If you have a music lover in your family or you just want a genuinely beautiful evening out, Cornell’s Mayfest International Chamber Music Festival is running right now through Tuesday, May 19, and the programming this year is extraordinary.
Held at Barnes Hall on the Cornell campus, the festival features five consecutive nights of world-class chamber music, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and concerts beginning at 7:30 p.m. – with a Sunday matinee at 2:00 p.m.
Here’s what’s left on the schedule:
Tonight through Friday, May 15: Debussy, Glière, Paganini, and a Dvořák Piano Quartet. Pianist Daniel Anastasio hosts a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. — a lovely way to ease into the evening if classical music isn’t your everyday listening.
Saturday, May 16: A cabaret song set opens the night, followed by Prokofiev, Lutosławski, and Arensky.
Sunday, May 17 : “The Four B’s” Matinee: Beethoven, Bartók, Bach, and Brahms — an afternoon concert at 2:00 p.m. with a pre-concert talk at 1:15 p.m. This is the most family-accessible format of the week.
Monday, May 18: Includes the US premiere of Joseph Phibbs’ Piano Quintet alongside Bartók and Rachmaninoff.
Tuesday, May 19: Beethoven, Puccini, Rossini, and Franck close out the festival.
Tickets are available at mayfest-cornell.org. For older kids with an interest in music, a performing arts student, or a parent who deserves a night out.
This is exactly the kind of thing that makes living near Ithaca genuinely special. 🎶