FROM TESSA LARK, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Welcome to the 35th Season of Musical Masterworks
Though this is my fourth season as Artistic Director, I am realizing only now that Musical Masterworks and I are a similar age. I, too, am in my mid-thirties which is sometimes an age that sees both a calmed confidence in oneself and a period of reinvention.
I often find my favorite art and artists to be the most personal, so I try to bring that vulnerability to my own work, which includes programming this storied series. You will see, then, my “mid-thirties crisis” in full force this season—not in the form of a slowed metabolism and decreased skin elasticity (thank goodness), but in the increased desire to find the places you love and stay a while and do away with the rest. And, of course, spice things up with a little newness here and there.
The first three programs this year are deep explorations of specific composers and their sublime musical worlds. In October, we revel in some of Schubert’s greatest works, featuring his beloved Trout Quintet. In December, the legendary bassist-composer Edgar Meyer returns, with pianist Amy Yang, for a singular recital of his own compositions. Brahms is the focus of February’s concerts, when I join forces with pianist Misha Namirovsky for a selection of sonatas and Hungarian dances by one of the most celebrated composers of all time.
Among perennial favorites (Jeewon Park and Inon Barnatan, for example) are a parade of artist debuts, including harp phenom and polymath Bridget Kibbey who has curated an enchanting program for us in March. Season 35 also marks the beginning of an exciting partnership with the annual Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition as we feature the Klein Competition’s 2025 first prize winner in our season finale. As a 2008 Klein laureate and MM artist since 2013, I am especially thrilled to see these two organizations come together that bring such crucial, formative opportunities to young artists.
As ever, I remain in awe of you, our audience, and the consistent enthusiasm you bring to the stunning venue that is the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. I hope you will stay a while and allow this world-class music, old and new, to transport you.
Thank you for joining us for Season 35. We are so glad you’re here!
