New York Chamber Soloists

February 9, 2003 at 3:00pm

Reaching the highest levels of artistic expression, David Fedele will be performing on flute. For the oboe, Melvin Kaplan produces flawless intensity of tone, while Allan Bluestine on clarinet creates an unforgettable lyricism and Andrew Schwartz is acknowledged as a distinguished master of the bassoon.

For more than three decades, the New York Chamber Soloists have been acclaimed as an outstanding ensemble of distinguished virtuosi, performing a widely diverse repertoire in creatively programmed concerts. An 11-member ensemble of strings, winds, and keyboard, which may increase to as many as 20 with the addition of guest artists, the Chamber Soloists have the flexibility to offer many works that are seldom heard due to the unusual instrumental combinations for which they are written.

With more than 250 works in their repertoire, the Chamber Soloists have made a valuable contribution to the musical life of this country, and have helped to expand the audience for chamber music. Their programming innovations have included Bach's complete Brandenburg Concerti in a single concert; "Paris in the 20's;" an American Classics program; the complete Mozart horn concerti; and song cycles, cantatas, and operas from Monteverdi to Aitken.

They have added substantially to the catalog of 20th century chamber works. More than 25 compositions have been specifically written for them by such significant composers as Gunther Schuller, Mario Davidovsky, Ezra Ladermann, Elliot Schwartz, and Mel Powell.

The Chamber Soloists have compiled an impressive record of repeat engagements in the United States and abroad. Concert tours include eleven European tours, six Latin American tours, and numerous tours of the Far East and South Pacific. They made an extensive tour of South America in the fall of 1995, and performed throughout Spain in May 1996 and October 2000.

In the United States. the Chamber Soloists have appeared frequently at the Metropolian Museum of Art in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, major universities across the country from Boston to Berkeley, and at the Mostly Mozart, Sun Valley and Caramoor Festivals. They have been in residence at the Vermont Mozart Festival every summer since its inception in 1972.