This summer, the sounds of chamber music will fill barrel rooms and wine caves up and down the Napa Valley as Music in the Vineyards (MITV) presents its 25th Anniversary festival, running July 31 – August 25. Known for its twilight concerts in atmospheric venues with wine tasting at intermission, the festival is now harvesting the fruits of its labor and has become renowned not just for its beautiful wine country setting, but also for the caliber of its performers, the quality of music it produces, and the relationships it fosters between artists and audience.
Program notes at Markham Vineyards: Pacifica Quartet
Returning for their 14th season at Music in the Vineyards, the Pacifica Quartet present two works from our 25 for 25 list. Shostakovich’s 15 quartets are a fascinating chronicle of his lifetime development and his 2nd Quartet comes at the halfway point of his life. Beethoven’s 16 quartets offer a similar insight into his psyche. His Quartet op. 59 no. 3 —nicknamed Hero— reflects its theme of triumph over adversity.
Program
6:30pm: The Inside Story with Michael Adams.
Beethoven and the Heroic Ideals of his Time.
7:30pm
Turina: The Bullfighter’s Prayer
Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 2 ㉕
Beethoven: String Quartet op. 59, no. 3, Hero ㉕
Musicians
Pacifica Quartet
Violin: Simin Ganatra, Austin Hartman
Viola: Mark Holloway
Cello: Brandon Vamos