ROCKPORT —  Bay Chamber Concerts mission is to enrich the lives of the people in the community through music, and this week's concerts are no exception. Thursday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m. the Rockport Opera House will host pianist Ran Dank and clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester.

Romantic Music for Clarinet and Piano features works by Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, and Weber. The talent featured on Thursday night will paint a vivid musical landscape that should not be missed. The following evening Friday, Aug. 1 at 9 p.m. Ran Dank and Jose Franch-Ballester return, this time to Union Hall for an intimate and moving program featuring the works of Debussy, Chopin, Poulenc, and John Novacek. The café style atmosphere gives viewers a chance to connect with the performers as well as the music.

Both programs, with their gorgeous set lists and incredibly talented artists, promise excellence.

Pianist Ran Dank deploys his brilliant technique with astonishing energy, intellect and intensity, captivating audiences and critics alike. In the past season of New York concerts alone, he has performed Beethoven sonatas at Merkin Hall, Prokofiev's Concerto No. 2 in his debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Alice Tully Hall, and gained critical acclaim for his "vivacious playing" (The New York Times) of the Tobias Picker Concerto at Columbia University's Miller Theatre and for his performance of Ravel's piano trio at the Chelsea Music Festival for "the sweep and fire of his playing" (The New York Times).

In his native Israel, Mr. Dank has been invited as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Jerusalem, Rishon Lezion, Haifa and Raanana, as well as the Israel Festival in Jerusalem, and most recently, at the Israel Conservatory of Music in a recital celebrating Debussy's 150th anniversary.

Jose Franch-Ballester, a native of Moncofa (Valencia, Spain), is one of the most promising clarinetists of his generation. In 2008 he received the highly coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, and in 2007 he was one of a handful of participants selected for a Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workshop with Emmanuel Ax and Richard Stoltzman, and one of the year's "most prominent emerging soloists", as selected by the American Symphony League Magazine.  

The New York Times has hailed him as " a natural onstage... played with technical wizardry and tireless enthusiasm." The Santa Barbara Independent writes:  "Jose Franch-Ballester has the presence and musicality of a major star. and he gave a performance that left one wondering how even the great Benny Goodman . could have played it any better."

Thursday night begins with Robert Schumann's Three Romances which was originally written for the oboe but has been adapted to the clarinet. Following Schumann is Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata No. 2, with Ran Dank choosing the composer's 1931 condensed version of the orginal. The concerto is in three movements, but it is through-composed - that is, one movement flows into the next without a break, all in the span of less than 20 minutes. The third piece is Brahms' Sonata in E -flat Major in three movements and he program finishes with Weber's Grand Duo Concertant, a complex and rewarding piece demanding concerto-like brilliance from both instrumentalists.

On Friday night Jose and Ran have prepared a variety of inspiring repertoire, breathing life into some of chamber music's most beloved and time honored pieces. Beginning with Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie, a work which explores the expressive and the technical possibilities of the piano. In Debussy's typical fashion, it blends two contrasting moods - a tender reverie and an elfin scherzo.  It is followed by Chopin's Polonaise in C Minor and Polonaise in A-flat. The piece heavily influenced by Chopin's love of his native Poland.  Poulenc's Sonata for Clarinet and Piano is unusual for its contrasting sections of music, culminating in a haunting sequence of repeated up and down figures for the clarinet.

The final piece in the performance is John Novacek's 4 Rags for 2 Johns. This contemporary piece follows the Ragtime tradition of America featuring a strongly syncopated tune in the right hand above a steady march-like beat in the left, with additional poly-rhythms from African music. The entirety of the program allows Jose Franch-Ballester and Ran Dank to exhibit their spectacular talent in a number of different musical styles, and promises to be an outstanding concert.


Tickets for these concerts can be purchased in advance by calling (207)236-2823 or by stopping by Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School at 18 Central St. Rockport. Tickets are also available in limited quantities at the door prior to concerts. To avoid the five dollar order fee that applies, tickets are available online at www.baychamberconcerts.org.

Based in Rockport, Bay Chamber is dedicated to transforming lives through high-quality concert programs, music education and community outreach.  Bay Chamber acknowledges the importance of all musical languages and encourages people of all ages and abilities to explore them both in concerts and in the classroom.

Bay Chamber Concerts presents music year-round at a variety of venues in Midcoast Maine.  The annual Summer Music Festival in July and August and Performing Arts Series from October to May both showcase a variety of classical, jazz, world music, dance and film events.  Pre-concert talks and post-concert receptions provide audiences unique opportunities that enhance the concert experience through interaction with the musicians and insights about each performance.

A 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, for over 50 years, Bay Chamber also awards annual prizes to young Maine Musicians.  Bay Chamber Music School offers private instruction, group classes, orchestral opportunities and other music education to local musicians and community members of all ages and abilities.  Bay Chamber's Music School located in downtown Rockport and houses state-of-the-art facilities for 16 professional faculty members.