Khachaturian’s Trio. An overflow crowd flocks to the first concert in the Robinson Pavilion, featuring trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The Borromeo String Quartet combines with Wunsch and Palmer for Muhly’s Motion and with Julia Bruskin (cello) and Melissa Matson (viola) in Brahms’ String Sextet. Ekmeles sings the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Little Match Girl Passion by David Lang. The Knights, under conductor Eric Jacobsen, perform the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, an evening of tango music, and conclude the season at Robinson Pavilion with Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos (Bruskin and Jacobsen) and Mozart’s Symphony No. 29.

2017

Who’s in this photo?
Students from Booker T. Washington Community Center.

Windsync, the Daedalus Quartet, and bassist Doug Balliett perform Martinů’s Nonet No. 2 for Winds and Strings, and cellist Julia Bruskin joins the Daedalus in Schubert’s Quintet in C Major.

Soprano Katherine Whyte combines with Windsync and the Daedalus in a night of Italian music capped by an arrangement of Musetta’s waltz from Puccini’s La Bohème. Conductor David Zinman returns for the first time since 2004 to lead the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra in a night of Mozart at Robinson Pavilion, with Misha Dichter as soloist in the Piano Concerto in C Major and Symphony No. 38. Daniel Hege conducts a string orchestra, with organ and the Antioch Chamber Ensemble, in Fauré’s Requiem. Elgar’s Sonata for Violin and Piano features Jesse Mills and Aaron Wunsch. Ute Lemper brings a trio to Robinson Pavilion for cabaret classics. Gabriela Lena Frank’s Folk Songs, Beethoven’s Archduke Trio, and Shostakovich’s Piano Trio are on the Claremont Trio’s program, and Bruskin and Wunsch offer Rachmaninoff’s Song for Cello and Piano and Schnittke’s Musica nostalgica. It’s another night of jazz at Robinson Pavilion with piano prodigy Joey Alexander, 14, and his trio. Trumpeter Brandon Ridenour is featured with members of ECCO and Wunsch on piano for Saint-Saëns’ Septet in E-flat Major. Hege returns to end a night of Appalachian music by conducting members of ECCO in Copland’s Appalachian Spring.

2018

Who’s in this photo?
A fun concert outing!

Composer Derek Bermel discusses his new work, Encounter with the Moon, commissioned by the Festival and given its world premiere by Tai Murray, violin; Xavier Foley, bass; and Rebecca Carr, narrator.

Murray and Foley join Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Julia Bruskin, cello; and Aaron Wunsch, piano, for Vaughan Williams’ Piano Quintet. The Danish String Quartet introduces the Festival audience to Nordic folk music, and the Robinson Pavilion concerts begin with jazz from the Joshua Redman Quartet. Guitarist Eliot Fisk brings his wife Zaira Meneses (guitar) and daughter Raquel Fisk (piano) for a family concert; he solos in his arrangement of Bach’s Cello Suite in E-flat Major. The Knights perform their fully staged Bernstein’s Candide at the Robinson Pavilion a week before its performance at Tanglewood. A night of Schubert includes tenor Nicholas Phan and the Piano Trio in B-flat Major with Bruskin, Anthony Marwood (violin), and Inon Barnatan (piano). At the Robinson Pavilion, Barnatan is the soloist in Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto and Marcelo Lehninger conducts the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Steel drummer Andy Akiho performs his composition In/Exchange with the Jupiter String Quartet, who also play two Beethoven string quartets in G, Op. 18, No. 2, and Op. 131. Fiddler Mark O’Connor leads the Mark O’Connor Band, including his wife and son, in the season finale at Robinson Pavilion, an evening of Americana string music.

2019

Who’s in this photo?
KidsFest at the Mandana Barn.

The Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary by commissioning two new pieces. Pianist and multimedia artist Lera Auerbach composed Fractured Dreams, a sonata for violin and piano, for Hilary Hahn, and they premiere the work.

The Skaneateles Festival Orchestra, conducted by David Zinman, performs Pierre Jalbert’s Luminous Flux, his homage to Skaneateles Lake. The Aizuri Quartet offers Caroline Shaw’s Blueprint and Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor, with pianist Aaron Wunsch. Auerbach plays Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and a piano festival concert includes the four pianists who served as artistic directors: Robert Weirich, Diane Walsh, Elinor Freer, and Wunsch. Hahn and vocal artists TENET perform an all-Bach concert conducted by Daniel Hege, with Hahn playing violin concertos in E major and A minor. Stefan Jackiw (violin), David Ying (cello), and Conrad Tao (piano) play Brahms’ Trio in C minor, and former artistic directors Ying and Freer are featured in Piazzolla’s Oblivion and Le Grand Tango. Eight cellists — including Julia Bruskin, Steven Doane, and David Ying — perform Glass’ Symphony for Eight and Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1. The Dorian Wind Quintet’s two nights of performances include Hoiby’s Diversions, Carter’s Wind Quintet, and — with Wunsch and soprano Abigail Fischer — Hoiby’s Bon Appétit! and Edith Piaf’s La vie en rose and Non, je ne regrette rien. Also appearing are banjo players Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

2020

Who’s in this photo?
Beethoven’s 9th with pianists Andy Russo & Aaron Wunsch goes viral during the pandemic.

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, 2020 was a year of reinvention. The pandemic forced the Festival to eliminate all in-person events. The response was four live performances recorded at WCNY for TV broadcast, live streaming, and simulcast on Classic FM.

