Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival turns 40

There'll be more than a fifth of Beethoven being played at the 40th Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, which kicks off Sunday and runs through Aug. 13.

This year's milestone festival will feature 11 concerts that are tied to the theme of "Beethoven as Innovator." In addition, there will be performances of six favorite pieces by Elizabeth Brown, Kenji Bunch, Eric Ewazen, Bruce MacCombie, Kevin Puts, and Ned Rorem that were commissioned specifically for the festival over the past four decades.

“Who would have thought that from a pair of concerts over a single weekend — where I was selling tickets off my front porch — that 40 years later we would not only still be putting on concerts, but would have expanded to a monthlong summer festival, a fall series and a spring series,” said festival founder and artistic director Marya Martin in a statement.

Among the highlights will be the all-Beethoven opening concert at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church at 6 p.m. Sunday; the "Annual Benefit: Turning a New Leaf" featuring works by Antonín Dvořák at 6:30 p.m. on July 29 at the Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton; "Landscapes and Pastorales" at the Parrish Art Museum in Bridgehampton at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 7; and the final concert, "Variations on the Sea," at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church at 6 p.m. on Aug. 13.

For the full festival schedule and to purchase tickets, go to bcmf.org.