The week ahead promises great chamber music for Los Angeles audiences, and especially flourishing are string quartets, with some extraordinary ensembles and programs throughout the week. There is something for everyone, and the quality, access, and prices (mostly free) are amazing.
The Lyris String Quartet starts the week with Sundays Live in a free live broadcast concert of Shostakovich and Brahms. The Music Guild presents the Carpe Diem Quartet in several performances throughout the week at UCLA, CSUN, and CSULB, and student tickets are significantly discounted. The Crown String Quartet, the Eclipse Quartet, and the 10th annual Music in the Chambers free concert with Los Angeles Philharmonic members also will offer wonderful quartet concerts, traditional and modern.
Lyris String Quartet
Alyssa Park and Shalini Vijayan (violins), Luke Maurer (viola), cellist Timothy Loo, and pianist Mikhail Korzhev perform a free concert of the Sundays Live series with a live broadcast of the Shostakovich Quartet No.3 in F Major, Op.7 and Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op.34.
Since 1948, the weekly Sundays Live broadcasts in Los Angeles have presented classical chamber music concerts and recitals by top-shelf artists from Southern California and beyond. These one-hour concerts are presented free to the public at the Leo S. Bing Theater of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. No tickets or reservations are required.
Listen via streaming audio at concert time, or listen to the previous Sunday’s concert on the KUSC website.
Sunday, Jan. 9, 6 p.m.
Sundays Live at Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Leo S. Bing Theater, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. (just east of Fairfax), LA
Carpe Diem String Quartet
The Music Guild presents the Carpe Diem String Quartet (in residence at Ohio Wesleyan University) at University venues around Los Angeles.
Enjoy two premieres by this exciting group:
• Dohnanyi: String Quartet No.2 in D-flat Minor, Op.15
• Leshnoff: String Quartet No.2 (2008) – Premiere
• Monti: Czardas
• Fujiwara: Stillwater Gorge and Peasebottom – Premiere
• Kodaly: String Quartet No.2, Op.10.
Monday, Jan. 10, 8 p.m.
Schoenberg Hall, UCLA (Park in P2 for $10).
Tuesday, Jan. 11, 8 p.m.
Gerald R. Daniel Recital Hall, University Music Center (UMC)
Cal State University, Long Beach
Wednesday, Jan. 12, 8 p.m.
Plaza del Sol Performance Hall, Cal State University Northridge (CSUN),
18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge
Tickets: $40 / $43 UCLA / $8 students / $5 UCLA & Cal State students
For information, call (323) 954-0404.
Crown City String Quartet
In Pasadena on Wednesday afternoon, the Crown City String Quartet is featured in a free concert of the Pasadena Presbyterian “Music at Noon” Series. The ensemble includes violinists Isabelle Senger and Julian Hallmark, violist Carrie Holzman-Little and cellist Dane Little, who are well-known in the local motion picture and television recording studios and music organizations.
Wednesday, Jan. 12, noon, Pasadena Presbyterian Church,
585 E. Colorado Blvd. (NW corner of Colorado & Madison), Pasadena
Free admission. Lunch is available following the concert for a $6
donation, or bring your own lunch to enjoy in the church’s courtyard.
Eclipse Quartet
Well-known local pianist Vicki Ray joins the Eclipse Quartet Thursday evening at the Royal T Café/Art Space. Members of this new music ensemble of women, dedicated to the works of the late-20th century and present-day composers, include Sara Parkins and Sarah Thornblade (violins), Alma Fernandez (viola), and Maggie Parkins (cello).
The program for this concert is Morton Feldman’s Piano and String Quartet.
Thursday, Jan. 13, 8 p.m.
Royal T Café/Art Space, 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City
Cover: $10 / $5 for students.
For information, call (310) 559-6300.
Music in the Chambers
The 10th annual Music in the Chambers offers a free concert with Los Angeles Philharmonic members Camille Avellano and Jin-Shan Dai (violins), Dana Hansen (viola), and Barry Gold (cello).
The Culver City Redevelopment Agency and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Association present Music in the Chambers, and will produce three free Friday evening Neighborhood Chamber Music Concerts Jan. 14, Feb. 11 and Feb. 25.
The intimate Music in the Chambers series is sponsored by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and will be broadcast live through Comcast. A live webcast of the concert will also be available for viewing.
Friday, Jan. 14, 7 p.m.
Mike Balkman Council Chambers, City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd., Culver City
Free admission. Reservations are required and seating may be reserved
by calling the Cultural Affairs Hotline at (310) 253-5716.
These events were selected from among those listed in Jim Eninger’s Clickable Chamber Music Newsletter, an extensive calendar of upcoming music events, large and small, happening all around Los Angeles.