Some readers may recall that, next month, the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will get the jump on the Opening Gala, when pianist Garrick Ohlsson will join SFS musicians in the first Chamber Series program of the season beginning at 2 p.m., on Sunday, September 20 in Davies Symphony Hall. This will be the first of six such recitals in Davies, all beginning on Sundays at 2 p.m. Programs for the remainder of the series have been finalized, and participating performers can be found on the Web pages for the individual dates as follows:
November 1: The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Johannes Brahms’ Opus 114, his only clarinet trio. The largest ensemble will be required for Richard Strauss’ “Metamorphosen.” This will be preceded by the least-familiar offering” “Chants d’arrière saison,” composed by Bernard Andrès.
January 17: Two pianists will join the SFS musicians. Elizabeth Dorman will perform Robert Schumann’s Opus 47, his piano quartet in E-flat major. Parker Van Ostrand will advance to the twentieth century with the performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 57 piano quintet in G minor.
February 21: The least familiar work on the program will be a septet composed by Alexandre Tansman. It will be preceded by Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 80, his sixth string quartet, composed in the key of F minor. The second half of the program will feature Franz Schubert’s most familiar chamber music composition. This will be the D. 667 piano quintet in A major, best known as the “Trout” quintet, named after one of the song Schubert composed, which provides the theme for a set of variations.
April 25: This program will be organized chronologically. As might be expected, it will begin with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with oboist Brooks Fisher joining the musicians for the K. 370 oboe quartet. This will be followed by Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 25 serenade, composed in the key of D minor. The second half of the program will advance to the twentieth century in Benjamin Britten’s Opus 36 (second) string quartet.
Richard Gerstl’s portrait of Mathilde Schönberg, wife of Arnold Schoenberg (before he Americanized his name!) (from the Wikimedia Commons Web page for the painting)
June 20: Ironically, the next (and final) program will begin with one of Britten’s contemporaries “on the other side of the pond.” This will be the sonata for two clarinets composed by Francis Poulenc. Those two clarinets will be followed by the “Double Sextet” composed by Steve Reich. The season will then conclude with one of Arnold Schoenberg’s earliest efforts, his single-movement string sextet Opus 4, given the title “Verklärte Nacht” (transfigured night). The composer was inspired by Mathilde Zemlinsky (who would become his future wife).
