The Los Angeles chamber music scene is in high gear again this week with our best musicians and ensembles performing every day of the week – beautiful music is everywhere throughout the Southland, and some is free!
The early week belongs to Schubert. On any of three days, starting Monday, enjoy beautiful all-Schubert programs from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Colburn Celebrity Recitals and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Concert.
On Wednesday in Arcadia, LA Phil musicians bring a FREE “Classical Kaleidoscope” of French repertoire for flute and harp with Principal Flutist David Buck and harpist Allison Allport. The program also includes Schubert’s String Trio.
Also on Wednesday, the Da Camera Society Chamber Music in Historic Sites concert features internationally acclaimed early music vocal ensemble, STILE ANTICO. In the San Fernando Valley, the Valley Center for the Performing Arts (VPAC) Great Hall brings us the distinguished EMERSON STRING QUARTET (who will also be at the Ace Gallery Institute of Contemporary Art on Friday).
Thursday belongs to J.S. Bach with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Baroque Conversations series with Jeffery Kahane.
Then on Saturday, JACARANDA’s “music at the edge” will be in Santa Monica with the music of Olivier Messiaen, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Henri Dutilleux. A concert not to be missed!
Two great chamber music concerts finish the week next Sunday: the CAPITOL ENSEMBLE offers a Tchaikovsky theme at Le Salon de Musiques upstairs at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion; and the PAVEL HAAS QUARTET plays the Coleman Chamber Music Concert at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium in Pasadena.
Read further to find the details on all these great concerts.
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Colburn Celebrity Recital with Matthias Goerne
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Colburn Celebrity Recital Series presents internationally acclaimed baritone MATTHIAS GOERNE and pianist CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH with an all-Schubert program over two dates at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Program – Sublime Schubert
Monday
• Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin
Wednesday
• Schubert: Winterreise
Monday, April 16, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, April 18, 8 p.m.
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., LA
Tickets: $55 – $111
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Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Concert
Members of the LA Phil will perform Schubert’s String Quartet No. 13 and his Quintet in C Major (with two cellos) as part of the chamber music concert series on Tuesday evening.
Program – Sublime Schubert
• Schubert: String Quartet No.13, D804. Op.29, “Rosamunde,” with ELIZABETH BAKER and JIN SHAN DAI violins, BENJAMIN ULLERY viola, and JASON LIPPMANN cello
• Schubert: Quintet in C Major, D956, Op.posth.163 for two violins, viola, and two cellos with NATHAN COLE and AKIKO TARUMOTO violins, INGRID HUTMAN viola, GLORIA LUM and JONATHAN KAROLY cellos.
Tuesday, April 17, 8 p.m.
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., LA
Tickets: $61.50, $43, $32.25. For information, call (323) 850-2000.
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Classical Kaleidoscope
Enjoy this Free concert! The Library Concerts Program of the Arcadia Public Library Foundation presents “Classical Kaleidoscope” with DAVID BUCK LA Philharmonic Principal Flute, ALLISON ALLPORT harp, PAUL STEIN LA Philharmonic violinist, AARON OLTMAN viola, and MAKSIM VELICHKIN cello.
Program – Celestial Flute and Harp
• Selections for flute and harp by French composers
• Schubert: String Trio
Wednesday, April 18, 7 p.m.
Cay Mortenson Auditorium, Arcadia Public Library, 20 West Duarte Road, Arcadia
Admission is free. Refreshments will be served with complimentary coffee from Starbucks. For information, click here.
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STILE ANTICO – Early Music Vocal Ensemble
The Da Camera Society Chamber Music in Historic Sites presents the 12-member early music vocal ensemble STILE ANTICO.
Program – Treasures of the Renaissance, Masterpieces from the Golden Age of Choral Music
• N. Gombert (c.1495-1560): Magnificat primi toni
• J. Clemens non Papa (1510-1556): Ego flos campi
• O. Lassus (1532-1594): Veni dilecte mi
• W. Byrd (1540-1623): Laetentur coel and Vigilate,
• T. Tallis (1505-1585): O Sacrum convivium and Why fum’th in fight
• J. McCabe (b.1939): Woefully arrayed
• J. Sheppard (1515-1558): The Lord’s Prayer
• T. Tomkins (1572-1656): O praise the Lord
• O. Gibbons (1583-1685): I am the resurrection and the life
• G.P. da Palestrina (1525-1594): Exultate Deo
• R. de Ceballos (1530-1591): Hortus Conclusus
• S. de Vivanco (1551-1622): Veni, Dilecti mi
• T.L. de Victoria (1548-1611): O magnum mysterium
• H. Praetorius (1560-1629): Tota pulchra es
Wednesday, April 18, 8 p.m.
St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, 514 W. Adams Blvd., LA
Tickets: $43, $39. For information, call (213) 477-2929.
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EMERSON STRING QUARTET at VPAC
The Valley Performing Arts Center presents the EMERSON STRING QUARTET with EUGENE DRUCKER and PHILIP SETZER violins, LAWRENCE DUTTON viola, DAVID FINCKEL cello, with WU HAN piano.
