The Catskill Chronicle

SOUTH FALLSBURG, NY (September 7, 2015) – On Saturday October 24 at 8:00 p.m., famed clarinetist Stanley Drucker, 60 years with the New York Philharmonic, will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A major. Also on the program is Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor. Chamber Music at St. Andrew’s is offering this unusual and sublime concert free of charge, as part of the church’s centenary celebration.

The program, entitled “Mozart & Mozart,” also features Eriko Sato, violin
Theresa Salomon, violin, Veronica Salas, viola and Lutz Rath, cello.

The Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A major, K.581 written in 1789, is Mozart’s only completed clarinet quintet, and is one of the earliest and best-known works written especially for the instrument. It remains to this day one of the most admired of the composer’s works.

The String Quartet in D minor, K. 421 is the second of four quartets dedicated to Haydn and the only one of the set in a minor key. It is believed to have been completed in 1783, while his wife Constanze was in labor with their first child.  Constanze stated that the rising string figures in the second movement corresponded to her cries from the other room.

At the conclusion of the 2008-2009 Season, New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker celebrated 60 years as a member of the Orchestra, and he became an honorary member of the Philharmonic Society of New York, the first orchestral musician so honored.  He has been Principal Clarinetist for a record 48 years, making close to 200 appearances as soloist and chamber musician with the orchestra. He played under nine Music Directors, among them Bruno Walter, Dmitri Mitropoulous, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, and Zubin Mehta.  He has performed in 60 countries on tour.

Eriko Sato is a leading violinist on the New York City chamber music scene and a co-concertmaster of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. An active chamber musician, Ms. Sato has participated in the Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Sitka, Angel Fire, Gretna, Affinis and Kuhmo Music Festivals, and has appeared regularly with Bargemusic, The American String Project, Music From Japan, Caramoor, and the Washington Square Music Festivals.

Violinist Theresa Salomon gave her debut violin recital at Weill Hall, NY in 1997.  She has performed in numerous concert series in Europe and the US with the Jupiter Symphony, the Orchestra of the Chamber Music Society Vienna, the Washington Square Music Festival and a concert with solo works by Max Reger, including a world premiere of his unfinished final work, a concert rondo, in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Violist Veronica Salas has given five New York recitals including her highly successful debut at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. She has traveled to Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Taiwan, where she gave recitals and master classes under the auspices of the State Department.  Additional international venues include touringGreece as violist of the Elysium String Quartet, Italy as principal violist at the Spoleto Festival, and Japan with The Mostly Mozart Festival.

Born in Germany, cellist Lutz Rath is heard regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and performs in solo and chamber music recitals on his Carlo Antonio Tetsore cello once belonging to the Budapest String Quartet.  He is a regular performer and Music Director of the Washington Square Music Festival,  and was formerly the director of Musique de Chambre, Lyon, France. From 1996 to 2000 Rath was the cellist of the Elysium Quartet and toured the USA and Greece, recording with Lukas Foss and Stanley Drucker on the Elysium label.

Chamber Music at St. Andrew’s offers free chamber concerts, performed by outstanding musicians that enrich, inspire, and bring pleasure to Sullivan County audiences.  All are invited to come and bring their families and neighbors. The series depends on the generosity of the community, and tax-deductible contributions are always needed. Checks should be made out to: St. Andrew’s Mission and sent to Ms. Cynthia Johnston, Treasurer, St. Andrew’s Mission, PO Box 55, Woodbourne NY 12788.

St, Andrew’s Episcopal Church is located at 5277 State Route 42 in South Fallsburg, New York. The concert is free but reservations are required: call: 845-292-8967 or pcfriedman27@gmail.com. Visit www.standrewsepiscopalmission.org for additional information.