Out & About
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Bridgehampton Festival Strings Out the Best
Chamber music lovers need not be deprived when they venture out to the East End. The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, in its 24th season, brings 40 artists from around the world to perform at five venues around town. Most of the festival, which runs through August 19, takes place at the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, which, it is worth noting, is air-conditioned.
The idea for the festival came from the travel-weary husbands of two musicians, violinist Ani Kavafian and flutist Marya Martin. “We were at the Santa Fe Music Festival,” in the early 1980s, Ms. Kavafian recalled at the festival’s fund-raiser on July 28. “We were all enjoying it. And Marya’s husband, Ken, said, ‘We need to find a way to get the girls closer to home. Bernie thought that was a great idea,'” she said, referring to their spouses, Ken Davidson and Bernie Mindich.
The “girls” thought it was a great idea, too. “We wanted to make our own thing,” Ms. Martin, who has served as artistic director since the beginning, said. “It’s wonderful for making people feel good. We’re all together, the artists are here.”
One such artist, who performed at the fund-raiser concert at the Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton, was cellist Peter Wiley, a member of the Guarneri String Quartet. He made the trip from Marlboro, Vt., where he is a faculty member of the Marlboro Music Festival.
“The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival is a chance to make music with friends in a special community and environment for a very appreciative audience that loves to hear fine music by fine musicians,” Mr. Wiley said.
The principal harpist with the Paris Opera, Emmanuel Ceysson, flew in from Cardiff, Wales, to perform in two of the festival’s concerts. He also teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in London. How did he get to Bridgehampton?
“He is a Young Concert Artist like me,” Ms. Martin said, referring to the competitive program that awards fellowships to musicians at the start of their careers.
Mr. Ceysson not only has the talent, but the good lucks that seem to a key to having a successful career in classical music. He is known at the heartthrob of the harp community.
Female guests were pleased to know — when they inquired on behalf of their daughters and granddaughters, of course — that Mr. Ceysson is currently without a girlfriend.
But, he warned potential suitors, “I’ve spent my whole life with my harp. She gets very jealous.”
On this night in Bridgehampton, his harp was quite happy despite the humid conditions.
Ms. Martin was happy, too, surrounded by such longtime patrons as the chairmen of the event, the CEO of Financial Security Assurance Holdings, Robert Cochran, and his wife, Suzanne, a fundraiser; the chairwoman emerita of Orpheus, Connie Steensma, and Mary and Hank Guettel — Mrs. Guettel is the composer of “Once Upon a Mattress” and the daughter of Richard Rodgers; the couple are the parents of composer Adam Guettel. Their support goes a long way: Ticket sales account for only 15% of the $500,000 annual operating budget.
