Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo

Description

The Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, comprised of clarinetist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu is among the most exciting duos in classical music today. Steinway Society is delighted to announce this Duo will be appearing October 13 at 7:30 p.m. at McAfee Performing Arts Center. With two CDs, and multiple original music compositions that are delighting fans, the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo has the pulse of what audiences love: brilliant programming, beautiful execution, and complex music with insightful interpretations. Their mix of classical and jazzy classical renditions has audiences and CD buyers cheering. The Bay Area’s own Jon Nakamatsu could hardly be more popular locally and yet he has done it.

“Manasse and Nakamatsu played with amazing virtuosity and with a considerable sense of fun and wit. Their thoroughly engaging playing brought the audience to its feet for prolonged enthusiastic applause.” CVNC.org

PROGRAM:

Brahms, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in F Minor, Opus 120 No. 1
Chopin, Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante, Opus 22
D’Rivera, Lecuonerias from The Cape Cod Files (commissioned by the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival for the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, 2009)
Goodwin, Four Views for Clarinet and Piano (commissioned by VanDoren by DANSR Inc. for the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, 2012)
Novacek, Full Stride Ahead+ from Four Rags for Two Jons (commissioned by the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, 2006)

More information: When two of America’s most distinguished artists formed a duo in 2004, it was news. The Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, comprised of clarinetist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu, immediately established itself on some of the country’s most prestigious series: New York City’s Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Washington’s Dumbarton Oaks and National Gallery of Art, Brookings Chamber Music Society.

Their debut CD in 2008 was equally a hit: Almost immediately, The New York Times exclaimed, “… their partnership is complete. Harmonia Mundi’s production is impeccable, capturing such disparate instruments in full color and a lifelike perspective.”

To date, the artists have commissioned John Novacek’s Four Rags for Two Jons and Paquito D’Rivera’s The Cape Cod Files. Subsequently expanded and orchestrated by the composer, The Cape Cod Concerto received its world premiere in May 2011 by the Duo and Symphony Silicon Valley. The San Jose Mercury news wrote of the Duo’s premier at Symphony Silicon Valley “Paquito D’Rivera’s Cape Cod Concerto for Clarinet, Piano and Orchestra is sassy and brash,” and widely praised the performance and program.

Both Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse both have highly exceptional reputations. Jon Manasse served as the principal clarinetist of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and is a renowned musician. The Bay Area’s love for “our own” Jon Nakamatsu is legend: Jon Nakamatsu grew up in San Jose and graduated from Stanford University and his wife teaches at Saratoga High School. From his rise in 1997, when he was awarded the Gold Medal at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the people of Silicon Valley have been among his most ardent fans. We are always thrilled to bring him to our stage, and are delighted that we can present the community with his newest and very exhilarating programming.

More Info

Link

https://www.steinwaysociety.com

Call

408.990.0872 (Box Office)