Thursday, November 8, 2012 – Series A

The Zemlinsky Quartet formed in Prague in 1994 and carries the unique eloquence of the Czech string quartet style into the 21st century. Not only do they play with blistering intensity like many of the young quartets but, even more impressive, is the old-fashioned, golden warmth which unifies this ensemble. Their training with Josef Kluson of the Prazak Quartet must have something to do with this radiant sound. The ensemble also studied with Walter Levin of the Amadeus Quartet. The program includes the Arioso by Gregor Kurtag which was composed for Levin’s 80th birthday — the Zemlinskys played its premier. They will also play Dvorak’s last and most grand quartet, Op. 106, which in our past has only been entrusted to the Prazak, as well as Janacek’s second quartet.

Monday, November 12, 2012 – Series B

The Pavel Haas Quartet formed in Prague in 2002. They share the honor with the Zemlinsky Quartet of being the most sought after of the young ensembles from the Czech Republic. They studied with Milan Skampa of the legendary Smetana Quartet, who still guides this young ensemble. They have a big, white-hot, exciting sound which has won them instant acclaim, two Gramaphone awards, a residency at Wigmore Hall, and a contract with the prestigious Czech recording company, Supraphon. They will unleash their vitality on Beethoven’s giant masterpiece, Op. 130 with the Grosse Fuge. And to get a feeling for how they compare to their Czech colleagues who open the season, we will hear Janacek’s first quartet.

Thursday, December 13, 2012 – Series A

Garrick Ohlsson is an all-time giant of the keyboard who balances the old-fashioned virtuoso bravura with the intellect of a modern master. He was just out of school when he came into the international spotlight by winning the 1970 Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Ohlsson may still own Chopin (he has the only complete Chopin on CD), but, as one of music’s most voracious learners, he also plays all of Busoni and Liszt, has played and recorded all of the Beethoven, and is the envy of his colleagues for the staggering number of concertos in his head. He played Beethoven’s two longest and most challenging works for the piano in his first Napa recital. That amazing concert in 1999 turned out to be the beginning of a Beethoven cycle which will continue this season along with Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 – Series A

The Vertavo Quartet formed in 1984 when four young Norwegian women came together to play in a quartet competition in Finland and won first prize. Now 28 years later, they continue to play with the same go-for-broke energy and are considered a Norwegian national treasure. They rarely come to the west coast of the US but are legendary in Europe where they have played their wide-ranging repertory in all the great halls and festivals. When they opened their concert here two years ago with Dvorak’s American, there was a unique buzz in the hall, and by the time they finished the Grieg, their soon-as-possible return was assured. Their program opens with the rarely played Janacek masterpiece, Overgrown Path, and concludes with the most bizarre of Beethoven’s late works, Op. 131, which has defined the Vertavos from their early days.

Monday, January 28, 2013 – Series B

Yefim “Fima” Bronfman is with Ohlsson among the very few at the very top of the pianistic pantheon. He is demanded by the top conductors and orchestras including New York, Vienna, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Saint Petersburg; and often has the distinction of being their soloist when they tour the world. Recently he was in San Francisco with the New York Philharmonic premiering the beautiful — if nearly impossible — piano concerto by Magnus Lindberg which was written for him. Bronfman’s pianistic skill is such that he is the go-to guy for today’s most demanding piano composers. His ravishingly beautiful playing in several recitals here in the past has shown that he is equally at home with the most tender music, like the Brahms Op. 5 he will play this season, as he is with the supercharged, finger-breaking Russian repertory, like the Prokovief Sonata No. 8 which will conclude his recital. The middle of the program will be a new work written for him either by Marc Neikrug or Esa Pekka Salonen.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 – Series B

The Wu Han, Philip Setzer, David Finckel Trio is a tight ensemble. Wu Han and Finckel are the married couple and piano and cello duo who serve as the “first couple” of American chamber music. They are co-directors of New York’s Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center as well as Music@Menlo in California. Setzer as first violin and Finckel have played together in the Emerson Quartet for a generation. Together as a trio they are untouchable. When they played the Schubert trios here in 2010, we witnessed the full splendor of that composer’s emotional and dynamic range — from the lonely tenderness to the utmost fury. This season we get to hear the trio’s mastery applied to Dvorak’s Dumky, and Mendelssohn’s Op. 49. And those who enjoyed Wu Han and Finckel’s traversal of the complete Beethoven cello and piano sonatas here in 2004 will be happy to know that they will open the program with the ardent Brahms Sonata Op. 38.

