A great way to spend a Sunday morning! The beloved and famed Alexander String Quartet and music historian Robert Greenberg welcome an accomplished new violist, David Samuel, and a host of guest artists including founding member Paul Yarbrough as "plus ones" to explore music for five in their five-part "Art of the Quintet" series. You'll find these popular and casual concerts combine complete performances with commentary on the composers, their lives, times and music bringing depth, insight and humor to the context.
The Alexander String Quartet has performed in the major music capitals of five continents, securing its standing among the world's premiere ensembles. Widely admired for its interpretations of Beethoven, Mozart, and Shostakovich, the quartet's recordings of the Beethoven cycle (twice), and the Bartok and Shostakovich cycles have all won international critical acclaim. The quartet has also established itself as an important advocate of new music through over 25 commissions from such composers as Jake Heggie, Cindy Cox, Augusta Read Thomas, Robert Greenberg, Martin Bresnick, Cesar Cano, and Pulitzer Prize-winner, Wayne Peterson.
The Alexander String Quartet is a major artistic presence in its home base of San Francisco, serving since 1989 as Ensemble-in-Residence for San Francisco Performances and Directors of the Instructional Program of the Morrison Chamber Music Center in the College of Liberal and Creative Arts at San Francisco State University.
Robert Greenberg has performed, taught and lectured extensively across North America and Europe. He is currently music historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances, where he has lectured and performed since 1994.