KC Friends of Chamber Music season: Masterful mix of early music and great pianists

These are epochal times for the Friends of Chamber Music.

After more than 45 years with series founder Cynthia Siebert at the helm, Dmitri Atapine and Hyeyeon Park will become the new artistic directors with the 2022-2023 season.

The group has just announced that season, and it’s an auspicious beginning for the duo. Although most of it was scheduled by acting executive director Leia Barrett before they were hired, Atapine and Park were able to add their special touches, and they give a hint of what to expect in the future.

For those who have always appreciated Siebert’s masterful mix of chamber music, early music and great pianists, the new season will not disappoint.

Like other arts series, the Friends of Chamber Music is playing a bit of pandemic catch-up.

“I feel like next year, even though it’s a larger season than usual, is representative of what we’ve typically done in the past,” Barrett said. “Now we’re able to bring back some of our European artists who weren’t able to come here last year.”

One of the groups COVID thwarted last year was Europa Galante led by Fabio Biondi. This Italian early music ensemble, which will perform on Oct. 7, has redefined what it means to make early music. Their concerts aren’t dry and dusty exercises in authenticity, but vital, thrilling performances that demonstrate how exciting baroque music can be.

“Their interpretations of Vivaldi are unbelievable,” Barrett said. “They have a very small schedule planned for the United States, so we’re lucky to bring them because they’re only performing in three cities. They have an energy that is unmatched.”

A Friends favorite making one of its biennial visits is the Tallis Scholars directed by Peter Phillips. The program on Dec. 2, “Hymns to the Virgin, will provide an elevated, spiritual alternative to the typical Christmas fare.

“I can’t imagine a holiday without the Tallis Scholars at Immaculate Conception,” Barrett said. “It’s such a perfect matching of venue to artists. One of the things I particularly love about the Tallis Scholars is how they perform a lot of Renaissance composers, and then they will add Arvo Pärt and Stravinsky. They do such a good job showing how Renaissance music has evolved over the years.”

“Festive Hungarica” on Jan. 21 is Atapine and Park’s major contribution to the season.

“‘Festive Hungarica’ is our calling card and introduction to Kansas City,” Atapine said. Park added, “It’s a carefully curated journey based on the theme of Hungarian folk music that blends charm, virtuosity and rustic flair.”

Atapine, who is a cellist, and Park, a pianist, will both perform on the concert, and they’ve lined up some terrific musicians to join them: violinists Erin Keefe and Chad Hoopes, violist Paul Neubauer, and wind players Jose Franch-Ballester and David Byrd-Marrow.

Barrett says that Atapine and Park plan to do more themed programs like “Festive Hungarica.”

It’s safe to say that Bach Collegium Japan led by Masaaki Suzuki is the world’s preeminent ensemble devoted to Bach. On Feb. 3, the group will perform at Atonement Lutheran Church.

“I am particularly excited that they are bringing Roderick William, who is a phenomenal English baritone,” Barrett said. “He is extraordinary and has a tremendous presence.”

Fans of the Emerson String Quartet will be sorry to learn that the renowned American ensemble is disbanding at the end of its 2022-2023 season. The group will make its final appearance in Kansas City on Feb. 18. David Finckel, who was the Emerson’s cellist from 1979 to 2013, will take part in the concert.

“David Finckel was a mentor of Dmitri and Hyeyeon, so they asked him if he would be a part of Kansas City’s final presentation of Emerson, and he said yes,” Barrett said. “So we’re only one of two places where he’ll be doing that.”

A central part of any Friends of Chamber Music season is its Master Pianist Series. On March 4, Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan will perform, and on April 15, Anne-Marie McDermott.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Anne-Marie’s for a while,” Barrett said. “She hasn’t been on the series previously, so we felt like we needed to bring her. She has such a delicate touch, and her interpretations are so musical and genteel. We’re finalizing her repertoire, but I know she’s going to be playing some Bach and Schubert.”

