Welcome to our 97th Summer Festival

​​​​​​​America 250
This year we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary spotlighting many of the American composers who are currently creating tomorrow’s Classics. 

Come celebrate July 4th with us this year, featuring the Paul Winter Consort in a special program that honors our American Journey. The Pink House, the acclaimed restaurant in West Cornwall, will offer a 4th of July Pre-Concert Dinner at Music Mountain; artistic director Oskar Espina Ruiz together with Music Mountain Historian, Anne Liebling will lead a Historic Tour of the Music Mountain Campus and our Sears Houses. 

Highlights
Music Mountain is known for presenting riveting performances of the Classics in a unique setting, and our 97th season is no exception, featuring 16 thrilling chamber music programs by some of the most exceptional ensembles and artists of our time. 

While our Opening Benefit Concert and Reception on June 7 features pianist Benjamin Hochman & Friends from the Met Opera performing Bach, Brahms and Fauré, the Juilliard String Quartet will close the season with Beethoven’s last string quartet, Bartók’s 4th, and Dvořák's “American.” Please note the back-to-back chamber concerts on Labor Day Weekend: a unique program by the Borromeo String Quartet & Friends on Saturday, including three virtuoso duets, and Anton Arensky’s Grand Quartet for violin, viola and two cellos; and, on Sunday, the Penderecki String Quartet & Victoria Schwartzman, piano, performing string quartets by Beethoven and Penderecki, along with Dvořák's beloved piano quintet. 

Clarinet Quintet Project in three parts: following the spark of creativity
Artistic director Oskar Espina Ruiz celebrates his 10th season at Music Mountain with this unique project, product of the synergy between Oskar’s work as a concert clarinetist and his role at Music Mountain, which was founded by the Gordon String Quartet. 

When Mozart added a clarinet to the string quartet for the first time in 1789, he not only created one of his most treasured masterpieces, but opened the door to new creative possibilities. The Clarinet Project follows that creative spark over the course of three concerts, bringing to life new clarinet quintets by Seth Grosshandler, Alfonso Fuentes, and Javier Montiel, alongside Clarinet Quintets by Mozart and Weber. 

Pre-Concert Talks on Sundays at 2 pm
On July 5, July 12, August 2 and August 23 come early to gain a fascinating perspective on the concert taking place that day. Who's Buried in Audubon's Tomb? How does music become meaning? What goes on in a composer’s mind during the creation of a new work? How come Schoenberg’s early works, such as Verklärte Nacht, sound so Romantic?

Jazz
Music Mountain’s jazz concerts continue to bring fun and memorable experiences to ever-growing audiences with an impressive roster of jazz superstars and visionary artists. Come early for a picnic and make it twice as much fun. Also, on Saturdays at 7 pm, enjoy two Music Mountain favorites: New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, and a Silent Film with live music by Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton.

Community
If you wish to immerse yourself in a friendly community of chamber music lovers while learning from the Arianna String Quartet, please, sign up for Chamberfest, taking place July 5-10. 

If you love music and painting, please, register for Painting Music, taking place at Music Mountain on July 9.

The Music Mountain board of directors, staff, volunteers and I look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful mountaintop campus, a peaceful green oasis in one of the smallest towns in New England. 

Musically yours,

Oskar Espina Ruiz
Artistic Director