Formed in 1976, the EMERSON STRING QUARTET has over a period of three decades made more than 30 recordings with Deutsche Grammophon, and garnered nine Grammy Awards, three Gramophone Awards, and the Avery Fisher Prize.
Wednesday, April 18, 8 p.m.
VPAC Great Hall, Cal State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge
Tickets: $70, $55, $40, $25.
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LACO Baroque Conversations
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra with JEFFREY KAHANE host and keyboard, ALLAN VOGEL oboe, MARGARET BATJER violin, and ANDREW SHULMAN cello devote this installment of Baroque Variations to J.S. Bach. The artists will introduce the music from the stage and share their personal thoughts in a dialogue with the audience afterward.
Program
• J.S. Bach: Viola da Gamba Sonata in G Major, BWV1027
• J.S. Bach: Oboe Sonata in G Minor, BWV1030b
• J.S. Bach: Violin Sonata in E Major, BWV1016
Thursday, April 19, 7 p.m. (pre-concert reception at 6 p.m.)
Zipper Hall, The Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., LA
Tickets: $50. For concert and artist information, program notes, restaurant recommendations, and to order tickets, click here.
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EMERSON STRING QUARTET
Ace Gallery Institute of Contemporary Art presents the EMERSON STRING QUARTET with EUGENE DRUCKER violin, PHILIP SETZER violin, LAWRENCE DUTTON viola, and DAVID FINCKEL cello.
Friday, April 20, 8 p.m.
Ace Gallery Institute of Contemporary Art, 9430 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills
Admission: $60. Tickets for purchase are extremely limited. Contact the gallery at (323) 935-4411 for information on availability.
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JACARANDA – music at the edge
MARK ALAN HILT organ, TIMOTHY LOO cello, JACARANDA CHAMBER ENSEMBLE, with SCOTT DUNN conductor.
Jacaranda brings a tribute to Messiaen and two of his great successors, Sofia Gubaidulina and Henri Dutilleux. This concert is my personal pick of the week!
Program
• Olivier Messiaen: Meditation No.2 and Meditation No.5 from Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité (Meditations on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity,1969)
• Olivier Messiaen: Dieu parmi nous (God Among Us) from La Nativite du Seigneur (The Nativity, 1935)
• Sofia Gubaidulina: Hell und Dunkel (Light and Darkness, 1976)
• Henri Dutilleux: Three Strophes on the name of Sacher (1982); This tribute to Paul Sacher was commissioned by Rostropovich
• Sofia Gubaidulina: Risonanza (Resonance, 2001) West Coast Premiere. Written for three trumpets, four trombones, organ, and string sextet, and commissioned by Amsterdam’s Schoenberg Ensemble.
Saturday, April 21, 8 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 Second St., Santa Monica
Concert tickets: $40 / $20 students at the door; $35 / $15 students advance sale.
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PAVEL HAAS QUARTET
Coleman Chamber Music Concerts presents the distinguished PAVEL HAAS QUARTET with VERONIKA JARUSKOVA and EVA KAROVA violins, PAVEL NIKL viola, and PETER JARUSEK cello.
Based in Prague, the PAVEL HAAS QUARTET takes its name from the Czech composer Pavel Haas (1899-1944), who died at Auschwitz.
Program
• Tchaikovsky: Quartet No.1 in D Major, Op.11
• Shostakovich: Quartet No.7 in F-sharp Minor, Op.108
• Schubert: Quartet No.14 in D Minor, D810, “Death and the Maiden”
The Coleman Chamber Concerts, begun in 1904, is now the nation’s oldest chamber music series.
Sunday, April 22, 3:30 p.m.
Beckman Auditorium, Caltech, Pasadena
Tickets: $45, 38, 31, 24 / $15 youth. For tickets and information, call 1-888-2-CALTECH.
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CAPITOL ENSEMBLE at Le Salon de Musiques
Le Salon de Musiques presents the CAPITOL ENSEMBLE with PHILLIP LEVY and JULIE GIGANTE violins, ALMA LISA FERNANDEZ and ANDREW DUCKLES violas, TIMOTHY LANDAUER and DAVID LOW cellos.
These are wonderful events at which to hear and experience the Southland’s finest ensemble artists. The venue above the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion offers a panoramic view of the hills that creates a comfortable place to mingle around a gourmet buffet with French Champagne. Read more about Le Salon de Musiques in Culture Spot LA’s review of their Feb. 26 concert.
Program
• Arensky: Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op.35
• Tchaikovsky: String Sextet in D Minor, Op.70, “Souvenir de Florence”
Sunday, April 22, 4 p.m.
Impresario Room (fifth floor), Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., LA
Tickets: $65 / $45 students.
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~Theodore Bell/Culture Spot LA
Culture Spot LA recommends Jim Eninger’s Clickable Chamber Music Newsletter, an extensive calendar of upcoming music events, large and small, happening all around Los Angeles.