Bridgehampton Chamber Music Inaugurates BCM Autumn

Continuing its momentum from a successful summer festival of in-person performances, Bridgehampton Chamber Music inaugurates its first fall series, BCM Autumn, that continues the 37-year-old organization’s expansion beyond its summer festival (a BCM spring mini-series began in 2015). Two Saturday early-evening concerts at the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church on November 6 and November 13 will — belatedly — celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday as a Beethoven “mini-fest.”

On November 6, acclaimed Swiss-born American pianist and Bridgehampton Chamber Music favorite Gilles Vonsattel performs two towering Beethoven piano sonatas, the “Waldstein” and “Appassionata.” On November 13, a “Beethoven Winds” program features the composer’s Trio for Flute, Bassoon, and Piano in G Major, and his Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major as well as Valerie Coleman’s Umoja for Wind Quintet (“umoja” means “unity” in Swahili). BCM Artistic Director and flutist Marya Martin is joined on this program by returning Bridgehampton Chamber Music musicians James Austin Smith, oboe; Yasmina Spiegelberg, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Eric Reed, horn; and Orion Weiss, piano.

“This summer’s festival was exhilarating to plan, perform, and to pull off,” said BCM’s founder and flutist Marya Martin, “and it also whetted our appetites for more. An autumn series was in the planning stages before the pandemic, but it is particularly sweet to inaugurate it now, as a kind of talisman for better days ahead.”

Bridgehampton Chamber Music was created 37 years ago and its summer music festival has developed a loyal core audience among local residents and seasonal visitors since it began with four artists in two concerts in the intimate setting of the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church. The festival is still based in the graceful 1842 church — which boasts glowing acoustics — and has gradually expanded to include other special event venues, including the Channing Sculpture Garden and Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton and the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill.

Tickets for the upcoming concerts are $65/$45 ($10 students) and may be purchased on bcmf.org or by calling 212-741-9403. In addition to its live concerts, Bridgehampton Chamber Music offers a wide variety of performance videos on its website and YouTube channel.

Saturday, November 6, 5 p.m. — Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

BCM Autumn: Gilles Vonsattel Plays Beethoven

Gilles Vonsattel, piano performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 “Waldstein” and Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata.”

Saturday, November 13, 5 p.m. — Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

BCM Autumn: Beethoven Winds

Marya Martin (flute), James Austin Smith(oboe), Yasmina Spiegelberg (clarinet), Peter Kolkay (bassoon), Eric Reed (horn) and Orion Weiss (piano) perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s Trio for Flute, Bassoon, and Piano in G major, WoO 37, Valerie Coleman’s Umoja for Wind Quintet and Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat major, Op, 16.