To the best of my knowledge through available documented records, one consequence of lockdown conditions imposed in response to the need to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus was that the 22nd season of Music in the Mishkan, presented by The Bridge Players led by Music Director Randall Weiss, had to be truncated to a single recital, which took place this past spring on May 1. Fortunately, conditions are now such that the 23rd season can return to its usual format of three performances.
All three of the programs will be presented by the “core” members of The Bridge Players, Weiss on violin joined by pianist Marilyn Thompson and cellist Victoria Ehrlich. However, in the first of those programs the cellist will be Michael Graham. Program details are as follows:
January 8: According to my records, this is the program that was originally intended to launch the 22nd season. The plan had been to present the premiere performance of “Alchunun ben Mordechai,” which Brian S. Wilson had composed while working under pandemic conditions. This was intended to be framed by two nineteenth-century “standards.” The program will begin with Robert Schumann’s Opus 63 (first) piano trio in D minor and conclude with Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 49 piano trio, also in D minor.
April 2: This program will also be framed by two “standard” piano trios, this time separated by a greater chronological distance. The program will begin with the first, in the key of E-flat major, of Ludwig van Beethoven’s three Opus 1 trios, which were published shortly after they were first performed in 1795. The concluding selection will be Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 67 (second) piano trio in E minor, begun in 1943 as a dark reflection on conditions during World War II. Between these two selections the trio will perform the set of three nocturnes that Ernest Bloch composed in 1924 during his tenure as Musical Director at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
May 21: This program will offer only two compositions. The second of these will be Franz Schubert’s D. 898 (first) piano trio in B-flat major, completed during the last year of his life and representative of what Robert Schumann called the composer’s “heavenly length.” The first half will present a single-movement half-hour composition by Richard Danielpour entitled “A Child’s Reliquary,” composed in recognition of the death of the eighteen-month-old son of Carl and Susan St. Clair. It was written for the trio of violinist Jaime Laredo, cellist Sharon Robinson, and pianist Joseph Kalichstein.
All three of these concerts will take place on a Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. As in the past, the venue will be Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, located at 290 Dolores Street at the northwest corner of 16th Street. Tickets for the general public are $25, but members of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav will be admitted for $20. There is also a discounted rate for the three-concert series of $65 for general admission and $50 for members of the congregation. Tickets may be purchased in advance with a credit card by calling Congregation Sha’ar Zahav at 415-861-6932. They may also be acquired online through a Web page, which supports online purchase of both single tickets and subscriptions. This Web page also allows for additional donations to Sha'ar Zahav.
All attendees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Those planning to attend can send a digital image of their vaccination record to vaccination@shaarsahav.org. They can also show either a printed copy or an image on a cell phone at the door. There will be no physical tickets, only a record of the names of those attending the performance. All attendees must be masked while in the building. Those who do not wish to visit Sha’ar Zahav will also have the option of viewing the performance on Zoom. As part of the process of purchasing tickets, they may request that a Zoom link will be provided prior to the event.
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