"We've learned a lot of lessons from seeing how other festivals operate," says Michael Adams, who founded and co-directs Music in the Vineyards with his wife, Daria. "Bigger is not better. 'Brown and serve' musicmaking tends to be the norm at most festivals, where there isn't enough time for rehearsals. So we avoid that assiduously. We are a relaxed environment where musicians come to get recharged, and we remind ourselves of why we're musicians."
at Clos Pegase Winery
If that sounds like a snooty concept to you, think again, says public relations manager Natasha Biasell. "It's not pretentious at all. Michael does a wonderful job of giving insightful commentary on every piece beforehand. These are informal concerts — some people come in jeans and a Hawaiian T-shirt." And setting the festival in several famous wineries, initially a decision forced upon the Adamses by necessity, has become a selling point, as people select concerts based on where they occur. Because this is not a crowded festival, there are tickets to many concerts still available.
There are usually a couple of groups that come in midweek to play one of their set programs. This year, the Pacifica Quartet visits on Aug. 12, an event that is sold-out. But the festival is built around a group of musicians from a variety of specialties (chamber, orchestral, soloist), and who rehearse intensively and perform almost all of the weekend concerts. "The three different worlds of the music profession collide, and it's amazing how much we get from that interchange," says Adams.
The programs at Music in the Vineyards, although well-planned, often have a serendipitous feel to them. Take the commissioned works that the Adamses are reprising this year. Wanting to do some vocal chamber music a few years back, they found that their venue was too small to house a piano and other musicians. But most vocal music includes a piano, so they commissioned a work (David Evan Thomas' To Live in This World) for soprano and string quartet. They liked the results so much that, two years later, they had David Brewbaker write a similar work (The Journey, 2004). Both composers, by sheer chance, happened to select poetry by Mary Oliver as the basis for their works. Brewbaker's work shares the Aug. 16 bill with Brahms' beloved Clarinet Quintet.
A few days later, on Aug. 19, the Adamses have put together a fascinating Haydn program, commemorating the 200th anniversary of his death. At the center are several homages from French composers, commissioned by the Société Internationale de Musique in 1909 for the centenary of Haydn's death. "And then there's this really interesting piece that I stumbled across called The Master and the Pupil, which is set up to do this mimickry thing, you know, from teacher to student. The teacher always leads the way and then the pupil gets a turn at the same material, but slightly varied," explains Michael.
The final night, at Rubicon Estate, on Aug. 23, brings forward the other birthday boy, Mendelssohn. His marvelous, youthful Octet holds the place of honor, along with Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 18/3 and the earliest of Mozart's string quintets, K. 174 in B-flat. And you can sign up for the closing night, outdoor, buffet dinner with the musicians after the concert. Sounds like the perfect way to spend a late August evening, to me.