Our 2023-2024 Concert Schedule

Printable Schedule (PDF):  SJCMS 2023-2024 Brochure

— Programs are subject to change —

Concerts are held at St. Francis Episcopal Church, in the Willow Glen
area of San Jose, 1205 Pine Avenue at the corner of Newport Avenue.

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October 28, 2023    Tesla Quartet PROGRAM Antonín Dvořák Echo of Songs (from Cypresses) (selections), B.152 (1887) Jesse Montgomery Strum (2015) Leoš Janáček String Quartet #1 “Kreutzer Sonata” (1923) Beethoven Razumovsky String Quartet in C Major, Op.59 #3, “Hero” (1806)

MUSIC

Enjoy Dvořák’s youthful love songs (1865) re-arranged for string quartet. • In Jesse Montgomery's Strum, the variety of plucking techniques makes the quartet feel more like a “band.” • Inspired by Tolstoy's novella, Janáček eloquently portrays sensations, emotions and actions, in evocative modern but tonal music. • Beethoven's Razumovsky Quartets are grand in scale, and the fugal finale of #3 is triumphant.

ARTISTS

Praised for their “superb capacity to find the inner heart of everything they play” (The International Review of Music), the Tesla Quartet brings refinement and prowess to both new and established repertoire. Dubbed “technically superb” by The Strad, the Tesla Quartet, formed at The Juilliard School in 2008, has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, including three in 2018 at Banff, and as John Lad Prize-winners at Stanford's Bing Concert Hall.

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February 10, 2024    Beo String Quartet PROGRAM J.S. Bach The Art of Fugue (selections), BWV 1080 (c. 1742) Haydn String Quartet in G Major, Op.33 #5 (1781) Dmitri Shostakovich String Quartet #8 in C Major, Op.110 (1960) Gabriela Ortiz Mictlán (Place of the Dead) from “Altar de Muertos” (1997) Missy Mazzoli Enthusiasm Strategies (2019) Sean Neukom (Beo violist) El Balcón (2022)

MUSIC

Bach's profound The Art of Fugue lends itself to string as well as keyboard renditions. • Haydn's Op.33 Quartets astonished Mozart. • Shostakovich dedicated his riveting, powerful Quartet #8 “in memory of the victims of fascism and war.” • Mexican Grammy-nominee Ortiz' Mictlán pulsingly portrays this underworld region of Aztec mythology. • Grammy-nominee Mazzoli's music conveys enthusiasm and joy. • Mexican-American Sean Neukom's El Balcón is the story of a childhood dream from the composer's mother in Mexico.

ARTISTS

Praised for their “supernatural one-ness of interpretive intent” (New York Concert Review), the Beo String Quartet is a daring, genre‑defying ensemble. They have 65 world premieres to their credit, and have performed 140 concert works throughout the United States, South America, and Europe. Beo will release their CD of Bach's The Art of Fugue in 2023.

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April 7, 2024    Bennewitz Quartet with pianist Arsentiy Kharitonov PROGRAM Hans Krása Theme and Variations for string quartet (1936) Leoš Janáček String Quartet #2 “Intimate Letters” (1928) Antonín Dvořák Piano Quintet #2 in A Major, Op.81 (1887) Bedřich Smetana surprise piece!

MUSIC

Prague-born Hans Krása composed his Theme and Variations while a musical leader confined in Terezin concentration camp. • Janáček's 2nd Quartet “Intimate Letters”—his “manifesto on love”—portrays his long and spiritual friendship with Kamila Stosslova and the 700+ letters they exchanged. • Dvořák's masterful 2nd Piano Quintet charms with his expressive lyricism and his Czech folk Dumka and Furiant movements.

ARTISTS

The Prague‑based Bennewitz Quartet—Osaka and Borciani Competitions winners—has won critical acclaim and prompt re‑bookings by its U.S. and European presenters. “Drama, expression, and utmost sensitivity” says The Strad. Fanfare Magazine writes that Arsentiy Kharitonov, winner of the Liszt and Rachmaninov Competitions, has “sumptuous tone, technical mastery, broad dramatic range, and elegant phrasing [which] place him in the top ranks of keyboard players today.”

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May 11, 2024    The Lee Trio PROGRAM Haydn Piano Trio #10 in A Major, Hob XV:35 (c.1771) Nicky Sohn Chesterton's Gardens for Piano Trio (2023) (world premiere) Turina Circulo: Fantasy for Piano, Violin, & Cello, Op.91 (1936) Brahms Piano Trio #2 in C Major, Op.87 (1880-82)

MUSIC

Haydn's 45 piano trios are delightful and feature brilliant piano writing. • Nicky Sohn splendidly captures the vivid world of G.K. Chesterton's “The Secret Garden,” a world premiere commissioned by The Lee Trio! • Turina's cyclic fantasy Circulo portrays the round of a day in Spain—from morning through midday to the unwinding at evening. • Brahms' romantic voice surges, creating a masterful new model for the piano trio.

ARTISTS

Since its critically acclaimed Wigmore Hall debut in 2002, The Lee Trio's “gripping immediacy and freshness” and “rich palette of colours” (The Strad) continue to move audiences and critics around the globe. This prize‑winning ensemble of sisters has performed to acclaim in China, the United States, and Europe, and is passionate about working with living composers, including Korean‑American Nicky Sohn. “The [Lee] Trio really inhabited every phrase, speaking with conviction and flair.” (The Strad).