Music in the Vineyards' first weekend brings a delightful trio of twilight concerts, one at Robert Mondavi the other at Regusci Winery and one at Rubicon Estate. All will be terrific, but if I were to choose just one, I'd have to go with the Regusci concert. Gabriel Fauré's startling song-cycle La Bonne chanson and Brahms' exciting Horn Trio are enough of a draw to make me find transport to Napa. But those masterworks are joined by Daniel Brewbaker's String Quartet No. 2, Dance for My Fathers, dedicated to his mentors.
The 60-year-old Brewbaker has had a successful career with a number of major premieres. His music is both emotional and clear, meaning that it reaches an audience. Brewbaker, who, among other awards, won the Nadia Boulanger Award at the Ecole des Artes Americaines in Fontainebleau, and who has been a prolific songwriter, would certainly appreciate being on a program with Boulanger's teacher, Fauré. All in all, this should be a varied and satisfying evening of music.