Celebrate Valentine's Day with pianist Simone Dinnerstein and friends in a program spanning centuries—from the luminous serenity of Arvo Pärt to the Baroque brilliance of Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach—culminating in the radiant sweep of Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet. ❤️🎶

Program:

Arvo Pärt

Da Pacem Domine

Georg Philipp Telemann

Sonata for String Quartet in A Major 

Johann Sebastian Bach

E Major Keyboard Concerto, BWV 1053 

Robert Schumann

Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Opus 44 

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About the artists

Simone Dinnerstein is an American pianist with a distinctive musical voice. The Washington Post has called her “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity.” She first came to wider public attention in 2007 through her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, reflecting an aesthetic that was both deeply rooted in the score and profoundly idiosyncratic. She is, wrote The New York Times, “a unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation.”

Praised for her “beautiful tone and nuanced phrasing” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), violinist Rebecca Fischer is sought after as a highly expressive, intuitive performer. As the first-violinist for 18 years with the Chiara Quartet, she toured, recorded the complete string quartets of Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók and Jefferson Friedman (a Grammy-nominated album), premiered numerous works by composers such as Philip Glass and Gabriela Lena Frank, and held residencies at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Harvard University. Performance highlights with the Chiara Quartet include the complete Bartók quartets by heart at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, several complete Beethoven quartet cycles, and collaborations with such artists as the Juilliard and Saint Lawrence quartets, Roger Tapping, Robert Levin, and the electronic duo Matmos.

Described as an “excellent soloist” of “great virtuosity” (NY Concert Review), delivering “thrilling” performances (Boston Globe), Venezuelan violinist Rubén Rengel is quickly gaining recognition as a remarkably gifted artist. Rubén was the winner of the Robert F. Smith Prize at the 2018 Sphinx Competition, the Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition (2014), recipient of the Sallie Shepherd Perkins Prize (2019) and the Anna Y. Tringas Award (2013), and winner of the Juan Bautista Plaza National Violin Competition of Venezuela (2011).

Award-winning Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak has achieved international acclaim as a trailblazing artist, praised for his radiant stage presence, dynamic interpretations, and fearless power. Critics have described him as “an exciting new voice in Classical performance” (I Care If You Listen), “a powerhouse musician, with a strong voice and compelling sound” (The Whole Note) and lauded his “haunting lyrical grace” (Gramophone). The recipient of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s ‘Alexandra Jupin’ Award and former Young Classical Artist Trust’s (YCAT) ‘Robey Artist,’ Bak was also a prizewinner in the Sphinx, Lionel Tertis, and Concert Artists Guild Competitions, and has received accolades from ClassicFM, MusicalAmerica, and WQXR.

Grammy-nominated cellist Michelle Djokic enjoys a versatile career as chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral player. Michelle’s lifelong passion for chamber music and the collaborative process of rehearsing was her inspiration for the launching of Musikiwest in 2017. Musikiwest harnesses the collaborative power of chamber music to engender empathic awareness, promote conflict resolution, and build peaceable communities. Using scripted “open rehearsals” in a unique and creative format, Musikiwest addresses difficult issues in young people’s lives such as bullying, shaming, and exclusion. The most sought-after performing artists of today gather for this meaningful opportunity to share with adolescents through their incredible artistry and generosity of spirit. Hundreds of lives continue to be impacted by this powerful experience.

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Press

“Dinnerstein is an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity. These attributes, combined with elegance and grace, lend her music-making its captivating beauty.”  (The Washington Post) 

"lean, knowing, and unpretentious elegance."  (The New Yorker)

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Media