About this Event
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library is pleased to present the 2022–2023 season of the Barbara and William Karatz Chamber Concert Series, beginning October 28, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. The performance series that continues through April 16, 2023, will be set in the intimate Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room inside the Athenaeum. Enjoy chamber music as it was intended—in a warm, personal setting, where you are treated as a guest in our historic library. At each concert you’ll hear a mix of music rarely presented locally as well as cherished masterpieces, guaranteed to uplift and move you, performed by the finest chamber musicians we know. We will welcome back some of the Athenaeum’s favorite artists from past seasons along with some new faces that are sure to inspire.
All concerts are preceded by a pre-concert lecture presented by Nuvi Mehta (generously underwritten by Gordon Brodfuehrer) and are followed by a reception with the artists in the Sharon & Joel Labovitz Entry Hall.
October 28, 2022—Hidden Valley Virtuosi
This trio of accomplished soloists and chamber musicians (violinist Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, cellist Tanya Tomkins, and pianist Ines Irawati) have become fast friends and collaborators, bringing their vast individual experiences together for the past few years. The Hidden Valley Virtuosi will open our season with a dramatic and varied program featuring piano trios by Edvard Grieg and Felix Mendelssohn.
PROGRAM:
Edvard Grieg
Piano Trio
“Seasons” (either Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Aleksandr Konstantinovich Glazunov, or Astor Piazzolla)
—Intermission—
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Trio in C Minor
November 21, 2022—Colin Jacobsen, violin, and Vicky Chow, piano
Violinist and composer Colin Jacobsen is “one of the most interesting figures on the classical music scene” (Washington Post), and Vicky Chow is “one of our era’s most brilliant pianists” (Pitchfork). These two musicians are well-versed in music from all eras, are rock stars on their instruments, and will join forces for an exciting and varied program. They have collaborated with some of today’s most exciting artists (including Yo-Yo Ma, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and Silkroad), and will present a program with a thoughtful mix of music from the past and present, featuring works by Bach and Debussy alongside contemporary composers Philip Glass and Judd Greenstein, among others.
PROGRAM:
Judd Greenstein
Be There 6
Philip Glass
Selection of Piano Etudes
Johann Sebastian Bach
C Major Sonata for Solo Violin
—Intermission—
Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky
Passacaglia
Paula Mathussen
In Absentia
Claude Debussy
Sonata
[Vicky Chow photos (credit Rob Davidson)]
[Colin Jacobsen photo (credit Erin Baiano)]
December 5, 2022—Ilya Yakushev (piano)
One of our Athenaeum audience’s best-loved pianists and winner of numerous international competitions, Ilya Yakushev will return for a solo recital rich in variety, featuring a little something for everyone. Yakushev’s program opens with Haydn and Mozart before embarking on Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata. A Romantic second half includes a selection of Rachmaninoff’s preludes in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
PROGRAM:
Joseph Haydn
Sonata in D Major, Hob.XVI:37
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Adagio in B Minor, K.540
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata in C-sharp Minor, op. 27 no. 2, "Moonlight"
—Intermission—
Aleksandr Nikolayevich Scriabin
Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand Alone, op. 9
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Prelude in G Minor, op. 23, no.5
Alla marcia
Prelude in G-sharp Minor, op. 32, no.12
Prelude in C-sharp Minor, op. 3, no 2
Franz Liszt
Vallée d'Obermann
George Gershwin
Three Preludes
February 27, 2023—Agave Baroque and Reggie Mobley, countertenor
Johann Sebastian, Johann Christoph, Johann Bernhard, Johann Michael, and Heinrich are all in the family . . . the BACH family. The Grammy-nominated team of Agave Baroque (Aaron Westman and Anna Washburn, violin; Andrew McIntosh, viola; William Skeen, violoncello and viola da gamba; Henry Lebedinsky, organ; and Kevin Cooper, theorbo) and star countertenor Reginald Mobley perform BACH/Family, a celebration of this illustrious musical family, active from the age of the Thirty Years’ War all the way through the end of the 18th century. This musical family reunion includes Johann Sebastian’s beautiful and brilliant Violin Sonata in G and a choice selection of virtuosic arias from his cantatas; a passionate wedding chaconne by second cousin Johann Christoph; a wild sonata by Christoph’s brother, Johann Michael; the Orchestral Suite no. 1 in G minor by an immensely talented cousin, Johann Bernhard; as well as works by early Bach contemporaries Philipp Heinrich Erlebach and Johann Rosenmüller.
[photo credit: Gary Payne]
PROGRAM:
Johann Michael Bach (1648–1694)
Sonata and Capriccio in G Minor
Johann Bernhard Bach (1676–1749)
Suite No. 1 in G Minor
Overture
Philipp Heinrich Erlebach (1657–1714)
“Trocknet Euch Ihr heißen Zähren”
Heinrich Bach (1615–1692)
Chorale prelude, “Erbarm dich mein, O Herre Gott”
Johann Rosenmüller (1619–1684)
Christum ducem, qui per crucem
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Sonata for Violin and Continuo in G Major, BWV 1021
Adagio
Vivace
Largo
Presto
Quoniam, Lutheran Mass in F, BWV 233
—Intermission—
Johann Sebastian Bach, after G.H. Stölzel
“Bekennen will ich seinen Namen,” BWV 200
Johann Bernhard Bach
Suite No. 1 in G Minor
Air
Fantaisie
Passepied
Johann Sebastian Bach
“Mit allem, was ich hab und bin,” Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, BWV 72
Johann Christoph Bach (1642–1703)
Ciaconna: “Mein Freund ist Mein,” from Meine Freundin, du bist schön
“Es ist nun aus mit meinem leben”
March 17, 2023—Formosa Quartet
The Formosa Quartet (Jasmine Lin and Wayne Lee, violins; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Deborah Pae, cello) is one of our favorite ensembles. Hailed as “spellbinding” (The Strad) and “remarkably fine” (Gramophone), they return to the Athenaeum with a program including two of the most beloved string quartets in the repertoire by Mozart and Schumann. This colorful program additionally features a “Formosa Quartet Set,” an assortment of shorts from their collection of folk, pop, jazz, and poetry arrangements, curated especially for each concert.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet in D Minor, K.421
A Formosa Quartet Set (See formosaquartet.com/programs for sample sets.)
—Intermission—
Robert Schumann
String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, op. 41, no. 2
April 16, 2023—Baumer Quartet and Alex Greenbaum, cello
The Baumer Quartet (Nathan Olsen and Aaron Requiro, violins; John T. Posadas, viola; and David Requiro, cello) makes its first visit to the Athenaeum with a celebratory program to end the 2022–2023 season, featuring quartets by Haydn and Ravel. The members of the Quartet pursue parallel careers as international soloists, leaders, and principal players in world-class orchestras, as members of eminent chamber groups; and as professors of music. They will be joined by Alex Greenbaum (cellist and Co-Director of Chamber Music at the Athenaeum) for one of the most beloved chamber works ever written, Schubert’s epic Cello Quintet in C Major.
The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert. Face coverings are required for attendees, regardless of vaccination status. Event capacity is limited to 70% for now.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall Street, San Diego, United States
USD 40.00 to USD 10000.00