Concerts & Events 2023

Sarasota Opera House

The opening concert of the 2023 Festival contains the best of everything that music has to offer––from mystery, to beauty, grand statements, and the greatest achievements in chamber music history. The program begins with one of Beethoven’s finest and most grand trios ever written at that time and closes with Mendelssohn’s most beloved Octet in E-flat major.

Wu Han, piano; Chad Hoopes, Paul Huang, Kristin Lee, James Thompson, violins; Matthew Lipman, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, violas; David Finckel, Keith Robinson, cellos

Beethoven Piano Trio in G major, op. 1, no. 2

Strauss Sextet for Strings from Capriccio, op. 85

Shostakovich Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet, op. 11

Mendelssohn Octet in E-flat major for Strings, op. 20

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Sarasota Opera House

In this aptly named concert, witness brilliant string playing virtuosity on full display in a series of exhilarating Baroque masterworks. The second half of this concert picks up where the previous Festival program ended, following the development of the string octet into the 20th century with the powerful and exotic Octet by George Enescu.

 Wu Han, piano; Chad Hoopes, Paul Huang, Kristin Lee, James Thompson, violins; Matthew Lipman, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, violas; David Finckel, Keith Robinson, cellos

Telemann Gulliver Suite in D major for Two Violins from Der Getreue Musik-Meister

Telemann Concerto for Four Violins in D major, TWV 40:202

Tartini Sonata in G minor for Violin and Continuo, “Devil’s Trill”

Handel/Halvorsen Passacaglia in G minor for Violin and Viola

Enescu Octet in C major for Strings, op. 7

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Sarasota Opera House

As a fitting tribute to La Musica’s co-founder and longtime Associate Artistic Director Derek Han, Wu Han has designed a program that explores the deep musical friendships between composers Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvorak, and Harry Burleigh. Throughout music history, composers have consistently turned to chamber music as the medium through which to convey their deepest feelings and most personal thoughts, and this program featuring three gems of the literature is no exception.

Wu Han, piano; Chad Hoopes, Kristin Lee, violins; James Thompson, viola; Keith Robinson, cello

Burleigh Southland Sketches for Violin and Piano

Brahms Piano Quartet no. 3 in C minor, op. 60

Dvořák Piano Quintet in A minor, B. 155, op. 81

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PAST EVENT

Riverview Performing Arts Center

This season we celebrate beloved composer Sergei Rachmaninov on the occasion of his 150th birth year and 80th death year. This program honors his glorious music and lasting influence in performance by 2022 Van Cliburn Competition medalists, Ukrainian Dmytro Choni and Russian Anna Geniushene, alongside Cliburn juror and La Musica Artistic Director, Wu Han.

Dmytro Choni, Anna Geniushene, Wu Han, pianos

Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite for Two Pianos

Rachmaninov Suite no. 1 for Two Pianos, op. 5

Tchaikovsky Berceuse for Solo Piano, op. 72, no. 2

Tchaikovsky Scherzo à la russe for Solo Piano, op. 1, no. 1

Scriabin Piano Sonata no. 4, op. 30

Rachmaninov Suite no. 2 for Two Pianos, op. 17

Open seating at this event

Remaining tickets for this event are available at the door.

PROGRAM NOTES

PAST EVENT

Riverview Performing Arts Center

Directly from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center stage, this program opens and closes with vibrant, beloved classics by Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. In between are short personal statements inspired by the composers’ relationship to religion, their interpretation to native folk music, and the deeply intimate reaction to the death of a friend. Take a trip in sound from the pulsating dance hall to the quieter prayer in this exploration of music from the Americas in the 20th century.

Jessica Rivera, soprano; Michael Stephen Brown, Gilles Vonsattel, pianos; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion

Copland El Salón México for Piano and Percussion

Bernstein Three Meditations from Mass for Cello, Piano, and Percussion

Ginastera “Chacarera” from Cinco canciones populares argentinas for Voice and Piano, op. 10

Chávez: “North Carolina Blues” for Voice and Piano

Ginastera “Gato” from Cinco canciones populares argentinas for Voice and Piano, op. 10

Ponce “Estrellita” for Voice and Piano

Bernstein “I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere” from West Side Story for Voice and Piano

Golijov Mariel for Cello and Marimba

Villa-Lobos “A maré encheu” and “O polichinelo” from Guia prático for Piano

Ginastera Pampeana no. 2, Rhapsody for Cello and Piano, op. 21

León “Oh Yemanja” from Scourge of Hyacinths for Soprano, Cello, and Piano

Gershwin Cuban Overture for Piano, Four Hands, and Percussion

Open seating at this event

Tickets are available for purchase at the door 30 minutes before the concert.

PROGRAM NOTES