Next year the world will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. During their upcoming 2019-2020 season, Camerata Pacifica will celebrate their 30th season. It is perhaps with both these anniversaries in mind that they began this season a Why Beethoven? project. It is a two-year project and the first year comes to a close, as does their season, with a series of concerts entitled Beethoven & Brahms.
The concert schedule has a performance in San Marino on May 14th at Rothenberg Hall at the Huntington Library; another on May 16th at Zipper Hall at the Colburn School and a final performance May 17th at Hahn Hall in Santa Barbara.
The program for Beethoven & Brahms begins with performances of three of Beethoven’s 179 folk song arrangements. They are The Kiss, Dear Maid, Thy Lip Has Left; The Return to Ulster and The Pulse of an Irishman. Andrew Garland will be the vocalist for these songs as well as Four Serious Songs by Brahms that will close the program. Tamara Sanikidze will be on the piano.
In between finds The Calder Quartet performing Beethoven’s String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130 . There are two versions of this string quartet. The version being performed at these concerts finds the final movement being the final piece of music he ever wrote. He was encouraged to replace the original final movement with the work being performed at these concerts.
During next season, and as a continuation of the Why Beethoven? project, The Calder Quartet will return to play the same string quartet, but with the original Grosse Fuge as the work’s final movement
The Calder Quartet features Benjamin Jacobson and Andrew Bulbrook on violin, Jonathan Moerschel on viola and Eric Byers on cello. The Quartet has played all over the world.
Tickets for all performances are $58.
Main photo by Autumn de Wilde