Saturday, September 12, 2015 8:00pm
Gwendolyn Mok
Gwendolyn Mok, piano
with
Daniel Lewin, violin
Jerry Chang, ‘cello
Internationally known pianist and Berkeley resident Gwendolyn Mok opens the season with a program marking the legacy of Beethoven and his influence on later composers. Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in A Major op 2, no. 2 is paired with his Piano Trio in E flat, Op.1, no.1. These compositions are balanced by solo piano pieces by Czerny, Mendelssohn, and Liszt that illustrate the connection and relationship to Beethoven.
Saturday, October 10, 2015, 8:00pm
Trio Seven
Matthew Foley
Harry Stoddard, seven-string guitar
Matthew Grasso
Trio Seven, a unique guitar ensemble of three extended seven string guitars, will perform original transcriptions and compositions. This season the trio highlights women composers, beloved compositions that were disdained by their composers, film themes, and other selected repertory. The program will include works by Ravel, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, von Paradis, Lili Boulanger, de Falla, Grasso, and Debussy
Saturday, November 14, 2015, 8:00pm
The Mana Quartet
Michael Hernandez, soprano saxophone
Michael Mortarotti, alto saxophone
Diane Hunger, tenor saxophone
Thomas Giles, baritone saxophone
Championed by Chamber Music Magazine as Saxophone Ambassadors, the Mana Quartet has, since its inception in 2007, presented fresh interpretations of 21st century repertoire and many virtually unheard of 20th century masterworks. Using vintage instruments built to the specifications of the saxophone’s inventor, Adolphe Sax, Mana’s passionate presentations offer audiences a chance to view the saxophone in a new light – a striking aesthetic characterized by intrinsic warmth, dynamic range of character, and absolute versatility. Mana redefines the saxophone quartet and the saxophone’s place in classical music. Come hear them play works by J.S. Bach, Glazunov, and a new quartet composed especially for the ensemble by American composer Steven Dankner.
Saturday, December 12, 2015, 8:00pm
Amy Likar
Amy Likar, flute & piccolo
with
Rena Urso-Trapani, flute
Cathy Allen, ‘cello
Miles Graber, piano
An evening of new music, featuring Suite for Piano Quartet by Lisa Marsh, The Blood of the Prophets by Daniel David Feinsmith (recorded by Amy and Miles in 2012), a newly commissioned piece by Pulitzer Prize Winner Zhou Long for solo flute, Asha Srinivasan‘s Dviraag for flute and cello, and Paha Sapa for solo piccolo by Michael Stevens, a piece that was composed for Amy.
Saturday, January 9, 2016, 8:00pm
Ken Malucelli
Cheryl Blalock, soprano
Sally Mouzon, mezzo-soprano
Adam Ferrer-Miller, tenor
Michael Morris, bass-baritone
Brian Whitten, piano
Jason Sherbundy, piano
The world premiere of San Francisco composer Ken Malucelli’s Gypsy Love Songs, based on Brahms’ Zigeunerlieder, (Op. 103, Nos. 1-11, Op. 112, Nos. 1-4). Newly transcribed for piano-four-hands and with new English texts by Malucelli, the cycle is an exciting, fiery challenge for singers and pianists. Bay Area pianists Brian Whitten and Jason Sherbundy share the bill, which will include additional vocal and piano solos and duets by Brahms, Schubert, Strauss and others.
Saturday, February 13, 2016, 8:00pm
Jason Chiu
Jason Chiu, piano
Pianist Jason Chiu, a recent prize winner of the American Protege and American Prize competitions, will perform Chopin‘s magnificent Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58. Also featured on the program are two French masterworks: Debussy‘s L’Isle Joyeuse and Ravel‘s scintillating La Valse, as well as two ethereal nocturnes by the American composer Lowell Liebermann.
Saturday, March 12, 2016, 8:00pm
MUSA
Joshua Romatowski, flute
Emily Botel, violin
Natalie Carducci, violin
Addi Liu, violin and viola
Laura Rubinstein-Salzedo, violin and viola
Clio Tilton, violin and viola
Kim Mai Nguyen, viola
Gretchen Claassen, ‘cello and viola da gamba
Laura Gaynon, ‘cello
Esther Lam, harpsichord
Derek Tam, harpsichord and conductor
Les Goûts-réünis—the tastes or styles reunited—is a century-long culmination of the musical contest between the elegance seeking French and the Italians who delighted in virtuosity and the power to astound. The leading violinist-composers of the Baroque era were brilliant virtuosi, championing their own compositions as well as setting the newest musical trends and reuniting styles. The young and exciting Baroque ensemble MUSA charts the evolution of regional violin music from cities across Italy to a cosmopolitan style at the French capital in a trio sonata program performed on period instruments.
Saturday, April 9, 2016, 8:00pm
Frequency 49
Carmen Lemoine, flute
Adrienne Malley, oboe
Jeannie Psomas, clarinet
Yueh Chou, bassoon
Leslie Hart, french horn
Margaret Halbig, piano
Frequency 49 presents an (almost) all-American program of standard and little-known chamber works. This program features Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Samuel Barber‘s gorgeous woodwind quintet Summer Music (1956) and Aaron Copland‘s spacious Duo for flute and piano (1971). Frequency 49 will also be showcasing African-American composer William Grant Still’s Miniatures (1948), based on folk songs of the Americas, Bill Douglas‘s crowd-pleasing Quartet (2011), and Three Pieces (1939) by Vernon Duke, the musical genius responsible for the much-loved jazz standards April in Paris and Autumn in New York.
Next Concert
Saturday, May 7, 2016, 8:00pm
Daniel Lewin and Dmitriy Cogan
Daniel Lewin, violin
Dmitriy Cogan, piano
French composers created a wealth of beautiful music for violin and piano. This recital by the Lewin-Cogan Duo will present great sonatas by the Impressionistic composers Ravel and Fauré. The penultimate composition by Debussy, his short masterpiece sonata, will also be performed, as well as an early work by Messiaen.
Saturday, June 11, 2016, 8:00pm
Ensemble For These Times
Nanette McGuinness, soprano
Adaiha Macadam-Somer, ‘cello
Dale Tsang, piano
Saturday, June 18, 2016, 8:00pm
Isaac Pastor-Chermak & Friends
Isaac Pastor-Chermak, ‘cello
Miles Graber, piano
with special guests
A recital of music by Elliott Carter (the Sonata for Cello and Piano) and Robert Schumann (the Piano Quintet). The Carter sonata is an energetic and approachable contemporary masterpiece, while the Schumann is chock-full of great tunes and virtuoso flourishes. For more information, visit www.isaacpastorchermak.com.