After many, many decades of attending concerts beginning in Phipps Auditorium, I would be hard pressed to remember a favorite. Instead, I want to extend a big “thank you” to past and present board members. Your efforts have made this [music] possible for over half a century and enriched our community with memorable music both in concert halls and as outreach programs to young people. BRAVO! – Sandra M. Goodman
The group that popped up in my memory was eighth blackbird. The music was so fresh, interesting, amusing and creative. [February 7, 2001 and February 7, 2007] -Anonymous
When the Emerson Quartet played with FCM for the first time I was an announcer at the old KCFR radio and when I interviewed them they were falling over each other with enthusiasm! They played with such intensity the whole audience could hardly breathe. [November 19, 1980] – Chris Mohr
The Pacifica Quartet’s Beethoven series. So unique, so memorable! [April, May, September and October 2012] -Anonymous
Jean-Yves Thibaudet was my favorite. [January 30, 2011] – Barbara Goldblatt
We enjoy the intermissions (seeing all our friends) as much as the concerts themselves! – Anonymous 30-plus year veteran of FCM concerts
I want to cast my vote for Richard Goode playing Schubert’s Opus Posthumous [Sonata in B flat major, D 960]. [October 5, 2005] – Abbey Kapelovitz
Lang Lang’s rendition of [Franz Liszt’s] Hungarian Rhapsody No.2. It was as if you had never heard it played before. [November 10, 2004] – Anonymous
After a performance by Dawn Upshaw of [Samuel Barber’s] Knoxville: Summer of 1915, the woman next to me said: “I will glide home now….” [November 16, 1995] – Walter Torres
Two memories especially stand out (and best of all, they are available on existing public recordings): the amazing performance by pianist Angela Hewitt of Bach’s incredible Well-Tempered Clavier: Preludes and Fugues, Book I [September 30, 2007], and the delicious performance by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra with Fedérico Mondelci, saxophone, of Piazzolla’s Five Tangos (one of the most romantic programs I think we’ve ever had!) [January 26, 2000]. – Suzanne Ryan
The extraordinary performance of the Cavatina movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet # 13 in B flat major, Op. 130 by the Pacifica Quartet. The beautiful dialogue between players provided an absolutely serene moment of contemplation. They communicated all at once the human capacity for love and the loneliness of isolation. I will never forget this exquisite performance. [[September 19, 2012] – Patsy Aronstein
When the Kronos Quartet played Purple Haze as an encore at the George Washington High School auditorium. [February 4, 1987] – Anonymous
The dramatic differences in sartorial self-expression in 2011, ranging from Hilary Hahn’s arresting evening gown to Yuja Wang’s tiny mini-skirt. [Hilary Hahn, February 22, 2011; Yuja Wang, October 4, 2011] – Anonymous
Hesperion XXI’s fabulous concert in the Houston Fine Arts Center (for which I served as pre-concert speaker). It was an extraordinary evening with one of the world’s greatest musicians, Jordi Savall, and his beautiful wife, the soprano Montserrat Figueras. It stands as my favorite memory. [March 2001] – Marc Shulgold
The Beethoven cycle by the Pacifica Quartet stands out as an amazing series of performances. There were three wonderful aspects of this series. First, the opportunity to experience all of Beethoven’s string quartets. Second, the suggested reading of Lewis Lockwood’s book and hearing him talk about it with a wonderful dinner. Third, the accessibility of the Pacifica Quartet with their lively playing, stage presence, talk backs and introductions. Together these provided a wonderful package of music and knowledge. Thanks for so many great memories and bringing great music and performers to Denver. [April/May and September/October 2012] – Rick Hum
When we met in the 1970s my husband had been a subscriber to Friends of Chamber Music concerts for several years. Our first date was to one of the performances. Evidently I was not the first woman he’d taken. He admits it was a kind of test and that he didn’t like the responses of his previous dates, responses which mostly showed a lack of interest. I guess I passed the test because we’ll celebrate 36 years of marriage this year and are still enjoying the concerts sponsored by Friends of Chamber Music. – Ruth Steele
I attended the very first concert of the Friends of Chamber Music 60 years ago and have been a continuous subscriber ever since. I was an 8 year old child at the time and I don’t recall the program, but I do remember the excitement of that opening night at Phipps Auditorium with my parents. My father, Bernard Schaffner, was one of the original founders of this amazing organization and remained an integral part as a long standing member of the Board of Directors. Having recently moved from Chicago he and a few friends saw the need for good chamber music in Denver. They mobilized forces, got community support, and made Friends of Chamber Music a reality.
My favorite chamber group was the Beaux Arts Trio, and I especially enjoyed Menachem Pressler who charmed us all at the piano when he played the Schubert Trios. My family has had an exciting legacy with the Friends of Chamber Music and it continues to enrich our lives. – Barbara Engel
This year marks our one-half century of Friends of Chamber Music attendance. Very few activities in our lives have given us more enrichment and pleasure than the Friends concerts. – Rosemary and Bert Melcher
The FCM series counts as one of my great pleasures in life. The musicians of Continuum [March, 1992 and November, 2002] introduced us to the brave new world of late 20th century and contemporary music. Thanks for paying attention to this vital aspect of the art! – Karen Jones
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