2025 Festival Preview

An American Century‍

NCMF 2025 includes a broad range of American classical voices, from popularly-inclined composers like Aaron Copland to more abstract works by the likes of Elliot Carter. Some of this summer’s composers, like Jerome Kern, made a living writing hit musicals with lush orchestral scores like “Show Boat.” Others, like John Cage, conceived of the thought-provoking/outrage-inducing “4’33” which challenged the very definition of what music is. George Gershwin, in works like “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess” or “Lullaby,” (his only string quartet) tried explicitly to bridge the gap between so-called high art and entertainment. Even jazz, our native musical tradition, wasn’t immune to the conflicting pull of these forces. America has always been a country of diverse viewpoints (and they’ve not always coexisted comfortably).

This summer represents a mini-overview of the multiple directions classical music has taken. Opening night on Saturday, August 9th, is an all-American clarinet recital with music of Copland, Ives, Bernstein, Barber, and Gershwin. This is followed by concerts on Wednesday and Thursday (August 13th and 14th) featuring Argentinean-American composer Osvaldo Golijov’s wild klezmer clarinet quintet, “The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind” paired with the darkest piece in A Major that I know, Mozart’s autumnal clarinet quintet. I’ve also slipped in French composer Guillaume Connesson’s jazzy “Disco toccata"

On Friday, August 15th, we’ll hold the popular Nachtmusik concert in a new location, St. Anna’s chapel on High Street. For the final St. Paul’s concert (August 16th), nothing makes more sense for this American-flavored season than to feature Dr. Guthrie “Guy” Ramsey, our 2025 Composer-in-Residence, jazz pianist, and music historian extraordinaire. He is writing a work for string quartet and jazz singer, his daughter, Bridget Ramsey. The piece, “Beat Chick: Tunes for Hettie Jones,” is a tribute to Bridget’s grandmother and Guy’s mother-in-law, the legendary beat poet and Mid-century cultural center of gravity, Hettie Jones, who passed away last year.

The father-daughter duo will also perform Gershwin’s “Summertime” and a spiritual by the Queen of Folk, Joan Baez. Anchoring that concert is none other than Beethoven’s Opus 127, one of the master’s late, great, string quartets that went on to re-shape the direction of classical music.

Our final concert will be something completely new that I am calling “NCMF: Cabaret!” Held upstairs at The Joy Nest in the Tannery, the concert will consist of two mixed sets where Guy and Bridget will let loose with keyboards and voice, alternating with the strings performing some deliciously rare quartets by Gershwin and Kern including “All The Things That You Are” and “Smoke Gets in your Eyes.” We’ll then come together and perform “Beat Chick” a second time. There will be a buffet and cash bar.

Like the big, messy, and complicated country it springs from, American music has a big, messy, and complicated history, and it will all be on display this summer up in Newburyport.

David Yang, Artistic Director

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FESTIVAL REPERTOIRE:

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Four Blues (1926-1948) for clarinet and piano

Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Movement 1 from Sonata No. 3 (1914) for clarinet and piano

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Sonata for Clarinet & Piano (1942) for clarinet and piano

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Selections from Hermit Songs, Op. 29 (1953) for clarinet and piano

George Gershwin (1898-!937),  arr. by Eugene Asti
Three Preludes (1926) for clarinet and piano

George Gershwin (1898 - 1937)
“Lullaby” for string quartet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
‍Clarinet Quintet K 581 in A Major

Osvaldo Golijov
“The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind” for clarinet quintet

Guillaume Connesson (B. 1970)
“Disco toccata" for clarinet and cello

George Gershwin (1898 - 1937)
“Summertime” from Porgy and Bess for soprano and keyboard

Joan Baez (b. 1941)
“Oh, What a Beautiful City” for soprano and keyboard

Guthrie Ramsey (b.1958)
"Beat Chick: Tunes for Hettie Jones.” for string quartet and jazz vocalist *world premiere*  

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
String Quartet in Eb Major, Opus 127  

Elliot Carter (1908 - 2012)
Figment II for solo cello

John Cage (1912 - 1992)
4’ 33” for string quartet

Jerome Kern (1885 - 1945, arr. Charles Miller for string quartet
‍“All the Things You Are” & “Smoke Gets in your Eyes”