CMSSF Announces New Program for the End of this Month

This month will conclude with the latest program prepared by the string quartet that calls itself the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco (CMSSF). The performers, who are also the founding members, are violinists Natasha Makhijani and Jory Fankuchen, violist Clio Tilton, and cellist Samsun van Loon. As has been the case with their last two programs, this performance will also feature a guest artist. This time cellist Hannah Addario-Berry will join the group for a performance of Franz Schubert’s D. 956 quintet in C major.

The title of the program is Miniatures and Monuments; and it has been designed to juxtapose the music of Anton Webern (almost all of whose compositions are distinguished by their brevity) with Schubert’s more “monumental” achievement. From a historical point of view, it is worth observing that Webern was born just 50 years after Schubert’s death. In that context it is also worth noting that one of Webern’s “orchestration studies” involved setting the D. 820 collection of Schubert’s German dances, which were only published after the composer’s death. Taken in its entirety, the program not only juxtaposes the significant differences between these two composers but also the contrast of brevity with prolongation.

Thus, the program in its entirety is framed by extended compositions by both composers. The D. 956 quintet, which will fill the entire second half, will be complemented by the performance of Webern’s 1905 “Langsamer Satz” (slow movement), composed when he was studying with Arnold Schoenberg. Between these “bookends” CMSSF will perform Webern’s Opus 9 collection of six bagatelles, only one of which is longer than one minute in duration. This will be followed by a (somewhat longer) Schubert “fragment,” the D. 703 Allegro movement in C minor, generally known as the “Quartettsatz” (quartet movement).

This concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 30, and is expected to last about two hours. It will take place at Holy Innocent’s Episcopal Church, which is located in the Mission at 455 Fair Oaks Street. Ticket prices at the door will be $20 with a $5 rate for those aged eighteen and under. Tickets may be purchased online in advance through an Eventbrite event page.