Chamber Music

Demon Barber of That Adagio

Michelle Dulak Thomson - November 24, 2009

Most schools of music host concert series, not only by their own students and faculty but also by local (or even visiting) artists: What better way to keep the students inside in touch with the professional music community outside?

Brentano String Quartet

Lisa Hirsch - November 3, 2009

The award-winning, Princeton-based Brentano String Quartet has a proven ability to create unusual programs.This year, the quartet brings to Cal Performances a program of two lyrical masters of the quartet form, in which Franz Schubert's Quartettsatz, D. 703, and Quartet in G Major, D.

Preview

Fantastic Afternoon

Marianne Lipanovich - October 12, 2009

Fantasy (or phantasie) and the unusual is the theme of the day when the Gold Coast Chamber Players perform at Noe Valley Chamber Music Se

Review

From Left Coast to Around the Globe

Georgia Rowe - September 22, 2009

The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble does not confine itself to the region of its name. The Bay Area–based chamber ensemble opened its 2009-2010 season Monday evening at the Green Room of the Veterans Building in San Francisco with an engaging program of short works derived from such far-flung musical locales as Armenia, India, Iran, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, and the Balkans.

Preview

A New Way to Program a Recital

Marianne Lipanovich - September 21, 2009

In its 11th season, the Ives Quartet once again is taking a fresh look at chamber music, with the result being a typically (for it) eclectic mix of pieces that relate to each other in surprising ways. “Putting the Pieces Together” is the first of its three-concert main-stage series.

A Little Gem

Heuwell Tircuit - August 3, 2009

Among the gems in the crown of the San Francisco music scene are the Friday evening and Sunday 4 o’clocks at Old First Church. Those offer chamber music and recitals of quality programming by some of the Bay Area’s finer musicians — and at an exceptionally affordable price, too.

Review

Eos EnsembleAdmirable, but ...

Heuwell Tircuit - July 13, 2009

A program titled “Romancing the Voice” opened Old First Church’s summer season Friday evening, with the Eos Ensemble and guest mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as featured soloist. The basic ensemble of five chamber musicians was made up of violinists Craig Reiss and Mariya Borozina, violist Caroline Lee, cellist Thalia Moore, and pianist Marilyn Thompson.

Review

Ticklin' the Palate at Old St. Mary's

Heuwell Tircuit - July 6, 2009

Before opening the annual Midsummer Mozart Festival, there’s a tradition that musicians from the festival orchestra get together for smaller chamber music concerts of the great composer’s music. Because the possibilities are nearly infinite as regards instrumentation, anything can turn up as they preach to the faithful.

Preview

Nothingset Ensemble Keeps It New at Old First

Brian Gleeson - June 17, 2009

Nothingset Ensemble, a grassroots collective of Bay Area musicians, composers, and conductors dedicated to performing new music, has just three prerequisites for selecting repertoire: The music must be less than 100 years old, should be performed infrequently, and must be great, according to Ted Hine and Darren Jones, the ensemble’s founders and creative directors.