ARTICLE: SummerFest a La Jolla joy ride for music director Inon Barnatan and his family, including Jasper the whippet

How does the music director of an internationally acclaimed annual festival — which spotlights some of the world’s top classical-music stars — prepare for four weeks of almost nonstop concerts, rehearsals, workshops, discussions and socializing?

Road trip!

On July 2, SummerFest Music Director Inon Barnatan and his husband, Jason Feldman, left New York City with their dog, Jasper. Destination: San Diego.

“”This will be our fifth summer driving from New York to La Jolla,” explained Barnatan, 44, who said this year their rental car is a Hyundai Genesis electric vehicle. “We started doing this because the whippet’s too big to fit in an airplane. We love the drive.

“It’s very special and we take our time — no more than eight hours on the road a day. We don’t drive in the dark. Each time we plan a different route and have nice places to stay, see beautiful things and meet special people.

“This is a precious time to just be together and have this mini-vacation where we slow down. I travel a lot, but don’t always get to visit places without concert halls. So I really enjoy this.”

Along the way, they do sometimes stop in a place with a concert hall, such as Aspen or Santa Fe, for Barnatan — an internationally acclaimed piano soloist — to perform en route to La Jolla.

Barnatan and Feldman, a music-loving non-musician who plans to attend all the SummerFest concerts, will be settled in here with the beach-loving Jasper by tomorrow. Barnatan and his intrepid La Jolla Music Society team will then complete the final preparations for this year’s festival.

The 2023 edition of SummerFest, titled “The Great Unknown,” begins Friday and runs through Aug. 26.

“It’s one of the most prestigious festivals in the U.S.,” said award-winning British clarinetist and composer Mark Simpson, 34, who will be making his SummerFest debut. “It’s known for inviting incredible musicians, it’s led by Inon Barnatan and it’s in a beautiful setting.”

Joyce Yang, an acclaimed pianist who lives in New York, is excited to return.

“I have made so many friends at SummerFest over the years and look forward to reuniting with them,” Yang said. “Performing at SummerFest is an incredible opportunity because of the world-class musicians that gather every year. And you can’t forget the beautiful Southern California weather.”

Among her multiple upcoming SummerFest performances, Yang will duet with Barnatan.

“Working with Inon is a joy,” she said. “He has such a talent for programming repertoire that highlights the skills and personalities of each artist, while keeping the audience engaged and enthusiastic. Inon’s musicianship is warm and generous, and I always feel free when we play together.”

‘Expect the unexpected’

Born and raised in Israel, Barnatan was 16 when he moved to London to study piano at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music. He relocated to New York a decade later and went on to become an international favorite of audiences and critics alike for his instrumental mastery and command of traditional classical repertoire and contemporary pieces alike.

In early 2018, Barnatan was chosen to succeed Cho-Liang “Jimmy” Lin as the music director of La Jolla Music Society’s annual SummerFest chamber-music festival. He is only the fourth SummerFest music director in the event’s now-37-year history.

Barnatan assumed his position in 2019, then deftly pivoted to an all-online edition of SummerFest in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented audiences from attending. In 2021, the festival returned to in-person performances, and — in 2022 — expanded from three weeks to four with considerable success. That year also saw Barnatan sign a new contract with La Jolla Music Society, extending his tenure through September 2025.

The first of this year’s 21 SummerFest concerts is “Expect the Unexpected.” The audience will enter the concert not knowing what’s in the program.

“It fits the ‘Great Unknown’ theme of the festival,” Barnatan said.

“I think that there’s something wonderful about surprises — about getting something unexpected. Each piece will be introduced from the stage, so you know what you’re listening to beforehand. You’ll get a whole list at the end of the evening.”

The festival’s star-studded chamber orchestra will be led by superstar Alan Gilbert. He is principal conductor of one of Europe’s top ensembles, Germany’s NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and the principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra. His last visit to SummerFest was 20 years ago.

In 2014, while music director of the New York Philharmonic, Gilbert created an artist-in-association position for an emerging artist. He chose Barnatan for the three-year stint.

“Alan hadn’t even met me when he appointed me,” Barnatan said. “We have been super close — both as friends and collaborators — ever since. We recorded the Beethoven concertos together and have played all over the world.

