Chamber Music

Eidolon String Quartet

Michael Zwiebach - April 21, 2009
New chamber groups spring up all the time, usually without fanfare. But the new Eidolon String Quartet deserves attention because its founder is Franklyn D’Antonio, concertmaster of the Berkeley Symphony, and former member of the Chicago Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
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Review

New, Old, and All Tantalizing

Jonathan Russell - April 8, 2009
The Bay Area is fortunate to have a number of ensembles dedicated to new music, each with its own slightly different approach. The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble’s spin is to frequently include a couple of old works on their programs alongside the newer ones. When you think about it, this really is a unique approach.
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Rossetti Piano Quartet

Michael Zwiebach - April 7, 2009
Rossetti Piano Quartet

Put three-quarters of a string quartet (violin, viola, cello) together with a piano and you have a grouping that has inspired some of the g

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Review

Sounds of Conviction

Jerry Kuderna - March 31, 2009
Formerly known as “A Bright New Trio,” pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo, and cellist Sharon Robinson have been together now for over three decades — and it shows, not only in their technical mastery as individual instrumentalists, but also in the subtle ways that great chamber ensembles mature.

It Takes Three

Lisa Petrie - March 30, 2009

While visiting artists often draw the crowds, many fine musicians live in the Bay Area and perform here on occasion.

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Call and Response

Be'eri Moalem - March 30, 2009
The Cypress Quartet is rethinking the traditional concept of concerts, in which the musicians play a piece typically written some 150 years ago, the audience listens and then claps their hands, the performers bow, and everyone goes home. The Cypress is turning that experience into a two-week project that involves the entire community.
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Old Friends, Getting It Right Again

Michael Zwiebach - March 17, 2009
You often hear chamber music described as a conversation, but really it’s like a meeting of friends. Back in the old days, chamber music was one way to pass the time with friends, and also to indulge a love of music (since there were no radios or stereos to turn on).

Think about that as you listen to the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio in their concert for Chamber Music San Francisco.

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Review

Twin Spirits

Scott Cmiel - March 16, 2009
The twins Peter and Zoltán Katona have created a guitar duo noted for spirited interpretations, amazing virtuosity, and an uncanny ensemble that many attribute to their shared genetic heritage. The brothers from Budapest move and breathe together, and they mark changes of mood with an exchange of glances that highlights their musical decisions.
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St. Lawrence String Quartet

David Bratman - March 11, 2009
New string quartets inspired by older masterworks in the genre have a long tradition. The latest composer to add to it is John Adams. Hearing the St. Lawrence Quartet perform late Beethoven inspired him to write a new quartet, which the St. Lawrence will give the premiere performance of at this Stanford Lively Arts concert. It's an important new work by a major composer.
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American String Quartet, Menahem Pressler

Michelle Dulak Thomson - March 11, 2009
The American String Quartet, longtime quartet-in-residence at the Manhattan School of Music, has made relatively few recordings (and those mostly for small labels), and it's likely that most Bay Area chamber music lovers are unfamiliar with it.