Summer Nights of Wine and Song

Wine and music have always been a natural pairing, so why not take it to its logical conclusion and have live music performed at wineries? Of course, Music in the Vineyards, the Napa Valley–based summer chamber music festival, isn’t the only event with such a setting for classical music fans. Yet there’s no denying that the combination of an interesting mix of artists and repertoire, together with the warm and friendly atmosphere, makes attending a concert at this three-week event a great choice for an August evening.

In this 17th season, the founders and artistic directors, Michael and Daria Adams, have brought back some familiar faces, including the always-popular Pacifica Quartet. They’ve also enticed some new names to the festival, such as tenor Thomas Cooley, cellist Robert DeMaine, and French horn player Richard Todd. Another addition is the 2010 winner of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, violinist Francesca dePasquale.

Last year, of the festival Michael Adams noted: "We've learned a lot of lessons from seeing how other festivals operate. Bigger is not better. 'Brown and serve' musicmaking tends to be the norm at most festivals, where there isn't enough time for rehearsals. So we avoid that assiduously. We are a relaxed environment where musicians come to get recharged, and we remind ourselves of why we're musicians." The festival is built around a group of musicians from a variety of specialties, and who rehearse intensively and perform almost all of the weekend concerts. "The three different worlds of the music profession collide, and it's amazing how much we get from that interchange."

Michael Adams is also excited about the upcoming first appearance of the Borromeo String Quartet, which will open the season, and not just because of its members’ musical genius. “I will get to see their first violinist, Nick Kitchen, for the first time since we were both students in 1981! We were at Yale’s summer music school together, playing quartets and learning the ropes.”

The variety of composers to be heard throughout the festival’s span is also notable. The featured composers run the gamut from Bach and Mozart to Fauré, Brewbaker, Dohnányi, and Britten. Adams notes that “While we are always excited to play the great standards, like Shubert’s “Trout” quintet, Dvořák’s piano quintet, and the Brahms horn trio, we encourage our audience to check out some of the great pieces they might not have heard before, like George Crumb’s Voice of the Whale inspired by the haunting songs of the great humpbacks.” It’s also not often that you’ll get to hear the “early” Beethoven’s British Folk Songs or his “Storm” quintet for strings.

If that’s not enough to entice you, consider the venues themselves. You’re in the heart of Napa Valley, with concerts at Beringer Vineyards, Clos Pegase, Frog’s Leap Winery, Markham Vineyards, Merryvale Vineyards, Robert Mondavi Winery, Regusci Winery, the Rubicon Estate, and Silverado Vineyards. They’re all classic Northern California settings that make a perfect pairing for the classical music that will be decanted there. (Note: Some events are already sold out.)