“Alan has become one of the biggest conductors in the world. I’m thrilled he’s coming to SummerFest.”

Gilbert, also a violinist, will conduct and play next Sunday’s “A Song to Remember.” The concert will start with Brahms’ Horn Trio in E-flat Major with Stefan Dohr, the Berlin Philharmonic’s principal horn player. The trio features Gilbert on violin and Barnatan on piano.

Gilbert will then take up the baton to lead the SummerFest Chamber Orchestra in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth). The concert will showcase two top-notch American singers, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and tenor Paul Groves.

‘Unsilenced Voices’

Barnatan spoke enthusiastically about next Saturday’s concert, “Journey in Light.” It includes works by Haydn, Debussy, Boulanger, Turina, Schubert, Chausson and Mozart. They will be performed by mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, noted violinists Steven Copes, Erin Keefe and Blake Pouliot. Also featured will be the San Diego Symphony’s Rose Lombardo on flute and Julie Smith-Phillips on harp.

“Journey in Light” traverses a day, musically speaking, from sunrise to the middle of night. Each piece represents a different time of day.

“The light in the concert hall will also change,” Barnatan noted. “We’ll go through this day together and see how the music and light evoke the feelings in different parts of the day.”

On Aug. 25, the acclaimed violinist Augustin Hadelich will be featured in “Unsilenced Voices,” along with clarinetist Anthony McGill, pianist Conrad Tao, violinist Stefan Jackiw and cellists Clive Greensmith and Sterling Elliott.

They will perform works by such composers as Messiaen, Shostakovich, Jessie Montgomery and Fanny Mendelssohn.

“The Mendelssohn got me started. Augustin loves that piece and really wanted to play it in a quartet,” Barnatan recalled. “It sparked the idea of composers who should be more known, but whose work was suppressed.

“Fanny Mendelssohn, of course, lived in the shadow of her brother during a time when women composers weren’t encouraged. Other composers were silenced by government or society, but somehow found a way.”

Messiaen wasn’t Jewish. But he was interned in a German prison camp when he wrote the solo clarinet piece, “Abyss of the Birds.” During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, African-American composer Jessie Montgomery wrote “Peace for Clarinet and Piano.”

“While much of this music is devastating, some of these works are remarkably delightful and lighthearted,” Barnatan said.

Champagne toast

In addition to its weekend concerts, SummerFest will offer many other treats. On Wednesdays, the Midweek Masterpieces performances begin at 7 p.m. and have no intermission. Afterwards, attendees can join in on a celebratory toast to the festival’s 37th season.

On Aug. 6, Thomas Adès — SummerFest 2023’s composer-in-residence — curates the Takeover @ The Jai hall. The multi-award winning composer will highlight his own and others’ work in a more casual setting. Adès will be a featured composer and pianist from Aug. 2 through Aug.6.

Synergy Weekend, co-produced by Barnatan and Clara Wu Tsai, will include an evening of jazz and another that blends jazz with classical and even bluegrass. But the big event of the weekend, on Friday, Aug. 18, is Carnival of the Animals.

A new, evening-length piece conceived and performed by spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Carnival of the Animals is rooted in Saint-Saens’ work, with added music by composer Sugar Vendil. This special performance is in collaboration with — and features — the legendary dancer and New York City Ballet Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan. The choreography is by Alvin Ailey II Artistic Director Francesca Harper.

“Marc is an extraordinary artist with a strong hip-hop background,” Barnatan said. “This is his response to the January 6 insurrection. It doesn’t take political sides, but looks at the jungle we find ourselves in. It has beautiful poems — some whimsical and funny, others devastating and poignant.

“Like everything new we do, we aren’t sure what it will be like until it happens. But I believe this is going to be a very special, not-to-be-missed event.”

SummerFest’s free education programs

If you can’t attend a SummerFest concert this year — or if you’re going but want more — here are some free options to hear more of the music and get to know some of the performers.

Open rehearsals, artist lounges, encounters and coaching workshops are all SummerFest events that are open and free to the public. Some of these will be livestreamed.

Allison Boles, La Jolla Music Society’s Director of Learning and Education, makes sure these events match up with the theme chosen by SummerFest Music Director Inon Barnatan. This year’s theme is “The Great Unknown.”

