Modigliani Quartet Will Return to San Francisco

Amaury Coeytaux, Loic Rio, Laurent Marfaing, and François Kieffer, the members of the Modigliani Quartet (photograph by Luc Braquet, courtesy of SFP)

The Modigliani Quartet is one of the ensembles whose touring schedule was disrupted by COVID-19 safety guidelines. The ensemble, whose members are violinists Amaury Coeytaux and Loic Rio, violist Laurent Marfaing, and cellist François Kieffer, last toured the United States in 2018; and that tour included a performance in Herbst Theatre hosted by San Francisco Performances (SFP). They had been scheduled to return in March of 2021, but SFP was obliged to cancel the event. Fortunately, they are “on the road again;” and that road will take them back to Herbst next month to present the third of the four programs in the current Chamber Series.

They will present a First Viennese School program organized around Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert. The first half of the program will present an early Beethoven selection, the third (in the key of D major) of the six Opus 18 quartets. The second half will be devoted entirely to late Schubert, the familiar D. 810 quartet in D minor, best known for the set of variations based on Schubert’s “Der Tod und das Mädchen” (Death and the maiden) song (D. 531). The program will begin with an “overture” of sorts, the single-movement “I Crisantemi” (the chrysanthemums) composed in 1892 by Giacomo Puccini in memory of Amadeo I of Spain.

This program will take place in Herbst, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5. The entrance to Herbst is the main entrance to the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue, located on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. The venue is excellent for public transportation, since that corner has Muni bus stops for both north-south and east-west travel.

Ticket prices are $65 (premium Orchestra and front and center Dress Circle), $55 (remainder of Orchestra, all Side Boxes, and center rear Dress Circle), and $45 (remaining Dress Circle and Balcony); and they may be purchased through an SFP secure Web page. Single tickets can also be purchased at the door as available with a 50% discount for students and a 20% discount for seniors. Single tickets may also be purchased by calling 415-392-2545.