Produced in part by Barbora Kolarova, LGMF Co-Founder, Artistic Director and violinist as well as Marc Webster from Blue on Blue Recording, the Lake George Music Festival will feature musicians and ensembles from the 2020 roster in a six day series of innovative and exciting virtual performances! 

Performances will be pre-recorded and uploaded to our Virtual LGMF Vimeo channel September 13-18, 2020. Patrons who purchase tickets will be sent a password to watch. Videos will be available to watch on our page for a period of 2 weeks. 

Note: you do not need a Vimeo account to watch. The event box office helpline is 518-791-5089. 

More detailed information on how to watch on your home TV can be found HERE >>

Full Schedule and Details:

9/13 Night at The Museum 

Program: Elizabeth Raum, Processional Fanfare

Eric Rizzo (USA) and Saori Kataoka (Japan) trumpets, Kevin Dombrowski (USA) and Alexander Theiss (USA) trombones, Zachary Haas (USA) bass trombone

9/14 HUB New Music

Program: live performance by HUB New Music, Michael Avitabile flute, David Dziardziel clarinet, Allysa Wang violin, Jesse Christeson cello

Called “contemporary chamber trailblazers” by the Boston Globe, Hub New Music — comprised of flute, clarinet, violin, and cello — is forging new pathways in 21st-century repertoire. The ensemble’s ambitious commissioning projects and “appealing programs” (New Yorker) celebrate the rich diversity of today’s classical music landscape. In recent seasons, HNM’s performances have been described as “gobsmacking” (Cleveland Classical), “innovative” (WBUR), and “the cutting edge of new classical music” (Taos News).  

9/15 An afternoon in Shepard Park

Program: Jean Cras, Harp Quintet, i. Assez animé

Rosanna Moore (UK) harp, Vincenzo Volpe (US) flute, Alice Hong (USA) violin, Kristyna Kolarova (Czech Republic) viola, Sam DeCaprio (USA) cello

9/16 Symphony Watch Party with Roger Kalia

Join us for a high-octane watch party celebrating the festival and its performers. Music Director Roger Kalia serves as host for this engaging evening stroll down memory lane filled with elegant and energetic music and conversation. Featuring historic Festival concert footage including Beethoven, “Allegro con brio” from Symphony No. 7, Sheridan Seyfried, “Exuberant” from Double Concerto for Two Violins written for Nikki and Timmy Chooi, MAKO, “Way Back Home” from our 2015 Sounds of Our Time concert, and Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue featuring pianist Fei-Fei Dong. Interviews include Festival alumni cellist Nicholas Finch, pianist Fei-Fei Dong, and composer Sheridan Seyfried. 

9/17 Magic Cards

Program: Felix Mendelssohn, String Octet Op.20, iv. Presto

Gregory Lewis (Canada), Sophia Szokolay (Canada), Evgeny Zvonnikov (Russia), Petros Karapetyan (Armenia) violins, Jebat Kee (Malaysia) and Yumi Oshima (USA) violas, Mia Barcia-Colombo (USA) and Evan Kahn (USA) cellos

9/18 Alma

Program: a world premiere for solo violin and electronics, composed by Daniel Whitworth and commissioned by and written for Barbora Kolarova in 2020.

Alma Program Notes:

Alma Rosé (1906-1944) was an Austrian violinist of Jewish descent and the niece of composer Gustav Mahler. An extraordinarily talented performer, Alma had a promising musical career until she was deported to Auschwitz in 1943. Upon her arrival, she was sent to the infamous Block 10 for experimentation and torture where a Nazi guard soon recognized Alma as a famous violinist and had her perform for some of the other guards to prove her talent. They eventually had Alma assume leadership of an all-women’s orchestra comprised of some of the camp’s prisoners. Through performing and expanding the orchestra to as many members as
possible, Alma was able to spare her own life as well as the lives of many other women in Auschwitz. Though she eventually died of sudden illness after almost a year in the camp, most of the women in her orchestra lived to see the end of the war.

I found this story to be horrifying—not only because of my Jewish identity, but also from the perspective of a musician. The idea of being forced to perform under the threat of death is unimaginable, and it is disturbing that Alma’s artistic talent was twisted into a tool for survival.

Alma is a musical biography of Alma Rosé’s story. The electronic accompaniment is primarily comprised of Alma’s only existing recording: a performance of J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins featuring her and her father as the two soloists. The recording is twisted, expanded, and often transformed beyond recognition to create a multitude of textures that serve as the foundation for this piece. Other sounds, such as sirens and explosions, loosely relate to the time period of World War II. The solo violin part floats over the top of these textures,
sometimes oblivious to its tumultuous surroundings and sometimes directly responding to them. My hope is that this piece will both celebrate the achievements of a life cut short and commemorate the artistry and soul that was unjustly exploited. – Daniel Whitworth