Words by Laura Schiller, Images by Gabe Palacio
If you’re lucky enough to work at Caramoor, one of the perks is that sometimes you can eat dinner alongside the artists who are performing later that evening.
Feeling in a blogging mood yesterday, on route to the dining room I grabbed a brand-new Paper Mate gel pen and a notebook. Among some brownie crumbs, I caught the Callistos there, asked them how it felt to perform at Caramoor again, and ripped out my pen … but no ink came out. An old-school journalist’s nightmare! Sitting right beside me, Callisto violinist Gregory Lewis pointed out that the little dot-size cover was still on the point of my virgin pen, and we shared a hearty laugh about how some musicians actually know how to use pens (and some writers don’t!).
With my advanced technology finally up and running, cellist Hannah Moses shared her thoughts about their program, which would include Mozart’s String Quartet #16 in E-flat Major and Schubert’s Death and The Maiden.
“These are two of our most favorite pieces and they’re so very different…the Schubert is dark and dramatic, and the Mozart is really joyful and outdoorsy and we’re so excited to play it here.”
“Yeah, literally outdoors…!” Gregory piped in, referring to the Spanish Courtyard, the only space at Caramoor where the Callistos did not have the chance to perform during their two-year residency, which began in 2020 but was unfairly derailed by the pandemic.
“We performed on livestreams, in a reduced capacity Music Room, and finally one night in The Venetian Theater but it rained so hard we had to stop,” Hannah recalled. “We’re so happy to be here, in a new venue, under ‘normal’ circumstances…,” she said, and the other three agreed. Apparently, everything that could go wrong during their residency, including canceled flights and catching COVID, did.
But last night it all reversed, and everything went right (after my pen!). A gentle breeze, birdsong in the stillness between movements, and the hazy twilight only added to the incredible beauty of the Callisto Quartet’s music-making.
The Spanish Courtyard will be put to good use again next Thursday, July 6, with the Miró Quartet. Something about chamber music, and string quartets in particular, in this venue makes sublime sense.
Great article!
I’m so glad the Callisto Quartet was finally able to perform under “normal” circumstances in the beautiful Spanish Courtyard! Great post and photos!