“The theme is pretty broad!” Boles said, with a laugh. “It allowed us to go in different directions.”

One encounter, led by Ojai Music Festival Executive Director Ara Guzelimian, is “A Room of Her Own: The Careers of Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann.”

“Ara was interested in looking into these two composers, who are finally being recognized independent of the famous men in their lives,” Boles said.

The Artist Lounges are hosted by Leah Rosenthal, the music society’s artistic director and former education director. In front of audiences, she will have in-depth conversations with SummerFest musicians.

“In one, Leah will talk with violinist Tessa Lark and bassist Michael Thurber,” Boles said. “They are musical and romantic partners who work closely together. It should be an interesting conversation, finding out how they navigate that.”

A long-running SummerFest tradition is the Fellowship Artist Program.

After a rigorous audition process, seven young musicians were selected for this year’s SummerFest. You can hear Quartet Integra and trioJEM in open rehearsals and coaching workshops.

“A woman who regularly comes to our coaching workshops recently told me she noticed a musician on the SummerFest roster who was a fellowship artist in 2013,” Boles recalled. “She was so excited! These artists build relationships and find friends and followers here.”

The fellowship artists will also perform at a free community concert on Aug. 10 at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Hillcrest. For details, go to theconrad.org/events/community-concert

Encounters and Artist Lounges have limited seating and require FREE advance online registration to reserve your spot. Walk-ups are welcome, subject to availability. Registration and for more information is available at: theconrad.org/summerfest-learning-and-engagement.

La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest 2023

When: Friday to Aug. 26. Unless otherwise indicated, all concerts are at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Avenue, La Jolla. All concerts are at The Baker-Baum Concert Hall or at The Jai, the center’s cabaret-styled performance space, unless otherwise indicated.

Tickets: $38-$112

Phone: (858) 459-3728

Box Office: The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Avenue, La Jolla

Online: theconrad.org

2023 SummerFest Performance Schedule

Friday, July 28: Opening Night — “Expect the Unexpected”

Saturday, July 29: “Journey in Light” — Ysaÿe, Bonis, Boulanger, Haydn, Debussy, Turina, Schubert, Connesson, Chausson, Crumb, Strauss, and Mozart

July 30: “A Song to Remember” — Brahms and Mahler, 3 p.m.

Aug. 2: “Fantastic Tales” — Schumann, Adès, and Janácek, 7 p.m.

Aug. 3: Jazz @ The JAI —: Lucy Yeghiazaryan & Vanisha Gould, 6 & 8:30 p.m.

Aug. 4: “Dreams and Prayers” — Bach, Golijov, and Mendelssohn

Aug. 5: “Magic and Alchemy” — Byrd, Dowland, Gibbons, Purcell, Adès, and Schubert

Aug. 6: “Myths and Rites” — Liszt, Gluck, Szymanowksi, and Stravinsky, 3 p.m.

Aug. 6: Takeover @ The JAI with Thomas Adès — Adès, Nancarrow, and Simpson, 7 p.m., The JAI

Aug. 9: “The Great Americans” — Beach, Wiancko, and Dvořák, 7 p.m.

Aug. 11: “New Ground” — Sibelius, Chopin, Klein, and Beethoven

Aug. 12: SummerFest Gala, “Enchanted Forest,” 5 p.m.

Aug. 13: “Promises, Promises” — Wiancko, Dohnányi, and Schubert, 3 p.m.

Aug. 16: “Slavonic Dances” — Dvořák, Ravel, and Brahms, 7 p.m.

Aug. 17: Synergy Weekend — Jazz @ The JAI: Louis Cato Trio, 6 & 8:30 p.m.

Aug. 18: Synergy Weekend — Carnival of the Animals — Special preview performance of a new work co-commissioned by La Jolla Music Society

Aug. 19: Synergy Weekend — “American Classic”: Cato, Dover, Lark & Thurber

Aug. 23: “Souvenirs” — Chausson, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky

Aug. 25: “Unsilenced Voices” — Schulhoff, F. Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Montgomery, Shostakovich

Aug. 26: SummerFest Finale, “Serenades” — Dohnányi, Bruch, Queen/Freddie Mercury (arranged by Barnatan), and Tchaikovsky

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