Midsummer’s Music began its 24th season on June 13 at Birch Creek Music Performance Center with an opening gala. A long-awaited CD of live performances was unveiled that evening which features works by Mozart, Saint-Saens, and Rheinberger recorded live in concert at various Door County venues.
“This release is in response to many requests,” said James Berkenstock, artistic director of Midsummer’s Music. “We gave this CD the title of Bursting with Passion since it represents the extraordinary energy and enthusiastic emotion of the performances.” This is the third CD that Midsummer’s Music has released, the first in more than a decade.

Midsummer's Music Bursting With Passion

Rheinberger: Nonet In E-Flat Major, Opus 139, Finale: Allegro

Rheinberger: Nonet In E-Flat Major, Opus 139, Adagio

Rheinberger: Nonet In E-Flat Major, Opus 139, Menuetto: Andante

Rheinberger: Nonet In E-Flat Major, Opus 139, Allegro

Saint-Saens: Piano Quartet In B-Flat Major, Opus 41, Allegro

Saint-Saens: Piano Quartet In B-Flat Major, Opus 41, Poco Allegro Piu Tosto Moderato

Saint-Saens: Piano Quartet In B-Flat Major, Opus 41, Andante Maestoso Ma Con Moto

Saint-Saens: Piano Quartet In B-Flat Major, Opus 41, Allegretto

Mozart: String Divertimento In D Major, K.136, Presto

Mozart: String Divertimento In D Major, K.136, Andante

Mozart: String Divertimento In D Major, K.136, Allegro

This album is the fulfilment of a dream and the result of over five years of planning, developing and preparing a unique collaborative project between composers, arrangers and musicians. 

6 pieces, 6 composers, 4 premieres.

What inspired me to record this album was the fascinating way the sound of the bassoon blends with the string quartet. My choice of repertoire was based on pure pleasure – I chose works that I love to play, some original, others  arranged, and asked composers I admire so much to write for this combination. In two of the works I added the double bass, which enriches them very much and helps immensely to encounter different sound worlds. To create this with musicians of this calibre was simply wonderful. Their interest, curiosity and flexibility together with the skill, calm and experience of our sound engineer, Andreas Werner, and the fact that we were able to record in the legendary Radiostudio in Zurich, makes me feel so privileged. I couldn’t be happier with the result which I hope you too will enjoy! 

—RUI LOPES

Piazzolla - Tango Étude No. 3 (Arr. for Bassoon and String Quintet)

Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Op. 168 (Arr.); III. Adagio - Allegro Moderato

Nisinman: "Rui's Tango" for Bassoon and String Quintet; III. Allegro

Nisinman: "Rui's Tango" for Bassoon and String Quintet; II. Andante, Vielas De Alfama

Nisinman: "Rui's Tango" for Bassoon and String Quintet; I. Allegro

Du Puy: Quintet in A Minor for Bassoon and String Quartet; III. Rondo - Allegro

Du Puy: Quintet in A Minor for Bassoon and String Quartet; II. Andante Sostenuto

Juice WRLD "Danse Macabre" (Classical Music UK Drill) (prod. C. Keiber)

The New York Times credits Rui Lopes as “the richly gifted bassoonist”. Gramophone concurs: “highly musical and virtuoso”. 
Although Rui only began studying the bassoon at eighteen, his musical temperament and virtuosity were quickly recognized and received many awards, including first prize in the prestigious Estoril International Competition. One of the most promising bassoonists of his generation, he shares his great passion for music with concert audiences all over the world. 
Rui has appeared as a soloist with Zurich Symphony Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Czech Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, Finnish National Opera, Algarve Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Artists Orchestra, Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Basel, Camerata Antiqua de Curitiba, Portuguese Symphony, and other orchestras. 
Rui is a member of the Camerata Variabile Basel and the Portuguese Chamber Soloists, and has played at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Festival Bohuslav Martinu, SoNoRo Festival, Crusell Festival, Oficina de Música de Curitiba, Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival, Boswiler Sommer, Lucerne, and other festivals and in May 2015, he had his Debut recital at the Carnegie Hall. 
Rui’s first recording, Through Time, with the English Chamber Orchestra, featuring pieces by Vivaldi, Mozart, Elgar, Villa-Lobos, Françaix and including two world premieres, received unanimous international critical acclaim. He studied with Hugues Kesteman in Artave and Porto Music Academy, Sergio Azzolini at the Music Academy in Basel (soloist diploma with distinction) and with Marco Postinghel at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich. 
Rui’s passion for teaching led him to deliver regular masterclasses in Europe, America, South America, and Africa and teach the bassoon and chamber music in different academies and universities for several years. Rui is professor of Bassoon at the Academy in Strasbourg (HEAR – Haute école des arts du Rhin). For this recording he used a Heckel 15 '639, one of the rare copies from the Azzolini model.

Founded in 1990, Midsummer’s Music has been bringing chamber music to Door County, Wisconsin, audiences for more than three decades. Our “exciting, pulse-pounding and riveting” concerts include international premieres and feature world-class artists.

Our unique and diverse cultural, historical, and scenic musical experiences touch tens of thousands of listeners each year via live performances, radio, and social media. A multi-faceted organization featuring collaborations with local organizations and institutions, we attract musicians from Chicago’s Lyric Opera, Chicago Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Ravinia Festival, and Pro Arte Quartet, among others.

Our resident string quartet, the Griffon String Quartet, enriches the lives of children and adults throughout northeast Wisconsin through concerts, workshops, and music education.

Collaborations include Write On, Door County and Woodwalk Gallery involving poets and artists who create original works based on the music that inspired them, and the Celebrate Water initiative which is a major programming commitment to bring awareness to water supply protection.

Midsummer’s Music attracts increasing admiration and respect from around the country, while still gaining the affection of local Door County audiences.

New tracks tagged #Saint-Saëns