Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players

“This was music-making of a very high order”
“at the Jupiter concerts, there is always so much about which to be enthusiastic.”
“the rarities glittered like jewels”

Fred Kirshnit, The New York Sun
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Dear Friends and Music Lovers,    During this coronavirus pandemic, our concerts this fall may be as rare as the music of the forgotten composers we often perform. While this horrid beast prevails we hope to lessen the risk of indoor gatherings. Also, please check the status of every concert on our website or by phone. If there is a cancellation, the program will be video recorded and made available for viewing on our website.    By now you know the danger of gathering indoors with people outside your bubble. If you come, it’s at your own risk. If you are in the least bit fearful, please do not come. We can, however, offer: ♦ Limited seating spaced 6 feet apart ♦ Hand sanitizer from dispensers ♦ Required wearing of masks by audience & staff ♦ Doors to open 20 minutes before concert starts ♦ Request 6 feet distancing when entering & exiting ♦ And suggest minimal, quiet talking    This season there are no subscriptions. Tickets are by reservation only. Please visit our ticket page for details. As these are indeed challenging times, please consider of gift of $100 or more and become a “Friend,” or please give as much as you can to help keep Jupiter alive and thriving. Your financial support is truly needed.    All gifts are tax deductible.    Thank you so much,

Caricature of Jens Nygaard on iPad by Elizabeth "Lizzi" Volpert, age 12

Why the name Jupiter: When Jens Nygaard named his orchestra Jupiter, he had the beautiful, gaseous planet in mind—unattainable but worth the effort, like reaching musical perfection. Many, indeed, were privileged and fortunate to hear his music making that was truly Out of This World. Our Players today seek to attain that stellar quality.

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Take a look at our guest artists for this season.
Find out more about the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players.

Join us for our next concerts...

Monday, January 25 ♦ 2 PM & 7:30 PM
Hungarian Flair
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
152 West 66 Street (west of Broadway)
Limited Seating

Maxim Lando piano
Winner of the 2020 Gilmore Young Artist Award, winner in the 2018 Young Concert Artists Auditions, Gold Medal at the 2017 Berliner International Competition, Gold Medal at the 2015 International Television Contest for Young Musicians in Moscow, 2nd prize at the Kissinger Klavier Olymp in Germany, winner of the 2014 Juilliard Pre-College Concerto Competition ~ “He has an ever so clear approach to the keyboard, and the molding and shaping of phrases straight from the musical angels.” Berkshire Fine Arts ~ “Lando boasts technical skill” Anthony Tommasini ~ The New York Times ~ “He was simply brilliant” Cleveland Classical

Benjamin Beilman violin
“Poised and Monstrously Talented” Philadelphia Inquirer ~ “Mightily Impressive” New York Times
Recipient of the Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship, Avery Fisher Grant, and London Music Masters Awards

Abigel Kralik violin
Top prize winner of the Rising Stars (Berlin) Grand Prix and Vienna International Music Competition, first prize at the 2012 Talents for Europe competition in Slovakia, grand prize at the 2010 Koncz János competition ~ “a shooting star in the truest sense of the word” Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Kultura

Ayane Kozasa viola
Winner of the 2011 Primrose, 2012 Astral & Irving Klein competitions ~ hailed for her “magnetic, wide-ranging tone” and “rock solid technique” Philadelphia Inquirer

Christine Lamprea cello
First Prize winner of the Sphinx and Schadt competitions, winner of the 2013 Astral Artists’ Auditions and recipient of an award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts ~ praised by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her “supreme panache and charmingly effortless phrasing”

Vadim Lando clarinet
Winner of the CMC Canada, Yale and Stonybrook competitions ~ “consistently distinguished...vibrant, precise, virtuosic playing” The New York Times

Karl Kramer horn
Winner of the 1997 and 1999 American Horn competitions ~ “a prominent, perilously chromatic horn line, which Karl Kramer played beautifully.” The New York Times

Note: Benjamin Beilman replaces Randall Goosby for this concert

BRAHMS  Hungarian Dances
  ~ captures the lilting, rhythmic, and whirling virtuosity of the csárdás and the verbunkos, traditional Hungarian folk dances ~ from a set of 21 dances, originally for piano 4-hands, arranged for violin and piano by Joseph Joachim

In his youth Brahms discovered Central European folk music and was influenced by the Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi, whom he heard in concert at age 17. Three years later he served as Reményi’s accompanist. It is thus not surprising that he composed these Hungarian-style pieces, which have enjoyed a phenomenal success.

Ernő DOHNÁNYI  Sextet in C Major Op. 37
  ~ very Brahmsian, the sextet is virtuosic and exuberant with jazzy rhythms and idiosyncratic twists ~ for the unusual combination of piano, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, and cello

According to the New Grove Dictionary, “Next to Liszt he ranks as the most versatile Hungarian musician, whose influence reached generations in all spheres of musical life. He is considered one of the chief architects of Hungary’s musical culture in the 20th century.... As a pianist Dohnányi ranked among the greatest of all time.... As a master of chamber music he had few equals after Brahms.... As a conductor Dohnányi’s chief merit was the recognition of Bartók’s genius decades before others....” Born in Pozsony (now Bratislava) in 1877, he was first taught by his father. At age 17, he studied at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music in Budapest—piano with István Thomán (Liszt’s favorite pupil) and composition with Hans von Koessler (a devotee of Brahms). Both Liszt and Brahms swayed his piano playing and compositions, respectively.

