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Free for Museum Members at the Visionary and Legacy level

Gates open at 7:00 pm, concerts begin at 7:30 pm.

The 2025 Flagler Museum Music Series features performances by the Borromeo String Quartet, Jupiter String Quartet, The Valencia Baryton Project, Trio Karénine, and violinist Elissa Lee Koljonen accompanied by pianist Sheng-Yuan Kuan. 

Regularly featured on "Performance Today!" and National Public Radio, the Flagler Museum Music Series brings acclaimed musicians to the finest chamber music venue in South Florida. Audience members experience chamber music as it was intended, in a gracious and intimate setting.The Flagler name has long been associated with great music. Henry and Mary Lily Flagler frequently hosted musical performances in Whitehall's Music Room equipped with a 1,249 pipe J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co. organ. Flagler's son, Henry Harkness Flagler, was instrumental in the organization of the New York Symphony Society, serving also as its president. Jean Flagler Matthews, founder of the Flagler Museum and Henry Flagler's granddaughter, restored Whitehall's elaborate Odell organ and brought the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, to South Florida for a Museum benefit concert in 1969. Music Series audience members not only enjoy beautiful chamber music but also enjoy the rare opportunity to meet the musicians during a champagne and dessert reception following each concert.

The Flagler Museum Music Series is sponsored by:

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Borromeo String Quartet

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February 4, 2025
7:30 p.m.

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Concert Program

Each visionary performance of the award-winning Borromeo String Quartet strengthens and deepens its reputation as one of the most important ensembles of our time. Admired and sought after for both its fresh interpretations of the classical music canon and its championing of works by 20th and 21st century composers, the ensemble has been hailed for its “edge-of-the- seat performances,” by the Boston Globe, which called it “simply the best.”

Inspiring audiences for more than 25 years, the Borromeo continues to be a pioneer in its use of technology, and has the trailblazing distinction of being the first string quartet to utilize laptop computers on the concert stage. Reading music this way helps push artistic boundaries, allowing the artists to perform solely from 4-part scores and composers’ manuscripts, a revealing and metamorphic experience which these dedicated musicians now teach to students around the world. As the New York Times noted, “The digital tide washing over society is lapping at the shores of classical music. The Borromeo players have embraced it in their daily musical lives like no other major chamber music group.” Moreover, the Quartet often leads discussions enhanced by projections of handwritten manuscripts, investigating with the audience the creative process of the composer. And in 2003 the Borromeo became the first classical ensemble to make its own live concert recordings and videos, distributing them for many years to audiences through its Living Archive, a music learning web portal for which a new version will soon be released.

Jupiter String Quartet

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February 11, 2025
7:30 p.m.

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Concert Program

The Jupiter String Quartet is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). Founded in 2001, this tight-knit ensemble is firmly established as an important voice in the world of chamber music, and exudes an energy that is at once friendly, knowledgeable, and adventurous. The New Yorker states, “The Jupiter String Quartet, an ensemble of eloquent intensity, has matured into one of the mainstays of the American chamber-music scene.”

The quartet has performed across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Americas in some of the world’s finest halls, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Austria’s Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul’s Sejong Chamber Hall. Their major music festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, the Banff Centre, Virginia Arts Festival, Music at Menlo, Maverick Concerts, Caramoor International Music Festival, Lanaudiere Festival, West Cork (Ireland) Chamber Music Festival, Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, Skaneateles Festival, Madeline Island Music Festival, Yellow Barn Festival, Encore Chamber Music Festival, the inaugural Chamber Music Athens, and the Seoul Spring Festival, among others.

Their chamber music honors and awards include the grand prizes in the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2004. In 2005, they won the Young Concert Artists International auditions in New York City, which quickly led to a busy touring schedule. They received the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America in 2007, followed by an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2008. From 2007-2010, they were in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Two and, in 2009, they received a grant from the Fromm Foundation to commission a new quartet from Dan Visconti for a CMSLC performance at Alice Tully Hall. In 2012, the Jupiter Quartet members were appointed as artists-in-residence and faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where they continue to perform regularly in the beautiful Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, maintain private studios, and direct the chamber music program.

Valencia Baryton Project

Jupiter Quartet by Todd Rosenberg RGB 72 400 pxwFebruary 18, 2025
7:30 p.m.

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Concert Program

 A string trio with four instruments? A harpsichord hiding behind the cello? The Valencia Baryton Project has dedicated itself to the performance of music written for an ancient and little-known instrument, the baryton. A cross between the viol da gamba and lirone, with 10 resonating and plucked strings down the back of the instrument, the baryton gives the traditional string trio an entirely new dimension.

The Valencia Baryton Project is a collective founded by Valencia-based barytonist Matthew Baker with the vision of performing the nearly 170 works written by Franz Joseph Haydn as well as compositions by other composers, both modern and classical. At the heart of the ensemble is the traditional formation in trio - baryton, viola, and violoncello - for which Haydn wrote 123 works of outstanding beauty during his time as the court composer for the Prince Esterhazy of Austria.

