A Storied Season
Manchester Music Festival’ s upcoming season celebrates the essence of musical storytelling
T he Music Festival( MMF) returns for its 51st season, July 10 through August 7, 2025, with the compelling theme,“ Music & Storytelling,” exploring rich intersections between music, literature, poetry, and song. With a stellar lineup and rich programming, the season promises to captivate audiences through profound musical journeys and unforgettable storytelling experiences.
Opening the festival on July 10, the concert“ Baroque and A Famous Musical Quote” brings together flutist Emi Ferguson, recipient of the 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, acclaimed harpsichordist Arthur Haas, and internationally celebrated soprano Sherezade Panthaki. Together with Setzer and the MMF Young Artists Strings, they will perform Bach’ s beloved Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, along with arias by Purcell and Handel, concluding with Mendelssohn’ s stirring Octet for Strings, inspired by Goethe’ s Faust.
Continuing the narrative theme on July 17,“ The Kreutzer Sonata” evening features pianist Michael Stephen Brown and violist Paul Neubauer alongside Philip Setzer and the MMF Young Artists. Beethoven’ s turbulent Kreutzer Sonata, originally dedicated to violinist George Bridgetower, sets the stage for readings from Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove’ s Sonata Mulattica and Tolstoy’ s intense novella,“ The Kreutzer Sonata.” This literary-musical dialogue is deepened by performances of Janáček’ s String Quartet No. 1 and Schumann’ s exuberant Piano Quintet in E-flat major.
On July 24, MMF presents“ The Wordless Voice of the Clarinet,” spotlighting
COURTESY MMF
Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, who is praised for his brilliant and rich tone. Joined by cellist Edward Arron, pianist Jeewon Park, Philip Setzer, and the MMF Young Artists, McGill will perform Prokofiev’ s evocative Overture on Hebrew Themes, Brahms’ romantic Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, and Mozart’ s timeless Clarinet Quintet.
Actor David Strathairn
“ Music Inspired by Song and Birdsong” on July 31 celebrates composer Perry Goldstein’ s song cycle“ Birding by Ear,” based on poetry by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers. Baritone Randall Scarlata, renowned for his expressive interpretations, joins Philip Setzer, cellist Paul Watkins, pianist Gilles Vonsattel, bassist Nina Bernat, and the MMF Young Artists. The program also features Beethoven’ s playful Kakadu Variations and Schubert’ s beloved“ Trout” Quintet, alongside Müller’ s humorous aria about the tailor Cockatoo.
The season culminates on August 7 with the Grand Finale,“ Cabaret Songs and Stravinsky’ s The Soldier’ s Tale.” Multi-Grammy ® Award-Winning soprano Christine Goerke performs as the Devil opposite Emmy ® Award-Winning actor David Strathairn, who stars as the Soldier. This epic Stravinsky performance will come to life under the musical direction of Paul Watkins. Setzer and a distinguished chamber ensemble bring this semi-staged masterpiece vividly to life. It will be complemented by cabaret classics by Bernstein, Weill, and Sondheim, and the evening will open with the MMF Young Artists performing Mozart’ s Ave Verum Corpus.
Complementing the mainstage, MMF’ s acclaimed Young Artists Program will also present three standout concerts on Sundays, July 20, 27, and August 3, showcasing chamber repertoire and concerto performances by ten exceptional pre-professional musicians. Additionally, the“ Young Artists on Tour” series expands the festival’ s reach throughout the region with concerts at a diverse array of community venues.
Family programming at Manchester Community Library includes delightful musical storytelling experiences, such as“ Ferdinand the Bull” on July 19, performed by Philip Setzer and narrated by Linda Setzer, and Poulenc’ s charming“ The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant” narrated by Paula Nassivera on August 2, offering engaging introductions to chamber music for audiences of all ages.
On July 29, MMF’ s Discovery program“ Birding by Ear” features a unique conversation at Manchester Community Library, as Richard Powers and Perry Goldstein discuss their collaborative song cycle. Joined by festival musicians for a demonstration, they will provide deeper insights into the themes of the festival season. n
58 manchester life | manchesterlifemagazine. com