These included a program titled Alone, Together with Ariana Kim, violin; Julia Bruskin, cello; and Aaron Wunsch, piano. Other concerts featured pianists Andrew Russo, Elinor Freer, and Aaron Wunsch joining cellists David Ying and Julia Bruskin for a program of dance suites; and a bluegrass concert with Mark & Maggie O’Connor from their home in North Carolina. The Season Finale included the Ying Quartet and the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with soloists Amanda Majeski, soprano; Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano; Nicholas Phan, tenor; and Kenneth Overton, baritone. Each singer and a virtual chorus recorded their part independently, then synchronized into a unique, glorious performance. KidsFest with Time for Three and SkanFest U classes were held online via Zoom.

2021

The theme was “Together Again in 2021” and the Festival was delighted to be back with in-person concerts. An abbreviated two-week season was held with reduced seating capacities at all venues and COVID-19 protocols and CDC guidelines for safety in place.

Outdoor concerts by favorites Time for Three and the Festival debut of Grammy Award–winning pianist Bill Charlap and his trio were repeated on Friday and Saturday nights to allow more attendees to enjoy the music. The Dover Quartet opened the season with Beethoven’s String Quartet in C minor, Dvořák’s String Quartet in G Major, and the premiere of composer Caroline Shaw’s work The Evergreen as part of the Festival’s Commissioned Works Series. The second chamber music concert, titled The Voice Within, featured Artistic Directors Julia Bruskin and Aaron Wunsch performing alongside violinist Emily Bruskin in Florence B. Price’s Fantasy for Violin and Piano in G minor and George Walker’s Cello Sonata. The program also featured 18-year-old rising star Avery Gagliano, recent winner of the United States Chopin Piano Competition, performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, arranged for piano and strings. KidsFest featuring Time for Three was held at the Mandana Barn, and SkanFest U classes continued online via Zoom.

2022

Who’s in this photo?
Christian McBride with Inside Straight.

After two seasons of pandemic adjustments, this year marked a return to a traditional four-week Skaneateles Festival season. The Festival also returned to the First Presbyterian Church for Thursday and Friday performances. The theme of 2022 was “Come Experience Brilliance,” with a diverse program ranging from Classical to Jazz to World Music.

2022 began with Beethoven’s String Quartet in G Major, performed by the Miró Quartet. Rhiannon Giddens and the Silk Road Ensemble delivered a mesmerizing World Music performance for the first Saturday at Robinson Pavilion, including original works by ensemble members. Nineteen-year-old pianist Maxim Lando made his Festival debut in week two and closed the week with the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra in Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and Strings. The Knights led week three with three performances and were joined by Grammy-winning violinist Gil Shaham for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, Op. 61. In week four, soprano Karen Slack joined the Catalyst Quartet for the world premiere of Scott Gendel’s Kids Who Die (version for soprano and string quartet). Ending on a high note, eight-time Grammy winner Christian McBride and his quintet Inside Straight closed out the 2022 season at the Robinson Pavilion.

2023

Who’s in this photo?
Broadway star Kelli O’Hara.

“Brilliant Sounds of Summer” was the theme for the 2023 season. This year brought together a mix of beloved favorites and exciting newcomers.

Eliot Fisk started off the season with the first-ever Skaneateles Festival matinee, featuring a program ranging from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major to a selection of Latin American works for guitar. Béla Fleck, Joshua Redman, and ECCO also returned to Skaneateles, while newcomers like soprano Kearstin Piper Brown and Broadway star Kelli O’Hara became instant Festival favorites. Saxophonist and composer Steven Banks served as the Festival’s first official Emerging Artist in Residence, taking part in the Festival’s outreach work as part of the Widen the Circle Initiative, adopted by the board in 2022 to increase diversity and make the Festival more accessible to everyone. Banks performed five free outreach concerts across Syracuse and Auburn, New York, and joined the Parker Quartet in week four to perform his original work Cries, Sighs and Dreams. The Skaneateles Festival–commissioned piece Fortitude, inspired by the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman, received its world premiere, performed by Kearstin Piper Brown to a full house that included descendants of Harriet Tubman in the audience.

2024

Who’s in this photo?
Candlelight concert with the Ivalas Quartet.

This season marks the Festival’s 45th anniversary, which commenced with two celebratory opening concerts at the church. These performances featured favorite local musicians from the Festival’s history, aligning with the year’s theme: “Home. Heart. Harmony.”, which celebrated music and community.

Returning Festival favorites included Wynton Marsalis, Grammy Award winner Rhiannon Giddens, and acclaimed groups such as The Westerlies, The Claremont Trio, and The Dover Quartet. Appearing at the Festival for the first time were award-winning mandolinist Chris Thile and violinist James Ehnes. The season’s outreach initiative, “Searching for Home,” invited performers, composers, and audiences to reflect on the nature of home and the experience of searching for one. It highlighted performers, composers, and musical traditions from among those who have resettled in Central New York—Syrians, Somalians, Afghans, and Ukrainians—through a series of free public performances across Syracuse and Auburn.

This theme continued through the Commissioned Work Series, which featured three new works by two composers. Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh presented Gravitas, while Afghan pianist and conductor Arson Fahim premiered Memories from a Place I’ve Never Been and a new arrangement of the traditional Afghan song En Gham Be Haya.

2025

Robinson Award

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Commissioned Works Series

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“I am asking that all of our supporters invite one person who doesn’t enjoy classical music. Once they’re here, we’ll do the rest. It’s the kind of magic for which the Festival is known.”

Robert Weirich

Music Director 1991 – 1999

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