Music at Kohl Mansion To Launch Chamber Music Season October 22

Music at Kohl Mansion (MAKM), the Bay Area's “prestigious  chamber music presenter,” will launch the 2023-24 international chamber music season Sunday,  October 22 at 7 p.m. with the virtuosic Israeli Chamber Project, as part of a 7-concert series on Sunday evenings at the historic Kohl Mansion's Great Hall.

MAKM Executive Director Patricia Kristof Moy said, “I'm delighted to announce the launch of the 41st anniversary season of international chamber music concerts in the jewel box setting of the Kohl  Mansion's Great Hall. Two prominent themes emerge in this most artistically diverse season: first, a major focus on chamber music that features the piano - the ultimate collaborative instrument and a  shining star in the intimate conversations that distinguish chamber music; and second, a thoughtfully  balanced array of classics and contemporary works ranging from the early 19th century to the present  day. Together, we will journey through the evolution of chamber music with some of the 20th and 21st  centuries' most acclaimed creators, whose works reflect their own time, and the universal concerns that  occupy us today.” 

The 2023-24 Season Artists and Programs 

ISRAELI CHAMBER PROJECT  

 

Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 7 p.m. 

Jean Sibelius: String Trio in A Major 

Max Bruch: Selections from Eight Pieces, Op. 83 for Clarinet, Viola, Piano 

Krzysztof Penderecki: Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio  

Shulamit Ran: Private Game for Clarinet and Cello – West Coast Premiere  

Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quartet in D Major, Op. 23 

Carmit Zori, violin; Guy Ben-Ziony, viola; Michal Korman*, cello; Tibi Cziger, clarinet; Assaff Weisman,  piano  

“The Israeli Chamber Project is that rarest of creatures: a band of world-class soloists that is not a muster of peacocks, but a hive mind in which egos dissolve and players think, breathe and play as one." (Time Out New York) 

The Music at Kohl Mansion season gets underway Sunday, October 22 with the return of the highly  respected Tel Aviv-based Israeli Chamber Project boasting a quintet of exceptionally talented and active  musicians. Now in its second decade, the Israeli Chamber Project is a dynamic ensemble comprising strings, winds, harp, and piano, that brings together some of today's most distinguished musicians for chamber music concerts and educational and outreach programs both in Israel and abroad. It was named the winner of the 2011 Israeli Ministry of Culture Outstanding Ensemble Award and 2017 Partos Prize in recognition of its passionate musicianship, creative programming, and commitment to educational outreach. An important part of the Israeli Chamber Project's mission is to support emerging Israeli composers by commissioning works specifically for the ensemble. The Israeli Chamber Project has appeared at venues including London's Wigmore Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Morgan Library & Museum, Town Hall and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, The Clark Memorial Library at UCLA, Ottawa's Chamberfest, and on tour in China and Hong Kong. 

The Israeli Chamber Project will appear in a free public conversation performing musical excerpts at  the San Mateo Public Library, Saturday October 21 at 3 p.m., Oak Room, 55 West 3rd Avenue.  

JUPITER STRING QUARTET*  

 

Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 7 p.m. 

Elizabeth Maconchy: String Quartet No. 3 

Carlos Simon: Elegy 

Nathan Shields: Medusa 

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 

Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violin; Liz Freivogel, viola; Daniel McDonough, cello

“The Jupiter String Quartet, an ensemble of eloquent intensity, has matured into one of the mainstays  of the American chamber music scene.” (The New Yorker) 

Now enjoying its 21st year together, the Jupiter String Quartet is firmly established as an important voice in the world of chamber music. The quartet has performed across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Americas to critical acclaim in some of the world's finest halls, including New York City's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London's Wigmore Hall, Boston's Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Austria's Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul's Sejong Chamber Hall. Their major music festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, the Banff Centre, Virginia Arts Festival, Music at Menlo, Maverick Concerts, Caramoor International Music Festival, Lanaudiere Festival, West Cork (Ireland) Chamber Music Festival, the inaugural Chamber Music Athens, and the Seoul Spring Festival. In 2012, the multi-award-winning Jupiter String Quartet members were appointed as artists-in-residence and faculty at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. 

For their Music at Kohl Mansion debut program, which the Jupiter String Quartet has named Upheaval,  the ensemble offers the following commentary:  

“Music can provide a profound lifeline for those struggling through times of unrest. The  composers in this program grapple with the realities of a world full of upheaval and uncertainty,  attempting to provide a path to greater understanding. The Irish-English composer Elizabeth  Maconchy was an avowed socialist who supported the Republican forces fighting off Franco in  the Spanish Civil War. Her hauntingly beautiful third quartet emerged out of the shadows of  1930s Europe. Carlos Simon's heartbreaking Elegy memorializes the Black American victims of  police violence, while Nathan Shield's new quartet, Medusa, composed for the Jupiter Quartet  for the composer's Guggenheim Fellowship, uses the paintings of Caravaggio as an inspiration  for exploring the effects of various types of political and social violence. Beethoven's epic eighth  quartet is one of the many works he wrote during a time of immense political turmoil.” 

 

FRAUTSCHI, MANASSE, NAKAMATSU TRIO 

 

Sunday, January 28, 2024 at 7 p.m. 

