CHICAGO — The University of Chicago Presents ( UCP ) Executive Director Amy Iwano today announced the 2016/17 season for the University's professional music presenting organization. Running from October 14, 2016 through May 19, 2017, with 22 concerts featuring artists familiar and new, UCP's 73rd season offers a diverse array of performances in classical, early, contemporary, and jazz music. Additional related events including pre-concert lectures, a film screening, jazz listening sessions, and a book group discussion enhance the series.
Expression takes form in both words and music in concerts throughout the season: Freddy Cole and René Marie open the Jazz at the Logan series in a collaboration titled He Said / She Said. The genre-defying vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth explores issues of race with words of black writers and poets in white composer Ted Hearne's Coloring Book. Sandrine Piau sings French and German songs in her Chicago recital debut. Salman Rushdie reads from his novel, The Enchantress of Florence, to music written for the esteemed American String Quartet, who will play an accompanying new work by composer Paul Cantelon, best known for his film work, including scores to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Immigrant. The stellar British ensemble Stile Antico sings texts set by exiled Catholic composers in the Elizabethan period. Sequentia presents Monks Singing Pagans, a program of medieval monastic songs based on non-Christian "pagan" Roman writers such as Homer and Horace. Contempo concerts offer Eight Songs for a Mad King by Peter Maxwell Davies and Sofia Gubaidulina's Songs of the Gallows.
A number of performances this season honor the legacies of influential artists, composers and writers: the Cleveland-based early music ensemble Apollo's Fire pays tribute to J.S. Bach and his contemporaries with its Bach's Coffeehouse program; Contempo highlights experimental composer Mauricio Kagel in a program melding the theatrical and the musical; and Imani Winds participate in citywide celebrations surrounding poet Gwendolyn Brooks' 100th birthday. Living jazz legend Fred Hersch's story is told through a screening of The Ballad of Fred Hersch, a new documentary about his musical journey and life as an AIDS survivor.
BY SERIES
The Classic Concert series will kick off with a performance by the Danish String Quartet, who opened UCP's 2014/15 season to great acclaim. Violinist Isabelle Faust and pianist Alexander Melnikov will make their long-awaited Chicago recital debut in an all-Beethoven program, as will soprano Sandrine Piau, who will depart her usual Baroque fare for a recital of Romantic songs. In the spring, rising solo pianist Benjamin Hochman plays variations by Janacek, Beethoven, Bartok, and Frederic Rzewski. The Classic Concert Series also features performances by Don Michael Randel Ensembles in Residence old and new: a concert by the Imani Winds — including their Chicago debut in January — and an appearance by the beloved Pacifica Quartet in April, closing the series.
This season, the Howard Mayer Brown International Early Music Series emphasizes ensembles, inviting Cleveland-based Baroque orchestra Apollo's Fire, led by Jeannette Sorrell, and vocal ensemble Stile Antico to the University of Chicago campus. Medieval ensemble Sequentia, directed by Benjamin Bagby, who delivered his acclaimed one-man-show Beowulf last season, brings their new Monks Singing Pagans program — another installment in The Lost Songs Project. Virtuoso lutenists Paul O'Dette and Ronn McFarlane also take the UCP stage in a program entitled Two Lutes: Virtuoso Duets from Italy and England.
Contempo begins its 52nd season and second season under artistic director and composer Marta Ptaszyà … �ska. This season marks a departure from previous seasons in that a range of new music ensembles will participate in Contempo concerts, including the Chicago-based Ensemble dal Niente, International Contemporary Ensemble ( ICE ), Spektral Quartet, and Kontras Quartet. Scheduled are an instrumental theater concert featuring a work by composer Mauricio Kagel, who developed the genre; a program of music by leading international women composers; and a work for 100 percussionists produced in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The season concludes with Tomorrow's Music Today, featuring works by UChicago doctoral candidates in composition.
In its fourth year, Jazz at the Logan presents its most star-studded season yet. The season opens with collaboration between vocalists Freddy Cole and René Marie, followed by the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet later that fall, and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington in January. Jazz pianists Fred Hersch and Vijay Iyer also touch down in Chicago alongside their bands. The series is supported by a grant from the Reva and David Logan Foundation and the Julie and Parker Hall Endowment for Jazz and American Popular Music at the University of Chicago.
