MARLBORO — For young, aspiring professional musicians, the opportunity to participate in Marlboro Music, the Vermont summer community The New Yorker called “the music world's most coveted retreat,” is a dream come true.
Rather than being coached by the likes of Artistic Director Mitsuko Uchida and members of some of the world's leading string quartets, they actually get to play alongside them (a concept initiated at Marlboro), exploring works in a depth not possible elsewhere.
That's why these exceptional young artists often, initially, choose to explore some of chamber music's masterpieces from which they can learn lessons to apply to all that they will subsequently play.
While later in the summer there will be works by Resident Composer Brett Dean and other works that need more time to prepare, Marlboro Music's opening weekend on Saturday, July 15, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, July 16, at 2:30 p.m., will include the Beethoven Piano Trio in D, Op. 70, No. 1; Ghost, the Bartok Quartet No. 1, and Schubert's Trout Quintet.
Among the works that aren't as frequently heard will be the Dvorak String Quartet in E flat, Op. 51, Brahms' Balladen und Romanzen, Op. 75 and the Mozart Quintet in E flat for Piano & Winds, K. 452.
Twenty-four of the 80 resident artists participating in Marlboro's seven-week season will be heard on the opening weekend on the campus of Marlboro College, only five of them “senior” artists - pianist Jonathan Biss in the Mozart; violinist Todd Philips of the Orion Quartet in the Bartok and Schubert; violinist Nick Eanet, formerly with the Mendelssohn, Juilliard Quartets and concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera in the Beethoven; violinist Hiroko Yajima of the Mannes Trio in the Dvorak; and pianist and vocal coach Lydia Brown in the Brahms.
As is the case with Uchida and many other of Marlboro's master artists, Biss, Philips, and Yajima all gained invaluable musical experiences at Marlboro as young artists and have returned to share their knowledge with new generations.