Our board has been carefully monitoring COVID-19 to determine when it is possible to hold our 83rd Season safely. After discussions with our 20/21 artists (Emerson String Quartet and Eighth Blackbird) and the University of Louisville, we have come to the conclusion that we will be postponing our 83rd Season from 20/21 to next year, 21/22. While we will miss our world class, live chamber music concerts this year, our patrons’ safety and experience comes first. These artists are working with us now on rescheduled dates and they are looking forward to playing for us in 21/22.
If you have already purchased your tickets for any or all concerts for the 20/21 Season, they are automatically transferred to the 21/22 Postponed Season. Refunds can be issued by request only. You also have the option to convert your purchased tickets to a donation by request. Your patronage and support is vital to the continued success of the series.
Regarding activities outside of our main series, the Macauley Chamber Music Competition is also postponed although we are discussing possible outreach events TBD. If you would still like to attend in-person chamber music performances this season, we would encourage you to support the other wonderful chamber music organizations in our city: Atonal, Bourbon Baroque, Ceruti Chamber Players, Louisville Orchestra Musicians Association, Orchestra Enigmatic, and NouLou Chamber Players.
BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL – EMERSON STRING QUARTET
The year 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth on December 16, 1770. We are celebrating this milestone with a year-long Beethoven Festival, the centerpiece of which is the Emerson String Quartet’s performance of all sixteen Beethoven String Quartets over six concerts from February 2020 through November 2021. This festival is dedicated in loving memory of Ben Franklin.
For more information, please visit our Beethoven Festival page!
The Emerson String Quartet has been one of the world’s premier chamber music ensembles for more than 40 years. Its DG recording of the Beethoven quartet cycle has earned acclaim for being “technically flawless” and giving 19/20 the impression of being “forged in white heat.”
Fall 2021 Concerts — New dates to be announced soon!
Concert 4 Repertoire
BEETHOVEN: Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 74 “Harp”
BEETHOVEN: Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 “Serioso”
BEETHOVEN: Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 127
Concert 5 Repertoire
BEETHOVEN: Quartet in A minor, Op. 132
BEETHOVEN: Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130
BEETHOVEN: Große Fuge in B-flat major, Op. 133
Concert 6 Repertoire
BEETHOVEN: Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131
BEETHOVEN: Quartet in F major, Op. 135
BEETHOVEN: Alternate Finale to Op. 130
Also in our 2021/22 Season — New date to be announced soon!
EIGHTH BLACKBIRD
Eighth Blackbird, hailed as “one of the smartest, most dynamic ensembles on the planet” (Chicago Tribune), began in 1996 as a group of six entrepreneurial Oberlin Conservatory students and continues today under the leadership of founding members Lisa Kaplan (executive director) and Matthew Duvall (artistic director). Eighth Blackbird has won four Grammy Awards for Best Small Ensemble/Chamber Music Performance over its 23-year history and has become “a brand-name defined by adventure, vibrancy and quality” (Detroit Free Press).
THE MACAULEY COMPETITION
The 2021 competition has been postponed. Please join us in March 2022!
Every March the Macauley Chamber Music Competition is organized and sponsored by the Chamber Music Society of Louisville to cultivate young musicians’ interest in performing and appreciating chamber music. The competition is always open for public viewing.
Copyright The Chamber Music Society of Louisville
