Our programs
Miniatures and Monuments: September 29th-30th, 2017
Our season opener explores pieces both grandiose and petite. This program revolves around one of our favorite composers, Franz Schubert. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with guest artist Hannah Addario-Berry, bringing you Schubert’s epic cello quintet. Alongside the quintet, we’ll be playing some much briefer but equally moving works by Anton Webern. Webern was born just 50 years after Schubert’s death, but his musical language is worlds away.
Webern’s Langsamer Satz is saturated with ultra-romanticism, and stands in stark contrast to the Five Pieces, in which he turns to the a-tonal and ultra-modern. It’s juxtaposition is fascinating, and a moving representation of the real artistic turmoil that Webern and his contemporaries lived in.
Though only 24 years old when he wrote it, Quartettsatz marks Schubert’s entry into his mature compositional period. In just one movement, the best of his passionate fire and silken heartache are woven tightly together. Schubert completed his moumental Cello Quintet a mere two months before his death. It is the culmination of the late period that Quartettsatz ushered in – a tome of beauty, sorrow, and joy.
Family Concert - Musical Trick or Treat: October 28th, 2017
Our fall family concert is Halloween-themed - costumes encouraged!
This concert is all about listening. Kids will discover the huge range of sounds string instruments can make, and use their imaginations to describe the story those sounds tell. Explore the fascinating (and occasionally spooky!) sounds of pizzicato, ponticello, sul tasto, con sordino, and much more with us.
Program includes music by Schubert, Webern, and Shostakovich
Love and Loss: February 3rd-4th, 2018
Steve Sanchez will be joining us with his gorgeous clarinet playing. Both the Mozart and the Mendelssohn are works written late in the composers’ lives. The beautiful Mozart clarinet quintet is imbued with radiant elegance. The darkest of all of his string quartets, Mendelssohn’s opus 80 was written after the death of his cherished sister, Fanny and is rife with stormy heartache.
Rhyme and Reason: March 16th-18th, 2018
In March we’re welcoming back the brilliant Kay Stern for a program of music by Prokofiev, Bach, and Brahms. It’s always such a pleasure to work with Kay – we can’t wait to bring you this fantastic program and Kay’s profoundly moving artistry.
Family Concert - String Quartet at the Zoo: April 14th, 2018