Thursday, March 7 , 2013 – Series A

The Leipzig Quartet plays with the radiant clarity and unanimity which is only possible when an ensemble has been together for decades. Three of these amazing players were principals of the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra from which they take their name. Their repertory includes the works of 100 composers, and their 70 prizewinning recordings give testament to their mastery of this astonishingly broad repertory. The Leipzig Quartet is famous for its grand, lush sound and is the perfect partner for Joseph Kalichstein, who this audience will remember as the great pianist of the Kalichstein, Loredo, Robertson Trio. Mr. Kalichstein is equally at home as a solo pianist, concerto soloist, and chamber music collaborator. With his characteristic generosity he brings his gifts to this extravagant program featuring two of the greatest piano quartets: the Brahms and the Dvorak. The quartet will open the concert with Beethoven’s Op. 95.

Thursday, March 14, 2013 – Series B

Vilde Frang was a child prodigy in Norway. At age 12, she made her concert debut with Marris Jansens and the Oslo Philharmonic. She appeared regularly in Scandinavia and Germany in her student years, but it was the 21-year-old’s debut with the London Philharmonic in 2007 that thrust her into the limelight. This year she is the recipient of the Credit Suisse Young Artists Award and will appear with the Vienna Philharmonic and Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival this September. Vilde Frang came to our attention through maestro Donald Runnicles who toured Europe with her last year with his BBC Orchestra. Now nearly 30 and still known for her fearless and impassioned playing, she has taken her place among the ranks of the all-time greats. Michail Lifits is Ms. Frang’s recital partner. The 30-year-old Uzbek pianist was also a child prodigy having made his concert debut playing Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto at the age of 13. He won the Busoni Competition in Bolzano in 2009 (as Ohlsson did 44 years ago), and is now recognized as among the best of his generation. Their program includes sonatas of Mozart, Faure, and Prokovief.

Thursday, March 28, 2013 – Series A

The Elias Quartet is by all accounts the greatest quartet to emerge from England in decades. Founded in 1998 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, their exquisite and charismatic playing has received every imaginable accolade and has made possible every opportunity for a young quartet including a five concert series at Wigmore Hall in London last year, sponsorship for the recording of the complete Beethoven cycle (which they will be performing all over the world in 2013), selection as BBC New Generation Artists from 2009 to 2011, and return invitations to some of the world’s great venues including Carnegie Hall, and the Concertgebau in Amsterdam. So praised are the Elias’ performances of Britten’s third quartet that they will get a crack at equaling the hallowed memory of the Lindsey’s performance in the Anderson’s wine cave. The program also includes Purcell Fantasias and Schumann Op. 41.

Thursday, April 11, 2013 – Series B

The Ebene Quartet is to France what the Elias is to the UK. In fact they may be France’s greatest quartet in spite of their young age. Founded in 1999 at the Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory near Paris, they won big competitions in Germany in 2005, were honored as the BBC New Generation Artists from 2006 to 2009, began a recording contract with Virgin Classics, established a residency at Wigmore in London, and were honored by Gramophone with the Recording of the Year Award in 2009 for their CD of Ravel, Debussy, and Fauré. This quartet is as cool as it is great. Always in black (Ebene means Ebony), these guys can easily morph into a jazz band, and while the classical repertory is their passion, they are not beyond playing their arrangements of popular and jazz melodies to entice a high school audience or incite a riot with a chamber music audience. Their most-sought-after-young-quartet status, however, is based on the sheer beauty of their sound and their astonishing musicianship. Mozart is always the test, and they will begin their concert with their signature interpretation of his K. 465 Dissonant, followed by Schubert’s Rosamunde, and the wildly romantic Tchaikovsky Op. 11.