Claude Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, L. 140 

Claude Debussy: Première Rhapsodie for Clarinet and Piano, L. 116 

Frédéric Chopin: Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brilliante, Op. 22 

Darius Milhaud: Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano, Op. 157b 

Igor Stravinksy: L'Histoire du soldat Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano 

John Novacek: Two Rags for Violin, Clarinet and Piano 

Jennifer Frautschi*, violin; Jon Manasse, clarinet; Jon Nakamatsu, piano  

MAKM proudly presents the recently formed trio of Jennifer Frautschi, Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu,  critically acclaimed musicians in a collaborative evening of beautiful music and virtuosic playing. 

Two-time Grammy-nominee and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Jennifer Frautschi, has garnered  worldwide acclaim as a deeply expressive, musically adventurous violinist with impeccable technique  and a wide-ranging repertoire. Her concerto appearances have included the symphony orchestras of Los 

Angeles, Chicago, Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Buffalo in addition to extensive chamber music  performances with the Boston Chamber Music Society, and such premier festivals and venues as:  Caramoor, Newport, Ojai, Santa Fe, Philadelphia, Seattle, Spoleto USA, Bravo! Vail, and The Chamber  Music Society of Lincoln Center.  

Among the most distinguished classical artists of his generation, clarinetist Jon Manasse is  internationally recognized for his inspiring artistry, uniquely glorious sound and charismatic performing  style. An avid chamber musician, Manasse has been featured in programs with The Chamber Music  Society of Lincoln Center at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Merkin Concert Hall, in addition to the  festivals at Aspen, Caramoor, Colorado Springs, Newport and Sarasota. His extensive performance  credits include his position as principal clarinetist with the American Ballet Theater Orchestra, Mostly  Mozart Festival Orchestra, and as former principal with the MET Opera Orchestra. With pianist Jon  Nakamatsu, he continues to tour nationwide as half of the acclaimed Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo. A  performance highlight for the duo was the world premiere of Paquito D'Rivera's The Cape Cod  Concerto with Symphony Silicon Valley, conducted by Leslie B. Dunner. Since 2007, Manasse and  Nakamatsu have served as Artistic Directors of the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival. 

Pianist Jon Nakamatsu catapulted to international attention in 1997 as the Gold Medalist of the Van  Cliburn International Piano Competition and as Gold Medalist at the United States National Chopin  Piano Competition. He has been a guest soloist with over 150 orchestras worldwide including those of  Berlin, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Milan, Seattle, and Tokyo. Nakamatsu is on the faculty of the San  Francisco Conservatory of Music and is Artist in Residence at the Chautauqua Institution Piano Program.  Nakamatsu is a frequent guest with ensembles such as the Emerson, Tokyo, Prazak, Escher, Jupiter and  Ying String Quartets. He has also toured extensively with the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. With  clarinetist Jon Manasse, Nakamatsu tours as a member of the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo. Following their  Boston debut in 2004, the Duo released its first CD of Brahms sonatas for clarinet and piano earning high  praise from The New York Times, naming the recording among the “Best of the Year” for 2008.  

 

HORSZOWSKI TRIO  

 

Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 7 p.m. 

Clara Schumann: Trio in G minor, Op. 17 

Phantasiestücke Project – After Robert Schumann 

Paul Chihara: Little Dragonfly 

David Fulmer: Eldorado 

Derek Bermel: Remembrance  

Dmitri Shostakovich: Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67 

Jesse Mills, violin; Ole Akahoshi, cello; Rieko Aizawa, piano 

Giving performances that are “lithe, persuasive” (The New York Times), “eloquent and enthralling” (The Boston Globe), and described as “the most compelling American group to come on the scene” (The New Yorker), the Horszowski Trio has quickly become a vital force in the international chamber music world since their formation in 2011. Earlier this year, the “Horszowski Trio Prize” was created by the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, to award piano trio winners. The Horszowski  Trio has appeared at major venues in the U.S., including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington,  D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, as well as Mexico, Canada, Japan, and throughout Europe and 

Asia. In addition to their performance cycles of the complete trios of Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms,  the Horszowski Trio is a passionate advocate for the music of our time. Recent premieres include works  by Kenji Bunch, Stewart Goodyear, Scott Lindroth, Louis Karchin, and Charles Wuorinen, in addition to  the Phantasiestücke Project which commemorates the Trio's 10th anniversary with three new works by  Derek Bermel, Paul Chihara and David Fulmer. 

The Horszowski Trio will appear in a free public conversation performing musical excerpts at the  San Mateo Public Library, Saturday February 24 at 3 p.m., Oak Room, 55 West 3rd Avenue, San Mateo. 

 

POULENC TRIO with Guest Artist, Soprano Shawnette Sulker*  

 

Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 7 p.m. 

Francis Poulenc: Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, FP43 

Francis Poulenc: Sonata for Oboe and Piano, in D Major, Op. 166 

Viet Cuong: Explain Yourself!  

Francis Poulenc; new arrangement by Zakarias Grafilo for the trio and soprano: Two song cycles,  Métamorphoses and Cocardes, and À sa guitare 

William Grant Still: Vignettes  

 

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