Chamber Music

cypress3.2.jpg
Preview

Call and Response

Be'eri Moalem - March 30, 2009
The Cypress Quartet is rethinking the traditional concept of concerts, in which the musicians play a piece typically written some 150 years ago, the audience listens and then claps their hands, the performers bow, and everyone goes home. The Cypress is turning that experience into a two-week project that involves the entire community.
KLRTrio.jpg
Preview

Old Friends, Getting It Right Again

Michael Zwiebach - March 17, 2009
You often hear chamber music described as a conversation, but really it’s like a meeting of friends. Back in the old days, chamber music was one way to pass the time with friends, and also to indulge a love of music (since there were no radios or stereos to turn on).

Think about that as you listen to the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio in their concert for Chamber Music San Francisco.

katonatwins3_2.jpg
Review

Twin Spirits

Scott Cmiel - March 16, 2009
The twins Peter and Zoltán Katona have created a guitar duo noted for spirited interpretations, amazing virtuosity, and an uncanny ensemble that many attribute to their shared genetic heritage. The brothers from Budapest move and breathe together, and they mark changes of mood with an exchange of glances that highlights their musical decisions.
stlawrencestring.130.jpg
Preview

St. Lawrence String Quartet

David Bratman - March 11, 2009
New string quartets inspired by older masterworks in the genre have a long tradition. The latest composer to add to it is John Adams. Hearing the St. Lawrence Quartet perform late Beethoven inspired him to write a new quartet, which the St. Lawrence will give the premiere performance of at this Stanford Lively Arts concert. It's an important new work by a major composer.
americanstringquartet.130.jpg
Preview

American String Quartet, Menahem Pressler

Michelle Dulak Thomson - March 11, 2009
The American String Quartet, longtime quartet-in-residence at the Manhattan School of Music, has made relatively few recordings (and those mostly for small labels), and it's likely that most Bay Area chamber music lovers are unfamiliar with it.
alexanderstringnew_wide.jpg
Review

Brother and Sister Act

Lisa Hirsch - February 17, 2009

Classical music has had a few notable sibling acts in its history. Wolfgang and Nannerl Mozart toured as duo pianists; violinist Yehudi and pianist Hephzibah Menuhin performed recitals together.

blumenstock_e.jpg
Review

Intimate Splendor

Jonathan Rhodes Lee - February 17, 2009

On Valentine’s Day weekend, in four cities, three members of the American Bach Soloists presented a chamber music performance of great variety, including music by such contrasting composers as François Couperin, Heinrich Biber, J.S. Bach, and Arcangelo Corelli. The program selections were a bit disjointed for my taste to say the least, but in the concert I heard Sunday at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco the performers managed to tie things together well enough, balancing fireworks with remarkable poise and an elegant intimacy.

festinger_richard_wide.jpg
Review

Life Patterns

Be'eri Moalem - February 10, 2009

A concert that features only one composer is a fascinating opportunity, not only to get a thorough picture of that composer’s style, but also to track changes in it over time. San Francisco State University’s 60th birthday retrospective of Richard Festinger presented what, to me, seemed like two different approaches to music — yet still in the same basic style. I later noticed that the two perceived methods came from two different time periods: one from the 1990s, the other from last few years.

Tetzlaff and Andsnes

Janos Gereben - January 29, 2009
Years ago, Ruth Felt’s San Francisco Performances introduced a young violinist and pianist to the Bay Area. By now, Christian Tetzlaff and Leif Ove Andsnes are among the most acclaimed musicians in the world. The German violinist and Norwegian pianist are returning to Herbst Theatre for a much-anticipated concert, performing music by Janáček, Brahms, Mozart, and Schubert.