Next CMSSF Program to Search for Love

CMSSF violinists Natasha Makhijani and Jory Fankuchen (from the Eventbrite event page)

In Search of Love is the latest program to be announced by the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco (CMSSF). The concert will consist of two works, whose respective composers used their writing to express a geographically-based love. In the case of Béla Bartók, that love is for the folk music of his native Hungary; and it is expressed through the influences of the rich body of folk music that he discovered during his ethnomusicological field studies with Zoltán Kodály. Those influences inspired the composition of his first string quartet in 1909. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, on the other hand, composed his Opus 70 string sextet as a reflection on a trip to Italy; and the sextet was given the title “Souvenir de Florence.”

The CMSSF players are the members of a string quartet founded by violinists Natasha Makhijani and Jory Fankuchen, violist Clio Tilton, and cellist Samsun van Loon. For the Tchaikovsky performance they will be joined by two guest artists, violist Meena Bhasin and cellist Hannah Addario-Berry. As in the past, this program will be given three performances over the course of a single weekend. Specifics for these three concerts are as follows:

Friday, May 17, 6:30 p.m.: CMSSF will again give a house concert at the home of Davidson and Edwin Bidwell-Waite, which is a condominium in the Clock Tower. This building is located in SoMa (and easily recognized by those headed for the Bay Bridge along Interstate 80) at 461 Second Street. The concert will be free, but a $50 donation will be collected at the door. Advance registration will be required to make sure that the space does not get too crowded. An Eventbrite event page has been set up for registration (but not for collecting the necessary donation). Doors will open at 6 p.m., and a wine and cheese reception with the musicians will follow the performance.

Saturday, May 18, 7:30 p.m., Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church: This will again involve a return to a familiar venue. The church is located in the Mission at 455 Fair Oaks Street. Ticket prices at the door will be $25 with a $5 rate for those under the age of eighteen. Tickets may be purchased online in advance through an Eventbrite event page.

Sunday, May 19, 4 p.m.: This will be another house concert, held this time in the come of Cathy and Bill Madison, located in the Richmond near the corner of Funston Street and Fulton Street. Tickets will be sold for this house concert, $35 for general admission and $15 for those under the age of eighteen. The specific address will be provided with confirmation of ticket purchase. Tickets may be purchased online in advance through an Eventbrite event page.