Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Celebrates ‘Destination America’ In Its 35th Season

Artists, by their nature, are curious souls who have long sought out new environments in which to create, explore and learn. That includes moving to new lands as well, and, in the weeks ahead, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival will celebrate its 35th season with the notion of embracing creativity in a new land—particularly as it relates to the musicians and composers who have come to America to pursue their art.

Among them is the festival’s founder, flutist Marya Martin, an immigrant from New Zealand who arrived in the United States at the age of 19 with little money but many dreams.

“I came at the time of no computers, Facebook or YouTube,” she said in a recent phone interview. “I learned very well by listening to recordings of the greats, but in New Zealand, they weren’t available. The occasional LP would come flying out, but you couldn’t even get good sheet music.

“If you wanted to play better, you knew you had to get out of New Zealand,” added Ms. Martin. “You looked to America for a sense of inclusivity. They were there for you, that excellence was there, and they were ready to share that excellence.”

The international nature of chamber music and its players is well-known, and Ms. Martin notes that in assembling the talent she needs for festival programming each summer, she must reach out to musicians from all over the world.

“The overwhelming number are immigrants,” she said. “We went through the countries—England, Switzerland, France, South Korea, Taiwan, China, New Zealand, Japan. It’s incredible.”

For that reason, the theme of this year’s BCMF, which runs July 19 to August 19, is “Destination America.” Not only does it pay tribute to the global nature of the musicians taking part, it also offers a counterpoint to the current rhetoric surrounding immigrants and the often unkind attitudes being directed toward them throughout the country.

“This season is a response to that—all the ugliness that’s going on,” Ms. Martin said. “We decided to make this all-inclusive program about ‘Destination America,’ and the musicians who came to America and made us better people.”

The idea of inclusivity is one that Ms. Martin finds throughout her field—particularly as it relates to cooperation—in that the five or six musicians in a chamber orchestra must act as a team in order to present a unified voice while interpreting a piece.

“You might have slightly different ideas, but you act like a diplomatic organization. At the end of the day, you find a way through it so everyone is happy,” she said. “You make your peace and go with it. You respect your fellow musicians and find the best way to do the work.

“It’s a lesson in life in getting along with people.”

Many of the programs in “Destination America” highlight immigrant composers and musicians, or the children of immigrants. Among them are composers Igor Stravinsky, who emigrated from Russia to the United States, and William Grant Still, a descendant of slaves. Also related to the theme is “Bernstein & Copland,” this year’s Wm. Brian Little Concert offered on August 10 on the grounds of Channing Daughters Winery.

The concert makes the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth as well as his close friendship with Aaron Copland. On the program are songs from Bernstein’s “West Side Story”—an immigrant tale if ever there was one—performed by opera star Nathan Gunn, and Copland’s iconic “Appalachian Spring” performed in the original chamber version for 13 instruments.

“Both their parents were immigrants—Bernstein’s from Germany, Copeland’s from Russia—and here they are, first-generation Americans, writing music so wholesome and optimistic,” Ms. Martin said. “Copland’s music is so open, as if he’s seeing the whole world as an open oyster. It’s incredible.”

Another BCMF concert that will delve into the impact of cross-cultural musical influences is “Haydn/Korngold” on July 29. This performance explores the work of Austrian-born Erich Korngold, who, at the onset of World War II, brought his brand of Germanic Romanticism to California, where his music shaped film soundtracks for generations. Similarly, Haydn took his Germanic Classicism with him to London, where he wowed audiences.

Another festival highlight comes on July 22 and 23 with a composer portrait offered by actor and South Fork resident Alan Alda. The portraits, often drawn from the composers’ own letters and other writings, have become something of a tradition at the BCMF. In previous years, Mr. Alda has offered narrations on Mozart, Schumann and Brahms.

“It’s a wonderful experience. In doing the research, I find out about the lives of these people that I get to pass on to the audience in very human terms,” explained Mr. Alda in a recent phone interview. “What I try to do is find dialogue in the letters between the people that throw light on the pieces about to be played. I’m not qualified in musicology, but the human story behind these people, also the time they lived in, is so interesting.

“The other thing I get out of it is I get to sit among the musicians as they play,” he added. “When you’re that close, you feel it in your chest and whole body—you’re not just listening.”

With this year’s composer portrait, “The Mendelssohns: Fanny and Felix,” Mr. Alda will tell the story of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and his equally talented but virtually unknown older sister, Fanny (1805-1847), using their own words and letters interspersed with musical compositions by both.

While Felix and Fanny had an incredibly close relationship, Mr. Alda explained that it was a complicated one, given the conventions of the day, which didn’t encourage Fanny to fully explore her talent as a musician and composer.

“Both Felix and his father seemed to have regarded Fanny as only appropriately paying attention to marriage and children,” Mr. Alda said, “though her father felt Fanny was more talented than Felix at a point.”

So Felix may have had the fame, but Fanny was incredibly prolific as well. She composed more than 460 pieces of music, including a number of songs originally published under her brother’s name. In some cases, her music was performed at his concerts—without credit—and was received with great acclaim.

“Their mother was imploring Felix to encourage Fanny, as she was a very good composer,” Mr. Alda added. “But he said, ‘In good conscience, I can’t do that. She needs to stick to what a woman does.’

“It’s infuriating. She could’ve inspired so many others,” Mr. Alda said, pointing out that the contributions of women throughout history have frequently been downplayed, both in art and science. “I have heard some of Fanny’s compositions. Nobody would have said, ‘That’s by a woman’ … It’s just good music.”

The Mendelssohn siblings who shared so much in life also shared much in death. Fanny died at the age of 41 from complications of a stroke—within six months, Felix, 38, died of the same ailment, as had both their parents and a grandfather. Despite being held back in her own aspirations, Mr. Alda found that Fanny remained devoted to her brother throughout her whole life.

“They really loved each other, in spite of his unfortunate attitude about whether she should pursue music or not,” Mr. Alda said. “She craved his approval, and also both agreed she could comment on his work.”

The 35th Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, “Destination America,” runs July 19 to August 19. Most concerts are held at the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, the BCMF’s home venue, but several performances are offered at various East End locations.

New this year are a series of five pre-season free “Pop-Up” concerts—30- to 40-minute casual programs by the Rolston String Quartet—offered July 19 through 23 at the Southampton Arts Center, the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor, and the Madoo Conservancy in Sagaponack.

On Monday, August 6, at 6:30 p.m., “American Dreams” will be performed at the Parrish Art Museum. The all-American program was inspired by the museum’s permanent collection and includes compositions by Erno Dohnányi, Jennifer Higdon, Philip Glass, George Tsontakis, and Bruce MacCombie.

The season finale on August 19 features works by Johannes Brahms alongside a performance of “A New Country,” a newly commissioned song cycle by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec. The libretto includes five poems reflecting the immigrant experience—“My Dream” by Anna Vacek (who arrived at Ellis Island in 1901); Walt Whitman’s “You, Whoever Your Are,” “City of the World” and “Old Ireland”; and Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus.” The piece was commissioned by BCMF in memory of William J. Fleming, a Wainscott resident, lawyer and BCMF board member who died suddenly last January.

Reservations are recommended for all festival programs, including free events. For tickets and a full schedule, visit bcmf.org or call 631-537-6368. A student ticket price of $10 will be available for most concerts.