On September 8 and 9, 2013, cellist Gabriel Cabezas will perform two separate concerts as part of the International Beethoven Project’s Beethoven Festival LOVE 2013, presented by the International Beethoven Project. A native Chicagoan, and recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Cabezas was the 2012 winner of the Sphinx Competition, Senior Division. On Sunday, September 8 at noon, Cabezas will give a recital alongside pianist Nicolas Roth, performing works by Janacek, Messiaen, Debussy, and Shostakovich. Then, on September 9 at 6:00 pm, he will perform in Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Schnittke’s String Trio, and Beethoven’s Piano Trio Opus 70, No. 2.

Both concerts will take place at Merit School of Music’s Joy Faith Knapp Music Center (38 S. Peoria Street, Chicago) dubbed “Ludwig’s Salon” during the course of this Festival, September 7-15. Ticket prices vary and students and children can receive free admission. For more information, please call (312)-772-5821 or email [email protected].

COMPLETE PROGRAMS: 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 12 noon: PAIN AND PASSION

Gabriel Cabezas, cello, and Nicolas Roth, piano
Leos Janacek, Pohadka
Claude Debussy, Sonata in D Minor
Olivier Messiaen, Praise to the Eternity of Jesus (from Quartet for the End of Time)
Dmitri Shostakovich, Sonata in D Minor

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 6pm: CONSUMING LOVE
George Lepauw, Piano / Nikki Chooi, Violin / Matthew Lipman, Viola / Gabriel Cabezas, Cello
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio Opus 70 Number 2
Alfred Schnittke, String Trio
Robert Schumann, Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, Opus 47

NOTE: Cabezas will also serve as principal cellist of the Beethoven Festival Orchestra under the baton of Matthias Pintscher on September 13th, 8:30pm and 14th, 7:30pm at the Chicago Temple, 77 W Washington St #2, Chicago, IL.

Cellist Gabriel Cabezas has appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the New World Symphony, and the Nashville Symphony, among others. Cabezas has been portrayed as “…an intense player who connects to the music naturally, without artifice, and brings a singing line to the cello” (David Stabler, The Oregonian) and his debut performance with the Cleveland Orchestra described as a “…remarkably poised and elegant account, with superb attention to phrasing, nuance and tonal coloration” (Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer).

A passion for chamber music and collaboration has taken him to Marlboro Music, Music@Menlo, Music from Angel Fire, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Bargemusic, and Chicago’s Symphony Center Presents series. His television appearances include performances with Yo-Yo Ma at “The Tavis Smiley Show” and “Good Morning America”, and with Béla Fleck in “From The Top – Carnegie Hall.”

2013-14 season highlights include a subscription debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as a return to Chicago’s International Beethoven Festival and the annual Sphinx Virtuosi national tour. Cabezas’ 2012-13 engagements included concerts with the Detroit Symphony, the Nashville Symphony and the National Symphony of Costa Rica, as well as appearances with Musicians from Marlboro, at the International Beethoven Festival, and ChamberFest Cleveland.

Formerly a recipient of an Education Grant by the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation, Cabezas has supported music outreach and education programs including Midori’s Partners in Performance, the Sphinx Organization, Costa Rica’s national SINEM music education program, and Chicago’s Citizen Musician movement. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Carter Brey. As a writer, Cabezas has been featured in Teen Strings Magazine and has been a contributing writer for Strings Magazine.

The International Beethoven Project, led by President and Artistic Director George Lepauw, will present over 100 events spanning classical and new music, visual art, fashion, literature and education for Beethoven Festival: LOVE 2013 — the organization’s third annual multidisciplinary festival inspired by the creativity and genius of Ludwig van Beethoven, Sept. 7­-15, 2013.