The 1794 Meetinghouse of New Salem presents the Rautenberg-Saathoff Duo in a concert of music for violin and piano on Sunday, June 22, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. as part of the “Fountain of Youth” series, in a program which includes the Sonata in B minor by J. S. Bach, Schumann’s “Märchenbilder” (“Fairy Tales”), and short pieces by Ferdinand David, Hubert Léonard, Kreisler, and Paganini, all of whom were virtuoso violinists. This concert will be the duo’s second appearance at the Meetinghouse.

Prominent New York violinist Lisa Rautenberg and collaborative pianist Gretchen Saathoff formed the Rautenberg-Saathoff Duo in New York in 1995. The duo has performed often in New York, Connecticut, and Princeton, New Jersey.

The Rautenberg-Saathoff Duo performs a broad range of classical music reflecting its members' eclectic interests. With its performances characterized as "mesmerizing,” "unusually dramatic," and "stunningly beautiful,” the duo has received return invitations to every venue it has performed in.

Ms. Rautenberg performs as soloist and chamber musician. She gave her New York debut in 1989 at the Mostly Mozart Festival in Avery Fisher Hall appearing with Concert Royale. She is a featured performer on recordings for SONY Classical, Virgin Classics, Newport Classics, MCA, Decca, Nonesuch, Telarc and Deutsche Grammophone, with such luminaries as Anthony Newman and Anner Bylsma, and has appeared as violin soloist at Carnegie Hall with the Vienna Boys’ Choir.

Ms. Saathoff twice toured the nation as pianist with the Norman Luboff Choir. A New Yorker for eighteen years, Ms. Saathoff relocated to Amherst, MA in 1999, where she is a member of the Arts Extension Service faculty at the University of Massachusetts. She is pianist for the Quabbin Valley Pro Musica, the Valley Light Opera, the Pioneer Valley Symphony, and the Commonwealth Opera, in addition to performing in collaboration with both singers and instrumentalists.