Immediately before stops in Vancouver BC, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beer Sheva, Bay Area favorite Escher String Quartet's tour will bring the foursome to the vicinity of San Francisco, if not to the city itself.
Formed only nine years ago, the Escher has conquered the music world, now serving as Artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The quartet's appearance at last summer's Music@Menlo Festival, especially its all-Zemlinsky concert, received accolades. (Both Music&Menlo and the Chamber Music Society are directed by David Finckel and Wu Han, who have championed the Escher since the beginning.)
The quartet will play the same program — of Haydn's Quartet in D Major, Op. 50, No. 6; Shostakovich's Quartet in E-flat minor, Op. 144; and Dvorák's Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 51 — in Carmel's Sunset Center on Nov. 14, presented by the Chamber Music Monterey Bay, and in Burlingame's Music at Kohl Mansion on Nov. 16.
The Quartet takes its name from Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, inspired by Escher’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole.
The painterly aspect is highlighted by Music at Kohl, where the concert is preceded by an exhibition by and reception for painter Gina Jacupke. The event is called "Art & Music Together."