UCP's Music Across Genres series includes some of the 2016/17 season's most intriguing concerts. The American String Quartet's concert with Salman Rushdie is included as part of the series, which continues with a performance by the electrifying contemporary vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth and concludes with a commemorative program by the Imani Winds as part of Chicago's Gwendolyn Brooks centennial.
FULL CONCERT SCHEDULE by date
Friday, October 14 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
Apollo's Fire
Friday, October 21 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Freddy Cole and René Marie
Friday, October 28 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
Danish String Quartet
Friday, November 4 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Paquito D'Rivera Quintet
Friday, November 11 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov
Friday, December 2 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Contempo: Interplay
Sunday, January 8 / 3:00 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Paul O'Dette and Ronn McFarlane
Friday, January 20 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
Imani Winds
Thursday, January 26 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Terri Lyne Carrington
Friday, February 10 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Fred Hersch Trio
Friday, February 17 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
Sandrine Piau and Susan Manoff
Friday, February 24 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
American String Quartet with Salman Rushdie
Friday, March 3 / 7:30 PM / Rockefeller Chapel
Stile Antico
Sunday, April 2 / 3:00 PM / Logan Center
Roomful of Teeth
Friday, April 7 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
Benjamin Hochman
Sunday, April 9 / 3:00 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Contempo: Five from afar
Friday, April 21 / 7:30 PM / Mandel Hall
Pacifica Quartet
Sunday, April 23 / 3:00 PM / Museum of Contemporary Art
Contempo: Whisper( s )
Friday, April 28 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Sequentia
Wednesday, May 3 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Imani Winds
Friday, May 5 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Contempo: Tomorrow's Music Today
Friday, May 19 / 7:30 PM / Logan Center for the Arts
Vijay Iyer Sextet
FULL CONCERT SCHEDULE by series
* = Chicago recital debut
** = Chicago debut
CLASSIC CONCERT SERIES
Since 1943, this renowned series has brought diverse ensembles and composers to the University of Chicago campus. The 2016/17 is no exception, presenting six well-selected and diverse programs on the Mandel Hall stage.
FRIDAY / OCTOBER 28 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
Danish String Quartet with Torlief Thedeen, cello
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144
Schubert: String Quintet in C Major, D. 956
The remarkable Danish Quartet opens the Classic Concert Series with Shostakovich's introspective and moving last quartet and the great Schubert cello quintet with Swedish cellist Torlief Thedeen.
FRIDAY / NOVEMBER 11 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
Isabelle Faust, violin*
Alexander Melnikov, piano*
Beethoven: Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23
Beethoven: Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24, "Spring Sonata"
Beethoven: Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96
Beethoven's violin and piano sonatas are among the most important works for violinists. They are performed by the stellar European duo who earned a Grammy nomination for their recording of the complete set.
FRIDAY / JANUARY 20 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
Imani Winds**
Don Michael Randel Ensemble in Residence
Considered Modern
Jeff Scott: Startin' Sumthin'
Elliott Carter: Quintet for Winds
Valerie Coleman: Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon
Ruth Crawford Seeger: Suite for Wind Quintet
Paquito D'Rivera: Kites over Havana
Simon Shaheen/Scott: Dance Mediterranea
The pre-eminent wind quintet and newly-appointed UChicago resident ensemble makes its Chicago concert debut. The program showcases the Grammy-nominated group's dynamic playing and cross-cultural artistry with works by modernist composers who have impacted the music of our time, plus works of the quintet's own composer-instrumentalist members.
FRIDAY / FEBRUARY 17 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
Sandrine Piau, soprano*
Susan Manoff, piano
Chimères
songs of Liszt, Debussy, Schubert, and Wolf
The French soprano, best known for her work in Baroque opera, offers a program of French and German songs alongside pianist Susan Manoff.
FRIDAY / APRIL 7 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
Benjamin Hochman, piano
Bartok: Improvisations on Hungarian Folk Tunes
Janacek: Sonata 1.X.1905
Beethoven: Eroica Variations
Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Frederic Rzewski's variations on a Chilean song has become a contemporary classic for pianists. Here they are performed by the young Israeli pianist widely acclaimed for intriguing programs and deeply satisfying performances.
FRIDAY / APRIL 21 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
Pacifica Quartet
Mozart: Quartet in D minor, K. 421
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73
Beethoven: Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3
Internationally recognized as a gold standard among string quartets, the Pacifica Quartet returns to UChicago to close this season's Classic Concert Series.