With Matthew Baker, one of only a handful baryton performers in the world, the Valencia Baryton Project have delighted audiences in sold-out concerts throughout North, Central and South America as well as Europe with what is considered to have been the pinnacle of aristocratic instruments of the classical era. Their work has been described as ‘beautifully polished’ (Musicalifeiten) and “delightfully inventive” (The Strad). They have been featured in publications and programs such as Berklee Now (USA), Radio Nacional de España, BBC 3 (UK), Die Welt (Germany), and Classic FM (UK) amongst others. The Valencia Baryton Project’s barytonist - Matthew Baker - was also featured in The Strad in March of 2023 in a full-length article about the instrument.

In 2021, the Valencia Baryton Project released Naxos Records’ first ever baryton CD for their own label starting a new series and then continued on with their 2nd CD which was released in 2023. Their recordings have been described as “spiritedly performed and superbly recorded” (Classical Music Daily, UK), “highly recommended” (Stretto, Belgium), “a discovery for curious ears” (OnlineMerker, Switzerland), and “virtuosic” (WDR 3, Germany). The first CD was nominated as one of the finalists for Best Classical CD of the Carles Santos Premios and has also appeared in Gramophone’s top 20 Classical charts in the UK and All Music’s Top Classical CDs of 2021.

Trio Karenine

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February 25, 2025
7:30 p.m.

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Concert Program

Founded in Paris in 2009, Trio Karénine bears the name of Tolstoy’s beautiful and emotionally honest heroine. The trio of Julien Dieudegard (violin), Louis Rodde (cello) and Paloma Kouider (piano) is acclaimed by critics and audiences for its musical integrity and passionate interpretation, and was the top prizewinner at the ARD International Competition in 2013. The group has performed in the world’s most prestigious halls, including the Philharmonie and Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Frick Collection in New York, Salle Bourgie in Montréal, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Herkulessaal and Prinzregententheater in Münich, the Leiszhalle in Hamburg, and Sydney Opera House.

The ensemble received the prestigious Nordmetall-Ensemble Prize from the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festspiele in 2015 for its interpretation of Schubert’s “Trout” quintet, performed with bassist Laurene Durantel and violist Krzysztof Chorzelski (Belcea Quartet). Trio Karénine received the first prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in the Netherlands, is a laureate of the Joseph Haydn Competition in Vienna, and the recipient of the prestigious “Banque Populaire” grant. The trio is also a laureate of the Maurice Ravel Academy and the Charles Oulmont Foundation and was unanimously awarded the International Pro Musicis Prize in Paris.

The trio is a highly sought-after collaborator and has shared the stage with Adrien La Marca, Marie Chilemme, Alena Baeva, Hélène Clément, Raphaël Sévère, to name a few. The group is also a regular advocate of new music, performing works by Wolfgang Rihm, Philippe Hersant, Hans-Werner Henze, Graciane Finzi, Franck Krawczyk, among others. The trio is the dedicatee of Benoit Menut piano trio Les Allées Sombres, and its performance of Fazil Say’s Space Jump won the special prize at the ARD International Competition.

Trio Karenine has been generously supported by the Académie de Villecroze, the Culture et Musique Fondation under the auspices of the Fondation de France, the Fondation Banque Populaire, as well as a scholarship from the Festival “Musique et Vins au Clos Vougeot”. The trio is currently supported by the French organization Adami.

Elissa Lee Koljonen

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March 4, 2025
7:30 p.m.

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Concert Program

Recognized as one of the most celebrated violinists of her generation, Elissa Lee Koljonen has thrilled audiences and critics in more than one hundred cities throughout the world. Ms. Koljonen received international acclaim when she became the first recipient of the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Award and the silver medalist of the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition. Her playing has been hailed by the Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki) as “sparkling, sensual and personal,” and the Chicago Tribune has said she displays “boundless technique and musicianship.”

Ms. Koljonen has performed with such orchestras as the Boston Pops, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic, as well as the symphony orchestras of Bilbao, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Helsinki, and Seoul. She garnered critical acclaim for her appearance with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo in a special concert celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi Dynasty. She has collaborated with such noted conductors as Matthias Bamert, Dirk Brossé, JoAnn Falletta, Lawrence Foster, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Neeme Järvi, James Judd, Andrew Litton, José-Luis Novo, the late James DePreist, and the late Bryden Thomson.

Ms. Koljonen has performed in some of the world's most venerated concert venues, including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Barbican Centre and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Seoul Arts Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Symphony Hall in Boston, and the Academy of Music and Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Koljonen appears regularly at festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

Ms. Koljonen appears by arrangement with the Curtis Institute of Music and will be accompanied by pianist Sheng-Yuan Kuan.