Béla BARTÓK  Piano Quintet in C Major
  ~ a big early work, the imposing Romantic quintet is shot with a dash of Liszt, Brahms, Strauss, and a distinct Hungarian flavor

Seldom performed, the Quintet was written when Bartók was 23. His composing had taken a pause as he was discouraged from expressing his creativity while at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. Then he heard the premiere of Also sprach Zarathustra, met Strauss, and was inspired: “I was aroused as by a flash of lightning by the first Budapest performance of Also Sprach Zarathustra. It contained the seeds for a new life. I started composing again.” Refreshed, he composed the Quintet, a work that shows his early attempts to break from the traditional compositional standards of his contemporaries and to use folk elements. He performed its premiere with the Prill Quartet in Vienna.

Tickets: $25, $17, $10 ~ By Reservation Only
Call (212) 799-1259 or email admin@jupitersymphony.com
Pay by check or cash (exact change)​​​

By now you know the danger of gathering indoors with people outside your bubble. If you come, it’s at your own risk. If you are in the least bit fearful of CoVid-19, please do not come. We can, however, offer:

♦ Required wearing of masks
♦ Limited seating spaced 6 feet apart
♦ Hand sanitizers
♦ Doors to open 20 minutes before the concert
♦ A short pause in place of an intermission
♦ No refreshments
♦ Request 6 feet distancing when entering and exiting
♦ Suggest minimal, quiet talking
♦ Windows and/or doors will be open

Please use the restrooms before or after the concert.
Thank you for accommodating the new format at this time.

In addition to the above guidelines, New York State Covid-19 Travel Advisory requires visitors from certain states to quarantine for 14 days. If you are traveling to NYC from any of these states, visitors are required to complete the online Travel Health Form.

Jupiter 2020 - 2021 Season
20 Mondays at 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM

View Our NEW Season Calendar

To reserve Tickets ~ $25, $17, $10 
please call (212) 799-1259
or e-mail admin@jupitersymphony.com

Please visit our Media Page to hear Audio Recordings from the Jens Nygaard and Jupiter Symphony Archive

Concert Venue:
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
152 West 66 Street (west of Broadway), New York

“one of the most refined and intelligent church spaces in New York” ~ The New York Times Built in 1893 by Josiah Cleveland Cady, architect of the old Metropolitan Opera House and the American Museum of Natural History

Office Address:
JUPITER SYMPHONY
155 West 68th Street, Suite 319
New York, NY 10023
admin@jupitersymphony.com
(212) 799-1259

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Jupiter in the News

ConcertoNet
“knocked the socks off this listener...It was wondrous chamber music. And the three artists gave it the deserving excitement, volition and imagination.” 
Harry Rolnick, ConcertoNet   more...

“the performers were top notch”
“The homey church where these concerts take place, nestled on West 66th Street in the shadow of Lincoln Center, is an intimate and acoustically vibrant place for chamber music.”
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times   more...

Strad Magazine
“A finely forthright, fluent and expressive account of Haydn's Divertimento in E-flat major opened this programme of miscellaneous chamber music in a series known for adventurous programming.”
Dennis Rooney, Strad Magazine   more...

ConcertoNet
“Mr. Nygaard’s cadenza flowed down Mozart lanes and paths, each with beautiful backgrounds. And at the very end, Mr. Nygaard brought forth that martial major theme, like an unexpected gift.” 
Harry Rolnick, ConcertoNet   more...

“...the group’s efforts proved illuminating ...Brown played a lovely, subtly virtuosic cadenza for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 by Jens Nygaard, the ensemble’s founder, who died in 2001, but whose fascination with rarities continues to drive its programming”
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times   more...

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As promised, here are the videos of John Field’s Divertissement No. 1 and Sir Hamilton Harty’s Piano Quintet. Fortuitously, our Jupiter musicians had the good sense to record the rehearsal in an impromptu decision, literally minutes before pressing the record button. Pianist Mackenzie Melemed (replacing Roman Rabinovich at the last minute) learned the music in 2 days! Bravo to him.

Both works are Irish rarities that were scheduled for the March 16 performances which had to be canceled because of the coronavirus epidemic. Even though the entire program could not be recorded because of technical issues, we are pleased to be able to share with you the 2 musical gems. Enjoy.

John FIELD  Divertissement No. 1 H. 13
  ~ simply delicious piano quintet, alternately titled Rondeau Pastoral and better known in its version for solo piano, Twelve O’clock Rondo, on account of the 12 “chimes” at the end ~ by the creator of the Nocturne, which had a major influence on Chopin

We thank the University of Illinois (Champaign) for a copy of the Divertissement music.

Mackenzie Melemed piano
Abigel Kralik violin
Dechopol Kowintaweewat violin
Sarah Sung viola
Christine Lamprea cello

Sir Hamilton HARTY  Piano Quintet in F Major Op. 12
  ~ in a lyrical Romantic idiom, with a distinct, breezy Irish-salted voice

Andrew Clements of the Guardian proclaimed the beautiful Quintet “a real discovery: a big, bold statement full of striking melodic ideas and intriguing harmonic shifts, which adds Brahms and Dvořák into Harty’s stylistic mix, together with Tchaikovsky in some passages.” There’s folk music charm as well, reminiscent of Percy Grainger—notably in the Scherzo (Vivace) with its folksy quirks and nonchalance, and the winding, pentatonic melody in the Lento.

Our gratitude to the Queen’s University Library in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for a copy of the autograph manuscript of the music. Much thanks, too, to Connor Brown for speedily creating a printed score and parts from Harty’s manuscript.

Mackenzie Melemed piano
Abigel Kralik violin
Dechopol Kowintaweewat violin
Sarah Sun viola
Christine Lamprea cello

I Allegro 0:00
II Vivace 10:43
III Lento 14:44
IV Allegro con brio 23:59