HOWARD MAYER BROWN INTERNATIONAL EARLY MUSIC SERIES
Founded in 1981, this concert series spans from Medieval and Renaissance to Baroque and features artists dedicated to historically researched, informed programming, and original instrument practices.
FRIDAY / OCTOBER 14 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
Apollo's Fire**
Bach's Coffeehouse
Telemann: Don Quixote Suite ( selections )
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
Handel: Chaconne from Terpsichore
Vivaldi/arr. Sorrell: La Folia ( Madness )
Under the direction of the fiery director Jeannette Sorrell, Apollo's Fire has performed to packed houses across Europe and the U.S. With this program, they bring to life music by J. S. Bach and friends that patrons may have heard in the lively Café Zimmermann of 18th century Leipzig.
SUNDAY / JANUARY 8 / 3:00 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Paul O'Dette and Ronn McFarlane, lutes
Two Lutes: Virtuoso Duets from Italy and England
Two all-star veterans of the lute, an instrument once popular in aristocratic circles of Elizabethan society, show off the virtuosity of English and Italian composers of the time.
FRIDAY / MARCH 3 / 3:00 PM / ROCKEFELLER MEMORIAL CHAPEL
Stile Antico**
In a Strange Land: Elizabethan Composers in Exile
Music by Peter Philips, Richard Dering, John Dowland, and William Byrd
The vibrant British vocal ensemble presents emotionally-charged music of Catholic composers who, dispirited with Queen Elizabeth's increasingly harsh measures for supporters of the old religion, sought refuge in other lands.
FRIDAY / APRIL 28 / 7:30 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Sequentia
Monks Singing Pagans: Medieval songs of heroes, gods and strong women
When thinking about the musical life of Medieval monks, Gregorian chant comes to mind. But this program reveals other music the monks were singing that was far from Christian, as they incorporated writings of Roman authors and thinkers, such as Homer and Horace, and the deeply moving poems of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy.
CONTEMPO
In its 52nd season, Contempo curates the bold visions of today's most innovative composers. Under artistic director Marta Ptaszyà … �ska, the contemporary music collective presents an instrumental theater concert, music of women composers, and the U.S. premiere of a work for 100 percussionists.
FRIDAY / DECEMBER 2 / 7:30 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Interplay
Mauricio Kagel: Sur Scène
Karlheinz Stockhausen: "Harmonien" from Klang
Peter Maxwell Davies: Eight Songs for a Mad King
John Cage: Living Room Music
Mauricio Kagel was at the forefront of developing the theatrical side of music performance from the late 1950s. The venerated International Contemporary Ensemble ( ICE ) performs this concert that showcases instrumental theater works by Kagel and others.
SUNDAY / APRIL 9 / 3:00 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Five from afar
Grazyna Bacewicz: Piano Quintet
Chaya Czernowin: String Quartet
Sofia Gubaidulina: Songs of the Gallows
Isabel Mundry: Sandschleifen
Kaija Saariaho: Aer
Contempo presents five recent works by leading international women composers, with contemporary music interpreters Ensemble Dal Niente, mezzo-soprano Kayleigh Butcher, Kontras Quartet, and pianist Pawel Checinski.
SUNDAY / APRIL 23 / 3:00 PM / MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Contempo and MCA Chicago present
Whisper( s )
A solo performance by Matthew Duvall and 99 guest artists
Curated by and featuring Matthew Duvall in a rare solo appearance, this event is an extraordinary collaborative production between Contempo and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, presented in tandem with the MCA exhibit Merce Cunningham: Common Time, which explores the legendary choreographer's dynamic collaborations with leading composers, visual artists, and designers.
FRIDAY / MAY 5 / 7:30 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Tomorrow's Music Today
Spektral Quartet and guests perform music by some of today's finest young composers — UChicago doctoral candidates in composition.
JAZZ AT THE LOGAN
World-class jazz artists bring the spectrum of contemporary jazz — with its myriad influences from the past up to the now — to the Logan Center concert stage.
FRIDAY / OCTOBER 21 / 7:30 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Freddy Cole and René Marie
He Said / She Said
In the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong as well as Betty Carter and Ray Charles, this duo of celebrated singers offers their interpretation of favorites songs and hidden gems.
