PORT TOWNSEND — Olympic Music Festival will present two concerts this weekend at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden.
Olympic Music Festival will welcome the return of violinist/violist Yura Lee, violinist and Montreal Symphony concertmaster Andrew Wan, cellist Matthew Zalkind, pianist Robert McDonald, and pianist and OMF Artistic Director Julio Elizalde in collaboration for two chamber music performances: Russian Tributes on Saturday and Secret Love on Sunday.
Concerts begin at 2 p.m. each day. Gate sales open at 1 p.m. depending on ticket availability and seating begins at 1:30 p.m., at the theater at 200 Battery Way.
Tickets range from $20 to $40. Children 7 to 12 will be admitted free but seats must be reserved. Tickets are on sale at www.olympic musicfestival.org and by phone through Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006.
Elizalde has selected programming to showcase the talents of each artist in residence. He expects to share insights into each performance with the audience between pieces, and at the end of each concert with the increasingly popular post-concert question and answer with the artists.
Saturday’s concert, Russian Tributes, will feature works by Medtner, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky in a program exploring musical composition as a means of accepting tragedy.
Saturday’s program will include Medtner’s Sonata-Reminiscenza in A minor, Op. 38 No. 1; Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80; and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50.
Medtner, whom Rachmaninoff considered to be the greatest composer of his time, wrote his Sonata-Reminiscenza after being forced to leave his home in the wake of the Russian revolution in 1917.
Sunday’s Secret Love will feature works by Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann and Brahms.
The Secret Love performance Sunday is slated to include Brahms’ Clarinet (Viola) Trio in A minor, Op. 114; Clara Schumann’s Mazurka in G major, Op. 6 No. 5; Robert Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6; and Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60.
Elizalde is a multifaceted artist who enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, artistic administrator, educator and curator, organizers said.
He has performed in many of the major music centers throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America to popular and critical acclaim.
Since 2014, he has served as the artistic director of the Olympic Music Festival.
McDonald has played extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South America.
He has appeared with major orchestras in the U.S. and Latin America, and was the recital partner for many years to Isaac Stern, as well as other celebrated instrumentalists.
McDonald also has performed with the Takács, Vermeer, Juilliard, Brentano, Borromeo, American and Shanghai string quartets, and in tours with Music from Marlboro.
Wan was named concertmaster of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in 2008.
Wan graduated from the Juilliard School with three degrees and is currently assistant professor of violin at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, artistic director of the OSM Chamber Soloists, artistic partner of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for the 2017-18 season and artistic director of the Prince Edward County Chamber Music Festival.
Lee is a multifaceted artist who has earned a reputation as one of very few soloists and chamber musicians in the world with unparalleled mastery of both the violin and viola.
She has performed with major orchestras including those of New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Zalkind has performed throughout the United States and abroad as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician.
He was awarded first prize in the Washington International Competition, as well as prizes in the Beijing International Cello Competition, Korea’s Isang Yun International Competition and the Juilliard School Concerto Competition.
