14 Welcome to the 144th <strong>Season</strong> Jeremy Denk by Josh Goleman
HANDEL’S MESSIAH <strong>UMS</strong> Choral Union Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Scott Hanoian, conductor Saturday, December 3 // 7:30 pm Sunday, December 4 // 2 pm Hill Auditorium Handel composed his oratorio Messiah over the course of a single month in 1741, six months before its triumphant premiere at a new concert hall in Dublin. Nearly 300 years later, Handel’s Messiah fills Hill Auditorium with its ravishing beauty, brought to life by friends and colleagues from the community. Music director Scott Hanoian conducts the <strong>UMS</strong> Choral Union and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in this annual holiday tradition. Please note that the Saturday performance will begin at 7:30 pm. ITZHAK PERLMAN & FRIENDS Featuring Itzhak Perlman, violin Emanuel Ax, piano Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano Juilliard String Quartet Saturday, December 10 // 8 pm Hill Auditorium Itzhak Perlman PROGRAM Jean-Marie Leclair Sonata for Two Violins in e minor, Op. 3, No. 5 W.A. Mozart Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-Flat Major, K. 493 Ernest Chausson Concert for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, Op. 21 Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to his irrepressible joy for making music. For this special performance in Hill Auditorium, he brings together pianists Emanuel Ax and Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Juilliard String Quartet for a mixed chamber music program. SPECIAL DOUBLE-BILL! BÉLA FLECK MY BLUEGRASS HEART AND PUNCH BROTHERS Friday, December 16 // 7:30 pm Hill Auditorium When Punch Brothers and Béla Fleck come together in this special double-bill evening, one thing is certain: audiences benefit from their lifelong devotion to bluegrass as much as the musicians. The band of virtuosi that comprise Punch Brothers has spent more than a decade changing the face of acoustic music, stretching the limitations of their instruments and influencing a generation of young musicians, some of whom will appear with Béla Fleck as part of his set based on his <strong>2022</strong> Best Bluegrass Grammywinning album My Bluegrass Heart. Beyond the baker’s dozen of Grammy Awards and Genius Grants between them, their collective skills bring worldly rhythms and soulful jams to Hill Auditorium. While Punch Brothers founder Chris Thile and Béla Fleck have made several <strong>UMS</strong> appearances with their own projects in recent years, this special concert marks Punch Brothers' return to <strong>UMS</strong> for the first time since 2009. “With enthusiasm and experimentation, Punch Brothers take bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart.” (Washington Post) TAKÁCS QUARTET WITH JEREMY DENK, PIANO Wednesday, January 18 // 7:30 pm Rackham Auditorium PROGRAM Franz Joseph Haydn String Quartet in F Major, Op. 77, No. 1 Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel Quartet in E-Flat Major Robert Schumann Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 The Takács Quartet — fresh from its performance last season with bandoneón player Julien Labro — returns to Rackham Auditorium with pianist Jeremy Denk. The intrepid ensemble shines a light on the sole string quartet written by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, an active 19th-century composer whose works were largely unrecognized during her lifetime. Jeremy Denk joins the group for the second half with Schumann’s ebullient piano quintet, one of the very first works to pair the traditional string quartet configuration with piano. Dedicated to Clara Schumann, the fiendishly difficult piano part was first performed by Fanny Mendelssohn’s brother, Felix, when Clara fell ill, though she was at the keyboard for the first public performance a month later. Permanently Endowed Support: Ilene H. Forsyth Chamber Arts Endowment Fund For tickets call 734.764.2538 or Photo: visit ums.org Takács Quartet 15