January 20th, 2020 
Jacob Litoff 
It looks like we’ve gotten a few more of our grants for chamber music concerts in the summer of 2020.. We have now gotten the grants not only in Methuen and Watertown, but in Northborough, Milton, Fall River and Quincy. We’re hoping to get it again in Plymouth as well. We should have some wonderful programs this summer.
We Got Our Grant In Methuen MA Again.
We just got a notice that we got our grant once again in Methuen MA from the Methuen LCC and we will be playing a septet concert at the end of this summer again at the Methuen Memorial Concert Hall.
We Just Started Getting Notices About Grants For 2020
We just started getting notices about the grants that we applied for for supporting our concerts for 2020… We haven’t heard from all of them yet… and usually the rejections get sent out first, so hopefully by not having heard yet that means we’ll get most of them. The first town to tell us we got our grant was Watertown MA.. We still hope to do some septets again for some of our
concerts , but in Watertown one of the pieces we hope to play there is the Mendlessohn Octet.. yes . for four violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos. it is a wonderful piece that Mendlessohn composed when he was only 16 . years old in 1825.
Another nice piece for that combination that we may include in that program are Ludwig Spohr’s double quartet opus 65 for the same instrumentation in the Mendlessohn octet. Spohr compsed this in 1823, at the age of 39, 2 years before Mendlessohn composed his octet, but Spohr didn’t publish his double quartet until 1825 at the same time as Mendlessohn published his octet. That was an exciting year for octets.
There is a . wonderful Octet by George Enesco opus 7 written when he was 19 years old in 1900. Now George Enesco’s music is quite a contrast to the Mendelssohn and Spohr for it was composed 75 years later than the Mendlessohn octet and Enesco was from Romania, quite a different place than Germany as one can tell from the music. Enesco’s octet opus 7 is also quite a remarkable piece.
Niels Wilhelm Gade also composed a nice octet opus 17 in 1849 shortly after Mendlessohn’s death. Even though Gade was Danish and not German and he was twice the age that Mendlessohn had been when he wrote his octet, this octet Gade composed at the age of 32 does have many similarities to the Mendlessohn octet . It is also quite charming. It was out of print for many years. but in the last few decades it is among several great pieces brought back to life.
Now a few months ago in September 2019, and in 2018 we performed the wonderful septet by . Adolphe Blanc both years in several concerts. In 2018 we also performed it with the Beethoven Septet opus 20, and in 2019 we played the Blanc septet with the one by Franz Berwald. Those pieces were for the great combination of violin/viola/cello/bass/clarinet/frenchhorn/bassoon. We hope to perform some more septets this year too for that same combination possibly including one by Conradin Kreutzer (1780-1849) opus 62, a septet in F by Carl Amand Mangold(1813-1889), and if we can find the music possibly quitea charming one by Erzherzog Rudolph von Osterreich in E minor written in 1830 at the age of 42 one year before he died. He lived quite a royal life in Austria but managed to compose some wonderful pieces including this septet.
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/…/octet-op-20-in-eb-…/967158…
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/…/octet…/967158&aff_id=625405
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/…/double-string-qu…/21460730…
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/…/septet-sheet-mus…/20320709…
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/…/septet-in-f-shee…/19498336…
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/…/septet-op-20-shee…/2727356… — in Millis, Massachusetts.
No Responses Yet…. Usually That’s Good. Rejections Go Out First
Well we’ve sure applied for lots of grants to play several chamber music concerts in several towns next summer… Almost no places have replied yet to the applications we sent in by October 15th.. That is a good sign… for the rejections always get sent out first. so hopefully almost all the grants we applied for we’ll get for 2020. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Unaccompanied Recital For a Groupmuse Concert
On June 22nd at 7:30 I’ll be giving an . unaccompanied recital at a friends house for a Groupmuse concert. I’ll be performing : Friedrich W. Rust’s solo violin sonata in B-flat, Max Reger’s unaccopanied violin sonata opus 42 # 2 in A major, , Jaroslav Vanecek’s Spanish Rhapsody and Arthur Honegger’s Sonata for solo violin. It is $10 for a ticket. I hope you all can come.. It is at 37 Valley Road in Milton MA.
Our Chamber Music Concert this Year in Plymouth MA
With the grant we got from the Plymouth MA Local Cultural Council we’ll be performing at the Plymouth Library on August 27 2019 at 7pm. In our program we’ll be playing some of the Telemann Paris Quartets for flute, violin , cello and Double Bass and much more. We greatly thank the Plymouth Local Cultural Council for helping make this concert possible.
Our Late Summer Chamber Music Concerts For 2019
With the grants we got from several cultural councils we’ll be performing The Adolphe Blanc Septet we did for the Northborough Applefest last year again this year and more. That Blanc Septet that is practically unheard of, was so nicely received we decided we need to let them hear it again. We’ll be deciding what the 2nd septet will be soon. It might be one by Franz Berwald. The Applefest concert will be September 14th at 4pm and we’ll be repeating the program in Hamilton MA at their Community House at 2pm on 9/8/19 and in the Millis Public library in Millis MA at 7pm on 9/12/19 and in Methuen Concert Hall in Methuen MA at 2:30pm on 9/15/19. We greatly thank the Local Cultural Councils from each town for helping make these concerts possible.
Making Plans For 2019 Chamber Music Concerts
With grants we got we’ll be giving several performances of the Blanc septet and others this year, in the Northborough Applefest again, and in Methuen, Millis and Hamilton.
We will also be doing some of the Telemann Paris Quartets and more in Millis and Plymouth. I hope . you can come. Will keep you all posted as the dates and locations get finalized.
Chamber Music Concert in Cambridge This Weekend
I hope you can all come to our chamber music concert this weekend… Saturday at 7:30pm at 1 Corliss place in Cambridge. a house concert. $10 for tickets. Trios by Joseph Reicha, Telemann, Albrechtsberger, Villoldo, Vanhal, and one by me. Trios for either violin – viola – double bass or for 2violas/double bass. Some great music you probably won’t get too many chances to hear.