FRIDAY / NOVEMBER 4 / 7:30 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Paquito D'Rivera Quintet
Jazz Meets the Classics
The universally-loved clarinetist and saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera plays his intriguing blend of jazz, classical, and Afro-Latin influences in this program that garnered his 14th Grammy Award and 2015 Best Latin Jazz album.
THURSDAY / JANUARY 26 / 7:30 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Terri Lyne Carrington
with Gerald Clayton, piano; Zach Brown, bass; Lizz Wright, vocals; Matt Stevens, guitar
Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue
Carrington made history as the first woman to win a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album with her homage to the famous 1963 record ( Money Jungle ) made by Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach.
FRIDAY / FEBRUARY 10 / 7:30 PM/ LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Fred Hersch Trio
PLUS: Screening of The Ballad of Fred Hersch on Thursday, February 9
The elegant and ever-inventive pianist/composer showcases his latest works, coupled with a screening of the 2016 documentary about Hersch's life and music.
FRIDAY / MAY 19 / 7:30 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Vijay Iyer Sextet
The boundlessly creative pianist performs works from his new album. As The New York Times observes, "There's probably no frame wide enough to encompass the creative output of the pianist Vijay Iyer."
MUSIC ACROSS GENRES
For decades, the University of Chicago Presents has showcased diverse ensembles and composers from the venerable Classical period to the best in new music. This series invites exploration of a variety of music within a series, with each program providing its own unique stamp on exceptional artistry.
FRIDAY / FEBRUARY 24 / 7:30 PM / MANDEL HALL
American String Quartet with Salman Rushdie
PLUS: Book group discussion of The Enchantress of Florence with Associate Professor of English Srikanth "Chicu" Reddy on Wednesday, February 22
Paul Cantelon: Enchantress ( commission, Midwest premiere )
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 with Grosse Fuge ( Op. 133 )
The venerable American String Quartet premieres a new work by Paul Cantelon based on Salman Rushdie's 2008 novel, The Enchantress of Florence, with the author reading excerpts amidst the music. In the second half of the program, the Quartet presents one of Beethoven's late quartets, as introduced by Rushdie.
SUNDAY / APRIL 2 / 3:00 PM / LOGAN CENTER
Roomful of Teeth**
Program to include:
Ted Hearne: Coloring Book ( Midwest premiere )
Roomful of Teeth ( "hypnotic and intensely moving" — cpr.org ) is a Grammy-winning vocal project dedicated to mining the expressive potential of the human voice. Their Chicago debut program is built around a white composer's setting of texts by Zora Neale Hurston, Claudia Rankine, and James Baldwin, which reflect on their blackness.
WEDNESDAY / MAY 3 / 7:30 PM / LOGAN CENTER / PERFORMANCE HALL
Imani Winds**
Don Michael Randel Ensemble in Residence
Gwendolyn Brooks Centenary Celebration
"When I start writing a poem, I don't think about models or about what anybody else in the world has done." - Gwendolyn Brooks
The Imani Winds join citywide celebrations paying tribute to Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks' centenary with a concert honoring artists who forge their own unique paths. The program includes works by Wayne Shorter and Jason Moran written for the Imani Winds, plus music by two of the Imani members and world premieres of three works written for the occasion.
TICKETS
Subscription series, starting as low as $47 for four concerts, will be available across five different series, offering patrons significant savings: 25% off single ticket prices. A full-season pass to all 22 concerts is available at a 30% savings. UChicago Presents extends University and staff discounts, first time subscriber discounts, youth tickets, Under 35 season passes, and the opportunity to create your own series with a Pick 4- or Pick 6-concert flexible series option.
Ticket information and an order form are available online beginning April 1, 2016 at chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/tickets/subscription. First time subscribers may order online at
ticketsweb.uchicago.edu/subscriptions.
Patrons may also call 773.702.ARTS ( 773.702.2787 ) or visit the UChicago Arts Box Office at Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th Street, Tues—Sat, 12—6pm.
Single tickets go on sale Monday, August 22, 2016.
CONCERT VENUES
This season, the University of Chicago Presents holds concerts at the following locations:
Mandel Hall: 1131 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts: 915 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel: 5850 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: 220 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESENTS
Established in 1943, The University of Chicago Presents series brings extraordinary artists from around the world to Chicago. Artists engage with audiences, scholars, and students in dynamic live performances, educational and enrichment experiences, and community engagement activities through a diverse mix of chamber music and recitals, early, contemporary, jazz, and world music, including artist residencies, commissions and premieres.
