The Schubert Club, Minnesota's oldest arts organization, continues to lure music stars from all over to its International Artists series at the Ordway Center in St. Paul.
A prime example is Renée Fleming, the Grammy-winning American soprano who will open the 2010-11 season on Oct. 7. Her recital program with accompanist Bradley Moore is almost certain to sell out, as did her last Schubert Club date in 2005. Fleming has recorded more than two dozen CDs and sung in opera houses worldwide. For her next CD project, she will record songs by alt-rock bands from Arcade Fire to Death Cab for Cutie.
The season continues with trumpeter Alison Balsom (Nov. 9). In the 2006 Classical Brit Awards, she was named Best Young British Performer and even nabbed the Classic FM Listeners' Choice award at the 2006 Gramophone Awards. Accompanied by Richard Bishop on piano, she'll play classics from Gershwin to Chopin.
Pianist Yuja Wang, (Jan. 11, 2011) was nominated for a 2010 Grammy for Best Instrumental Solo Performance. Star Tribune critic Larry Fuchsberg heard her play at the Chopin Society in March 2009, observing that "at 22, the Beijing native is well beyond adjectives like 'promising' -- she is a finished artist of formidable range and depth."
Violinist and MacArthur Fellowship Award winner Leila Josefowicz joins pianist Tamara Stefanovich (March 15, 2011) in playing works by Brahms, Schubert and more.
The season will close with a group made up of Genia Kühmeier, Bernarda Fink, Michael Schade, Thomas Quasthoff, Malcolm Martineau and Justus Zeyen. The four vocalists and two pianists will make April 28 an evening of Schumann and Brahms.
Additional performances will be announced this spring. Information on programs and tickets is at www.schubert.org.
