Chamber Music SF 2020 boasts stellar lineup
Daniel Levenstein has a talent for finding talent.
Each year, the San Francisco-based concert promoter travels throughout Europe, visiting chamber music festivals, checking out artists in performance, and inviting the best of what he’s heard to come to the Bay Area.
The result is Chamber Music San Francisco, the ambitious winter-to-spring organization that has become one of the Bay Area’s premier chamber music series. Founded in 2004 by Levenstein, it’s become a go-to event for music fans: What started as a short season in San Francisco 15 years ago has since completed 12 seasons in Walnut Creek, and 10 in the South Bay.
The 2020 season — Levenstein’s 16th — runs Feb. 8 through May 10 with concerts in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Walnut Creek. Highlights include appearances by violinist Sarah Chang, pianist Olga Kern, French-Belgian string quartet Quatuor Danel, and — marking the worldwide Beethoven@250 celebration — a special duo recital featuring acclaimed cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan performing the composer’s complete cello sonatas.
For Levenstein, a big part of the series’ success is the chance for Bay Area audiences to hear artists new to the region. Offering solo acts and string quartets the opportunity to play three concerts rather than the usual one is a win-win for everyone involved, he says.
“European artists love our series,” Levenstein notes. “For some of these musicians, it can serve as an anchor for an entire North American tour. And we’re able to present them to three different audiences on a single tour stop.”
The season launches this weekend with the Apollon Musagète Quartet. Winner of Munich’s ARD International Music Competition, the noted Polish foursome will play works by Haydn, Beethoven, and Dvorak. Performances are Feb. 8 in Walnut Creek, Feb. 9 in San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, and Feb. 10 in Palo Alto. Levenstein first heard the quartet in Europe, and says he was blown away by their musical gifts. “They have a real feel for the central repertoire,” he said, “and their first violinist is soloist caliber.”
The wide-ranging season continues with appearances by the Anderson and Roe piano duo, performing music by Beethoven, Brahms, Leonard Cohen, and the Beatles. Russian violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky makes his local recital debut; Kern performs Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Scriabin; and Quatuor Danel plays works by Debussy, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. Polish pianist Rafal Blechacz presents a program that includes Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Franck.
Chang, joined by the San Francisco-based Telegraph Quartet, performs “Viva Piazzolla!,” featuring selections from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and the work’s tango version by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla (she’ll appear in Walnut Creek, San Francisco, and at Bing Hall on the Stanford University campus.). Pianist Jon Nakamatsu will play Chopin, Schubert and Brahms, and the season closes with “Brandenburgs and More,” featuring the string ensemble Archetti.
Levinstein notes that past Chamber Music San Francisco seasons have attracted increasingly younger audiences — which defies the widely held notion that chamber music is losing ground. “I think these artists are very attractive to young people,” he said. “They’re excellent musicians, their programs are well-chosen and it’s always a little theatrical. That makes for some very exciting performances.”
Here’s the complete schedule:
Apollon Musagète Quartet: 2:30 p.m. Feb.
8 at Lesher Center, Walnut Creek; 3 p.m. Feb. 9 at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto.
Anderson & Roe: 8 p.m. Feb. 15, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco.
Alexander Sitkovetsky: 8 p.m. Feb. 22, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco.
Olga Kern: 2:30 p.m. Feb. 29 at Lesher Center, Walnut Creek; 3 p.m. March 1 at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; 7:30 p.m. March 2 at Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto.
Quatuor Danel: 8 p.m. March 14at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; 2:30 p.m. March 15 at Lesher Center, Walnut Creek; 7:30 p.m. March 16 at Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto.
Rafal Blechacz: 3 p.m. March 29, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco.
Alisa Weilerstein and
Inon Barnatan: 2:30 p.m. April 4 at Lesher Center, Walnut Creek; 3 p.m. April 5at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; 7:30 p.m. April 6 at Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto.
Sarah Chang: 8 p.m. April 25at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; 4 p.m. April 26 at Lesher Center, Walnut Creek; 7:30 p.m. April 27 at Bing Hall, Stanford University.
Jon Nakamatsu: 8 p.m.
May 2, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco.
Archetti: 3 p.m. May 10, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco.