Raritan River Music Festival, winner of the National Award for Adventurous Programming from ASCAP/Chamber Music America, announces their 35th annual concert series throughout the month of May, with the Manhattan Chamber Players performing at the Old Greenwich Presbyterian Church in Stewartsville.
Praised for their “intensely wrought and burnished performance” and “mellifluous blend of vigorous intensity and dramatic import,” the Manhattan Chamber Players are a collective of renowned New York-based musicians who share the common goal of performing the greatest works in the chamber repertory at the highest level.
Their Raritan River Music Festival debut will feature two such masterpieces composed for “piano quartet” – piano, violin, viola, cello – by the Czech composer Antonin Dvořák and his German mentor Johannes Brahms.
These concerts will be live in-person and streaming online.
The mission of Raritan River Music is to create our cultural heritage today, to keep music alive, and to bring the music to you. In addition to the festival, Raritan River Music continues to provide innovative enrichment presentations to school and health care facilities throughout the region.
The 35th Raritan River Music presents the Daedalus Quartet
Daedalus Quartet represents string quartet playing at its finest, being praised by The New Yorker as “a fresh and vital young participant in what is a golden age of American string quartets.” The Quartet has established itself as a leader among the new generation of string ensembles.
The 35th Raritan River Music presents Hot Club of Philadelphia
Inspired by the 1930s “Quintet of the Hot Club of France” in Paris and led by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli, The Hot Club of Philadelphia, with founding guitarist Barry Wahrhaftig, brings its unique interpretations of Manouche (Romani) Jazz, aka “Gypsy Jazz,” Hot Jazz, and French Swing, along with Americana.
The 35th Raritan River Music presents Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo, featuring Celil Refik Kaya and João Luiz
Guitarists Laura Oltman and Michael Newman, founding artistic directors of Raritan River Music, have spent half a century working to develop a lasting literature for the instrument. This concert will highlight selections for an upcoming new recording of recent commissions, including new music by several Pulitzer Prize winners.
The 35th Raritan River Music presents Manhattan Chamber Players
Praised in the media for their “intensely wrought and burnished performance” and “mellifluous blend of vigorous intensity and dramatic import,” the Manhattan Chamber Players are a collective of renowned New York-based musicians who share the common aim of performing the greatest works in the chamber repertory at the highest level.