The Festival Amadeus Orchestra plays several concerts Aug. 2-9.
Montana’s largest classical music festival runs Aug. 2-9 in Whitefish and Bigfork. Festival Amadeus includes a diverse repertoire, ranging from a classical guitar duo and a world-renowned string quartet to a saxophonist and a piano duet. Glacier Symphony and Chorale produces the festival under the baton of music director John Zoltek.
The festival kicks off on Sunday, Aug. 2 at 5 p.m. with a free family-friendly picnic featuring outdoor music at Riverside Park in Whitefish. Bring a picnic or buy food on-site and enjoy music by the Fry Street Quartet under the gazebo.
In addition to the seven consecutive concerts in Whitefish, three alternating chamber concerts will be held in Bigfork, providing easy access to the festival for residents of southern Flathead County. The full schedule is listed below.
Returning for its third season with the festival is the internationally acclaimed Fry Street Quartet, known for its blend of technical precision and spontaneity. The foursome performs in two chamber concerts, as well as with the Festival Amadeus String Orchestra.
Also returning this season is up-and-coming concert saxophonist Ashu, who performed with the festival in 2011. Ashu’s solo performances have taken him all over the world, introducing people to the rare sound of a saxophone in concert music. “It’s really an incredible instrument. It can play with such emotional intensity, sing like a voice, and effortlessly project in the largest of halls,” he says.
Two former Festival Amadeus favorites, pianists Andrew Staupe and Spencer Myer, perform in two monumental duet orchestra works: the Bach Concerto for Two Pianos and Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos. The artists will also play individually with other musicians in chamber concerts.
New to Festival Amadeus this year is the dynamic Brasil Guitar Duo. Joao Luiz and Douglas Lora met in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as teenage guitar students, and have been performing together for more than 15 years. Their seamless blend of traditional and Brazilian works has resulted in a global touring schedule and international acclaim.
Completing the roster is Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik, whose dazzling command of the violin is said to be reminiscent of the legendary Romantic masters. Kutik debuted with the Boston Pops in 2003 as the First Prize recipient of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. Kutik performs throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Whitefish concerts will be held at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center starting at 7:30 p.m. Bigfork concerts will be held at Saint John Paul II Catholic Church at 7:30 p.m. For complete concert information, or to buy tickets and ticket packages, visit the website www.gscmusic.org or call 406-407-7000.
Whitefish Concerts:
- Monday, Aug. 3, Chamber Night 1: Brasil Guitar Duo in a cross-cultural program of music for two guitars by Rameua, Tedesco, Leo Brower, David Leisner and others
- Tuesday, Aug. 4, Chamber Night 2: Fry Street Quartet with Andrew Staupe on piano in music by Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven
- Wednesday, Aug. 5, Orchestra Night 1: “Sax, Guitars and Orchestra! Diversity,” featuring the Festival Amadeus Orchestra and Ashu in Piazzola’s Two Tangos and the Brasil Guitar Duo in
Acclaimed Fry Street Quartet launches Festival Amadeus with a free concert Bellenati’s Concerto for Two Guitars and Orchestra
- Thursday, Aug. 6, Chamber Night 3: Saxophonist Ashu, violinist Yevgeny Kutik, and pianist Spencer Myer in a mesmerizing night of violin/piano and sax/piano duets by a range of composers, from Mozart to Rachmaninoff to Ravel
- Friday, Aug. 7, String Orchestra Night: Festival Amadeus Orchestra with the Fry Street Quartet String in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C
- Saturday, Aug. 8, Orchestra Night 2: “Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart,” featuring violinist Kutik in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E, the Magic Flute Overture by Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5
- Sunday, Aug. 9, Orchestra Night 3: “Jupiter Double Trouble!” featuring Staupe and Myer in piano concertos by Mozart and Bach, leading to Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony No. 41
Bigfork Chamber Concerts:
- Tuesday, Aug. 4, Chamber Night 1: Violin/piano and sax/piano duets, with saxophonist Ashu, violinist Yevgeny Kutik, and pianist Spencer Myer
- Wednesday, Aug. 5, Chamber Night 2: Fry Street Quartet with Andrew Staupe on piano
- Thursday, Aug. 6, Chamber Night 3: Brasil Guitar Duo in recital