This summer Spektral Quartet and the University of Chicago Department of Music present the fourth annual Chamber Music Intensive on July 13-16, in partnership with the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts. Entitled THE ROMANTICS, the 2017 CMI explores the music of the late Romantic period, inviting participants to examine the inspirations behind some of the pinnacles of the chamber music repertoire. We will consider music on an international stage, with Brahms at his most contemplative, Dvořák after his sojourn to America, the Russians Borodin and Tchaikovsky thriving, and the French school of Fauré and Debussy in full flower. Central to the discussion at this year’s CMI will be fundamental questions these composers wrestled with in their writing, such as what role national identity plays in composition – and how one departs from the legacy of Beethoven.

The Chamber Music Intensive is an annual festival for committed amateurs and professional-track, college-age students who are looking for an immersive chamber music experience within an environment that is both rigorous and inviting. Coached daily by members of the Spektral Quartet and UChicago Artist-in-Residence Daniel Pesca (piano), participants assemble and polish one movement of a major work over the course of four full days, culminating their work in a public performance at the CMI’s conclusion. Effective and efficient rehearsal techniques are taught with a hands-on approach by the faculty, and participants have masterclass opportunities with a distinguished guest artist. This year the CMI faculty is pleased to welcome one of the eminent chamber musicians in the world, Guarneri Quartet violinist Arnold Steinhardt, as the guest artist for 2017. 

In addition to expanding musicians’ skill and agency, the 2017 Chamber Music Intensive aims to engender a love for chamber music. A guest lecture pertaining to the festival’s theme by Gerard McBurney, social events, sight-reading parties, and group outings such as a picnic at a Grant Park Orchestra concert are essential elements of the CMI festival experience.