Grand prize winners of Austin’s own national Coltman Chamber Music Competition kick off weekend two of the 2025 Austin Chamber Music Festival! Kodak Quartet is highly regarded for their work with contemporary composers and for presenting traditional works with a contemporary flavor; their July 19 program features Johannes Brahms, John Zorn, and Ernst von Dohnányi. Joining the energetic ensemble is pianist Michelle Schumann, named “Best Classical Musician” in the Best of Austin Readers Poll by the Austin Chronicle.
Subject to availability, $12 Student Rush (with student ID), $35 General Admission, $45 Preferred, and $85 Premium tickets may be purchased at the box office on the day of the concert. The box office will open one hour before the concert begins, and hall doors will open for seating 30 minutes before.
Program
String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2 | Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
- Allegro non troppo
- Andante moderato
- Quasi minuetto, moderato – Allegretto vivace
- Finale: Allegro non assai
Cat o’Nine Tails | John Zorn (b. 1953)
INTERMISSION
Piano Quintet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 1 | Ernst von Dohnányi (1877–1960)
- Allegro
- Scherzo: Allegro Vivace
- Adagio, quasi andante
- Finale: Allegro animato
KODAK QUARTET
Edgar Donati, Martin No, violins | Daniel Spink, viola | Blake Kitayama, cello
Michelle Schumann, piano
Approximate run time: 78 minutes, plus one short intermission
Kodak Quartet
Praised for their “electrifying eye contact and rhythmic flexibility” (Sean MacLean, KING-FM), the award-winning Kodak Quartet is highly regarded for their work with contemporary composers on new compositions and for presenting traditional works with a contemporary flavor. Kodak Quartet formed in Rochester, NY, while attending the Eastman School of Music and are currently based in New York, NY. Kodak’s members hail from the US, Canada and France.
The quartet won the first prize at the 2023 Frances Walton Competition and the 2023 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. Their international career brings concerts to a great diversity of people, including concerts at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, the Banff Centre, and MISQA. They have appeared on KING-FM Classical Northwest and have been featured on NPR LiveSessions. They have also performed for thousands of children at non-traditional performance venues such as school concerts, movie theaters, and other outreach programs such as Rob Kapilow’s “What Makes it Great?” and James Blachly’s “Listening as Leadership.”
Michelle Schumann
Hailed for her “sensitive, flexible, and tempestuous dexterity” (Fanfare Magazine), pianist Michelle Schumann has built a reputation for evocative and moving performances. Michelle served as Artistic Director of the Austin Chamber Music Center 2006–2024, “fearlessly expanding our definition of chamber music” (Austin-American Statesman). Her brand of performance includes an enthusiastic interplay with audiences, bringing diverse music together under a narrative blanket. She was named “Best Classical Musician” in the Best of Austin 2019 Readers Poll by the Austin Chronicle.
Schumann is Professor of Piano at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. She received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and additionally holds a Performance Diploma from the Vienna Conservatory.