By James Carder

Reflection and Celebration is the theme of this year’s Chamber Music Festival – six concerts performed by world-class musicians at the Ebenezer Theater in historic Easton, Maryland. Back for this celebration and as a reflection of the Festival’s past four decades are musicians long-associated with the Festival – Catherine Cho, current Artistic Director, Robert McDonald, Peggy Pearson, Daniel and Todd Phillips, Tara Helen O’Connor, Carmit Zori, and especially two of its founding members, J. Lawrie Bloom and Artistic Director, Marcy Rosen. These players will perform some of their and the audience’s favorite repertoire, combining forces in partnerships well-established over the years. As always, the Festival will also showcase a distinguished guest string quartet as well as superb younger musicians who are well on their way to becoming outstanding performers on the world’s stages. And, as always, there will be entertaining surprises along the way.

Week Two of the Festival will feature the iconic Juilliard String Quartet – Areta Zhulla, Ronald Copes, Molly Carr, and Astrid Schween. They will perform Bedřich Smetana’s highly autobiographical and moving String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor “From My Life” (June 12). They will also perform Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, complete with its original last movement, the Grosse Fuge.  Preceding the Beethoven, they play Jörg Widmann’s String Quartet No. 8 “Study on Beethoven III,” where the second movement is a set of variations based on the fourth movement of the Beethoven string quartet (both on June 13).

Newcomers to the Festival are 28-year-old violist Zhanbo Zheng, 28-year-old pianist Albert Cano Smit, and 26-year-old pianist Evren Ozel. All three are major first-prize winners in their fields and acclaimed soloists with major orchestras worldwide. All three will join forces with the Festival’s veteran musicians in varied repertoire, including works by Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Dvořák, and Fauré. Of special note, Smit will partner with Chesapeake Music favorite, cellist Sterling Elliott, playing American composer Amy Beach’s sublime Dreaming for Violoncello & Piano (June 6), and Ozel will join flutist Tara Helen O’Connor for Mel Bonis’ beautiful and spirited Sonata in C-sharp Minor for Flute and Piano (June 14). Smit will also perform solo, playing two charming works by Cécile Chaminade: Étude de concert, “Automne” and Pièce humoristique, “Autrefois” (June 7).

The Festival will offer a generous mix of standard repertoire favorites and lesser-known gems. Favorites include Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A Major (June 8) and his Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, (June 13); Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 5 in A Major (June 7); Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major (June 6); Dvořák’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major (June 7); Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor (June 8), and his String Quintet No. 1 in A Major (June 12). Among the exciting lesser-known works are Luigi Boccherini’s Quintet in D Minor in an arrangement by oboist Peggy Pearson (June 6); Robert Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen (“Fairy Tales”): Four Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (June 6); Louise Farrenc’s Trio in E Minor for Flute, Cello and Piano (June 12); Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (“Transfigured Night”) (June 14), and Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor (June 14).

For more information on Chesapeake Music’s 40th Chamber Music Festival and to purchase tickets, visit ChesapeakeMusic.org.