Music Mountain summer festival continues July 1-2

FALLS VILLAGE » Music Mountain continues its 88th season on Saturday, July 1 with a concert by Swingtime Big Band, followed on Sunday with Piano 4 Hands, featuring pianist Peter Serkin with Anna Polonsky performing Piano 4 Hands.

For their 10th visit to Music Mountain, Swingtime Big Band will spotlight Broadway as the wellspring of the Great American Songbook! The evening will also celebrate the 100th Birthdays of legendary artists Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Dizzy Gillespie and Buddy Rich. Swingtime Big Band is a 20-piece authentic swing band comprised of master interpreters of music from the Swing Era. Led by saxophonist and artistic director Steve Shaiman, the band features vocalists Bobbie Ruth and Jerry Costanzo. The band is committed to keep this important music alive by performing as often as possible for audiences of all ages. Keeping with longstanding tradition, the Saturday Twilight Series features pre-concert dinners at the Falls Village Inn. Experience a piece of history in this 175-year-old Inn before dancing to the biggest swing hits of the 1930s – 1950s!

Sunday’s concert will feature Serkin and Polonsky’s Piano 4 Hands. The special program will feature Bach: Chorale prelude ‘Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein’ in G Major, BWV 641; Beethoven: 3 Marches, Op. 45; Brahms: Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52a; Schubert: Allegro in A Minor (“Lebensstürme”), D. 947; Schubert: Andantino varié in B Minor, D. 823; and Schubert: Rondo in A Major, D. 951.

Recognized as an artist of passion and integrity, Serkin is one of the most thoughtful and individualistic musicians appearing before the public today. Throughout his career he has successfully conveyed the essence of five centuries of repertoire and his performances with symphony orchestras, recital appearances, chamber music collaborations and recordings are respected worldwide.

Serkin has performed with the world’s major symphony orchestras with eminent conductors and has been instrumental in bringing the music of Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Stravinsky, and Wolpe, among others, to audiences around the world. His numerous recordings have garnered Serkin multiple Grammy Award Nominations and other prestigious accolades. Serkin teaches at Bard College Conservatory of Music and the Longy School of Music.

Polonsky is widely in demand as a soloist and chamber musician. She has appeared with the Moscow Virtuosi, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and many others. Ms. Polonsky has collaborated with the Guarneri, Orion, Daedalus, and Shanghai Quartets, and with such musicians as Mitsuko Uchida, YoYo Ma, David Shifrin, and Richard Goode, among others. She has performed chamber music at festivals, given concerts in Vienna, Amsterdam, and New York, and has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. A graduate of Juilliard, Polonsky received her Bachelor of Music diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Serkin.

Music Mountain is located in Falls Village on Music Mountain Road, where a short scenic drive will bring you to Gordon Hall atop Music Mountain. Free parking and picnic facilities are available. Music Mountain is supported, in part, by the Connecticut Commission On Culture & Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts. Saturday evening pre-concert dinner at the intimate Falls Village Inn at 5 p.m. is $70. Ticket includes dinner and the concert. Seating is limited; reservations must be made 24 hours prior to the concert.

For a complete summer schedule, special ticket prices, and to download a ticket order form, visit w w w.musicmountain.org or call 860-824-7126.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER SERKIN Pianist Peter Serkin will perform “Piano 4 Hands” with Anna Polonsky on Sunday afternoon at Music Mountain.