In Classical Focus, Theodore Bell selects highlights from Jim Eninger’s Clickable Chamber Music Newsletter. Here are his top picks:
There are great concerts to attend on every night of the upcoming week. The Fauré Piano Quartet opens Saturday at the Doheny Mansion featuring Mozart, Mahler and Fauré. Sunday belongs to Bach as the Cantori Domino presents the acclaimed Bach’s Circle in concert. Monday you can hear the St. Petersburg String Quartet as they perform at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall and at other universities in the area on Tuesday and Wednesday. Noted pianist Richard Goode brings more Bach to town on Tuesday in concert at Disney Hall, and Jeffrey Kahane brings an all-Bach program of “Baroque Variations” to Zipper Hall on Thursday. It seems to be “reigning” Bach in the later part of this week – and that is great for us!
The Da Camera Society presents Fauré Piano Quartet
Faure Piano Quartet
The Da Camera Society Chamber Music in Historic Sites brings the Fauré Piano Quartet to the Doheny Mansion this Saturday. Since forming in 1995, the Fauré Piano Quartet has garnered top prizes at prestigious international competitions and performed on the most important international stages and broadcast media outlets. The ensemble members are Dirk Mommertz (piano), Erika Geldsetzer (violin), Sascha Froembling (viola), and Konstantin Heidrich (cello), and the program features the Mozart Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, K493, Mahler’s “Quartettsatz,” and the Piano Quartet in C Major, Op.15 by Fauré.
Saturday, Jan. 16, 8 p.m.; pre-concert talk at 7:40 p.m.
Pompeian Room, the Doheny Mansion, 8 Chester Place, LA
Single tickets: $88, $66. Catered artists receptions accompany all
Doheny Soirées. For information, call (213) 477-2929.
Cantori Domino presents Bach’s Circle
Cantori Domino presents the highly acclaimed chamber ensemble Bach’s Circle in an intimate setting this Sunday afternoon. Soprano Maurita Phillips-Thornburgh and Tenor Alvin Brightbill join Allan Vogel (oboe), Janice Tipton (flute), Mark Menzies (violin), Julie Feves (bassoon), Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick (cello), and Patricia Mabee (harpsichord). Cantori Domino, specialists in Baroque and 20th-century sacred choral works, presents its 20th season under the direction of Phillips-Thornburgh, founder and artistic director.
Sunday, Jan. 17, 4 p.m.
St. Augustine-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 1227 Fourth St. (between Wilshire and Arizona), Santa Monica
Tickets: $50 per person / $75 for two, includes concert and reception.
For information, call (323) 662-5007.
Music Guild presents the St. Petersburg String Quartet
Catch this noted ensemble in one of three concerts in different venues around Los Angeles this week. Founded by graduates of the Leningrad Conservatory, the St. Petersburg String Quartet is distinguished by numerous international performance awards. The members of the ensemble include Alla Aranovskaya and Alla Krolevich (violins), Boris Vayner (viola), and Leonid Shukayev (cello), and the interesting program features Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet, Dvorák’s String Quartet in A-flat Major, Op.105, and the Beethoven String Quartet in C Major, Op.59 No.3. The “Five Pieces” will be worthy of your attention; I think you will enjoy these.
Monday, Jan. 18, 8 p.m.
Schoenberg Hall, UCLA
Park in P2 ($10).
Tuesday, Jan. 19, 8 p.m.
Gerald R. Daniel Recital Hall, University Music Center (UMC), Cal State University, Long Beach
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 8 p.m.
Plaza del Sol Performance Hall, Cal State University, Northridge
Tickets: $40 / $43 UCLA / $8 students / $5 UCLA & Cal State students
For information, call (323) 954-0404.
Colburn Celebrity Recital Series presents pianist Richard Goode
New Yorker Richard Goode studied with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute and has won numerous prizes, including the Young Concert Artists Award, First Prize in the
Clara Haskil Competition, the Avery Fisher Prize, and a Grammy Award. This Classic program includes J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue from “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” Vol II: F-sharp Minor, BWV883 and G Major, BWV884; Schumann’a “Kreisleriana,” Op.16; and three Haydn Sonatas: E Major, Hob.XVI:22; B minor, Hob.XVI:32; and C Major, Hob.XVI:50.
Tuesday, Jan. 19, 8 p.m.
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., LA
Tickets: $95, $90, $75, $71, $46, $41, $37.
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra with Jeffrey Kahane
“Baroque Variations” is an all-Bach program that includes Keyboard Concertos No.1 in D Minor, BWV1052 and No. 2 in E Major, BWV1053, as well as selections from “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” including transcriptions by Mozart. The artists will introduce the music and share their insights from the stage, and afterward will answer questions from the audience. It should prove to be a very satisfying evening.
Thursday, Jan. 21, 7 p.m.; pre-concert reception at 6 p.m.
Zipper Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., LA
Tickets: $40.