Choices for April 19, 2026

Having accounted for the diversity of offerings this coming Saturday, April 18, I can now move on the choices for the following Sunday. Once again, the schedule will begin with a performance by pianist Ian Scarfe, who must be very busy these days preparing for the coming weekend. The three recitals may not overlap, but trying to get from one to its successor probably should not be recommended! This time the first two of the three events have been announced by Groupmuse. Specifics are as follows:

1:45 p.m., Century Club of California: For his second gig of the weekend, Scarfe will perform in a trio, whose other members are violinist Petr Mašek with James Jaffe on cello. The program will begin with Ludwig van Beethoven’s piano trio in E-flat major, the second of his two Opus 70 trios. The repertoire will then shift to the other end of the nineteenth century with trios by Bedřich Smetana (Opus 15 in G minor) and Antonín Dvořák (Opus 90, given the title “Dumky,” named after the Ukrainian folk song genre). The program will then conclude with selected dances by Johannes Brahms (taken from the WoO 1 collection of 21 Hungarian dances) and Dvořák (from the two Slavonic Dances collections Opus 46 and Opus 72). 65 of the 75 spots are still available. As is usually the case with Groupmuse, specific address information will be provided once tickets have been purchased.

3 p.m., Presidio Theatre: This will be the next event in the current Chamber Music San Francisco (CMSF) season. The recitalist will be violinist Nathan Meltzer, and his piano accompanist has still not yet been announced. The program has not changed from when CMSF first announced its season. It will begin with Francis Poulenc’s Opus 141, an “Improvisation” based Johannes Brahms’ best known song, “Wiegenlied” (cradle song), the fourth in his Opus 49 collection. This will be followed by Gabriel Fauré’s Opus 108 second violin sonata. The second half of the program will begin with Sky Macklay’s “FastLowHighSlow,” followed by Franz Schubert’s D. 934 Fantasia, which includes variations on the composer’s D. 741 song “Sei mir gegrüßt.” For those that do not yet know, the Presidio is located at 99 Moraga Avenue.

The Palaver Strings ensemble (photograph by Titilayo Ayangade, courtesy of Noe Music)

5 p.m., Noe Valley Ministry: Tenor Nicholas Phan will perform with the thirteen-member Palaver Strings, which will be visiting from Portland, Maine. The title of the program will be A Change is Gonna Come, inspired by the rich legacy of American protest songs. Indeed, the program will present the world premiere of “Protest Songs,” composed by Errollyn Wallen. The other selections will include Nico Muhly’s “Stranger” and “Fear the Lamb” by Akenya Seymour. The venue is also likely to be familiar to most readers, located in Noe Valley at 1021 Sanchez Street.

7:30 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall: As was announced about a month ago, violinist Joshua Bell will return to Davies for a duo recital with pianist Shai Wosner. This will be a straightforward program of three sonatas: Franz Schubert’s D. 574 in A major, Edvard Grieg’s Opus 45 (his third) in C minor, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Opus 94b (his second) in D major. This will be the next event in the Great Performers Series presented by the San Francisco Symphony.