Each of the composers here made significant contributions to music, just as each donor makes a significant contribution to the Festival. While Haydn-sized contributions guarantee the longevity of Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, all contributions have a substantial impact, and are works of genius!
The Living Composer Circle, Gifts of $7,500 and up:
Living Composer’s Lifespan: Still Kicking. Music is alive. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the works of our present day. New works give us the perspective to appreciate that all music was once new, surprising, and even shocking. By performing and championing the works of our musical present we are better able to appreciate the masterpieces of the past.
The Josef Haydn Circle, Gifts of $2,500 to $7,499:
Haydn’s Lifespan: 77 years. Haydn was the most prolific composer of symphonic and chamber music during the Classical Era. He invented the String Quartet, and perfected the form in his mature works. “Papa” Haydn, as he was known, lived to the ripe age of 77, and is considered to be the father of chamber music as we know it.
The Johannes Brahms Circle, Gifts of $1,250 to $2,499:
Brahms’ Lifespan: 63 years. Brahms was perhaps the most influential composer of symphonic and chamber music in the 19th Century after Beethoven. The variety, breadth, and beauty of his chamber music, as well as his contributions as a teacher, make him a towering figure on the musical landscape.
The Ludwig van Beethoven Circle, Gifts of $750-$1,249:
Beethoven’s Lifespan: 56 years. Beethoven cast a long shadow across the 19th century and beyond. His late string quartets remain revolutionary works to this day. Despite his deafness, Beethoven did more to change the course of music than any other composer.
The Felix Mendelssohn Circle, Gifts of $300-$749:
Mendelssohn’s Lifespan: 38 years. Mendelssohn’s contributions include rediscovering the music of Bach, and pioneering new forms, such as “Songs Without Words.” Mendelssohn both protected the legacy of the past and looked to the future.
The Worlfgang Amadeus Mozart Circle, Gifts of $150-$299:
Mozart’s Lifespan: 35 years. His every work a pearl, every musical gesture a poem, Mozart is perfection.
The Franz Schubert Circle, Gifts of $50-$149:
Schubert’s lifespan: 31 years. A prolific composer of songs, Schubert took chamber music to lyrical heights.
The Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Circle, Gifts of $25-$49:
Pergolesi’s Lifespan: 26 years. Though short-lived, Pergolesi was a prolific composer of operatic, sacred, and chamber music. His “Stabat Mater” has been performed annually on Good Friday in Naples, Italy for
almost 300 years.