Richard Goode made a big first impression performing the complete Beethoven piano sonatas over the course of the 1987-1988 season. He’s been a Friends of Chamber Music favorite ever since, and will conclude the season on May 12.

The Boston Camerata has also given many memorable concerts on the series over the years. The group, now led by Anne Azéma, is coming back on March 24 with Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas.”

“We’re planning to have a panel discussion around women in power, how women were portrayed in operas at that time,” Barrett said. “I think it’s going to be a phenomenal performance.”

For tickets and more information, 816-561-9999 or chambermusic.org.

8 p.m. Sept. 30: Verona Quartet (Yardley Hall, Midwest Trust Center, Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd.)

7:30 p.m. Oct. 7: Europa Galante conducted by violinist Fabio Biondi. (Atonement Lutheran Church, 9948 Metcalf Ave.)

7:30 p.m. Oct. 29: Vox Luminis. (Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 415 W. 13th St.)

2:30 p.m. Nov. 6: Terrence Wilson, piano. (The Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St.)

7:30 p.m. Nov. 11: Ulysses Quartet. (The Loretto, 1111 W. 39th St.)

7:30 p.m. Dec. 2: The Tallis Scholars directed by Peter Phillips. (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 416 W. 12th St.)

7:30 p.m. Jan. 21: Festive Hungarica. (Folly Theater)

7:30 p.m. Feb. 3: Bach Collegium Japan conducted by Masaaki Suzuki with Roderick William, baritone. (Atonement Lutheran Church)

8 p.m. Feb. 18: Emerson String Quartet with David Finckel, cello. (Yardley Hall)

7:30 p.m. March 4: Inon Barnatan, piano. (Folly Theater)

7:30 p.m. March 24: Boston Camerata directed by Anne Azéma with Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas.” (Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral)

7:30 p.m. April 15: Anne-Marie McDermott, piano. (Folly Theater)

7:30 p.m. April 30: Doric String Quartet with Benjamin Grosvenor, piano. (Folly Theater)

7:30 p.m. May 12: Richard Goode, piano. (Folly Theater)

Kansas City Ballet: ‘Wizard of Oz’

In 2019, Kansas City Ballet, Colorado Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet jointly commissioned a ballet version of L. Frank Baum’s classic “The Wizard of Oz.” Septime Webre’s ballet is returning to the Muriel Kauffman Theatre May 13 through 22, and it’s not to be missed. With an Americana score by Matthew Pierce, eye-popping sets and costumes and dazzling special effects conjuring everything from a tornado to scary flying monkeys, “The Wizard of Oz” is a joyous romp for the whole family.

7:30 p.m. May 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21 and 2 p.m. May 14, 15, 21 and 22. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. $34-$189. 816-931-8993 or kcballet.org.

Kansas City Chorale: ‘God Save the King’

Just because you’re a colonist doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the grandeur and pomp of a coronation. After all, some of the greatest music by Handel and others was written for the coronations of British monarchs.

The Kansas City Chorale conducted by Charles Bruffy will give a sampling of these royal jewels when they present “God Save the King” May 14 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and May 20 at Village Presbyterian Church. The program will include works by Handel, Purcell and Vaughan Williams that have accompanied crownings in Westminster Abbey.

7:30 p.m. May 14 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 11 E. 40th St., and 7:30 p.m. May 20 at Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Road. $20-$25. kcchorale.org.

The Cecilia Series

Poet Anna Akhmatova, who was born in a suburb of Odessa in 1889 and died in Moscow in 1966, lived through one of the most wrenching centuries in Ukrainian and Russian history. Her moving poetry, some of which was a reaction to Stalinist terror, has resonance for the present tragic moment.

As part of her Cecilia Series, soprano Victoria Botero will perform “Dissident: Songs for Anna Akhmatova,” with settings of Akhmatova’s poetry by Sergei Prokofiev, John Tavener, and Iris DeMent on May 15 at the Central Library. As with all of Botero’s thoughtful programs, it should provoke reflection long after the concert is over.

2 p.m. May 15. Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. Free. victoriabotero.com.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.