Mike Greensill, piano; John Clark, bass; Joe Cohen, alto sax; Charley McCarthy, tenor sax/flute

A program of new arrangements from the pen of Mike Greensill, with repertoire drawn from that storehouse of magic called the Great American Songbook and Mike’s own originals. “Among San Francisco’s many musical blessings, count the sensitivity, wit and inventive bounty of jazz pianist Mike Greensill.” Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle.

Jason Ditzian, clarinet; Dan Cantrell, accordion & piano; Lila Sklar, violin Max Baloian, guitar; Eric Perney, bass; Michael Pinkham, percussion

 Kugelplex is California’s rockin’-est purveyor of klezmer and old-world party music. Formed in 2001, the group plays wild, soulful dance music at weddings, concerts and festivals throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and beyond. We’ve performed with Joan Baez, the Oakland Symphony, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and Frank London (founder of the Klezmatics) and many other great artists. This concert is supported in part by the SFFCM 2017 Musical Grant Program. For more information please visit http://kugelplex.com.

Rachmaninoff Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor
Myaskovsky Sonata No. 2
Shostakovich Trio No. 2

Le Due Muse is a cello and piano duo team formed by the bay area cellist, Sarah Hong and her long time duo partner, Japanese pianist, Makiko Ooka. They return to the concert series with to share the most romantic and passionate cello and piano works by Russian/Soviet composers (more about the performer, visit www.cellistsarahhong.com) This unique program combines the works of Rachmaninoff whom was considered to be the last of the great Russian Romantic composer, Myskovsky, who is the bridge between Russian Romantic Composers and the Soviet modernist Composers, and Shostakovich, one of the greatest Russian composers of the Soviet period in the 20th Century. The twentieth century was a very dynamic period in the history of Russia. Russia’s music is imbued not only with the country’s great suffering, but also of the joys and hopes brought by rare moments of peace and prosperity. The program is a journey reaching backward, from the familiar, harsh realities of the Soviet Union to the age of a gilded Russian aristocracy and unrestrained creativity. “There is an indispensable measure of suffering even in the happiness of the Russian people, for without it, its happiness is incomplete.” (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Luciano Chessa Green Sea West Coast Premiere
Ann Southam’s Glass Houses No. 5
Lou Harrison’s Grand Duo with special guest violinist Kate Stenberg
plus World Premieres by Kyle Hovatter and Ricky Crews

Sarah Cahill, recently called “a sterling pianist and an intrepid illuminator of the classical avant-garde” by The New York Times and “a brilliant and charismatic advocate for modern and contemporary composers” by Time Out New York, has commissioned, premiered, and recorded numerous compositions for solo piano. Over forty composers have dedicated works to her including John Adams, Terry Riley, Frederic Rzewski, Pauline Oliveros, Yoko Ono, and Ingram Marshall. Cahill has researched and recorded music by the important early 20th-century American modernists Henry Cowell and Ruth Crawford, and has commissioned a number of new pieces in tribute to their enduring influence. She has been touring the country for Lou Harrison’s centennial and will perform both his piano concertos later this year. For this concert she will perform the West Coast premiere of Luciano Chessa’s Green Sea, the premieres of new pieces by Kyle Hovatter and Ricky Crews, Ann Southam’s Glass Houses No. 5, and Lou Harrison’s Grand Duo with violinist Kate Stenberg. For more information please visit http://www.sarahcahill.com.

Johannes Brahms String Quartet in B-flat major, No. 3, Op. 67
John Halle Spheres (2001, revised 2007)
Arnold Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4

Friction Quartet, whose performances have been called “terribly beautiful” (San Francisco Classical Voice), “stunningly passionate” (Calgary Herald) and “chillingly effective” (San Francisco Examiner), exists to expand the string quartet repertoire and audience for adventurous contemporary music through commissioning composers and performing in underserved schools and communities. Joshua Kosman (San Francisco Chronicle) declared that Friction Quartet is “an artist who should be discovered” and described their performance as “high-octane music making … a fine blend of rhythmic ferocity and tonal flair.” Friction is the second place winner of the 2016 Schoenfeld International String Competition Chamber Division in Harbin, China. They recently gave their Carnegie Hall debut as part of the Kronos Quartet Workshop. They also opened for Kronos Quartet at Z Space as part of Kronos’s “Under 30″ series. Last summer, they were Quartet in Residence at the New Music for Strings Festival in Aarhus, Denmark. Friction will return to the Shouse Institute at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival this June. Since forming in 2011, Friction has given 70 world premiere performances and commissioned 32 works for string quartet. Friction received a Chamber Music America grant to commission a piano quintet from Andy Akiho which they debuted in November 2016 with Jenny Q Chai. They have also been awarded grants from San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music and Zellerbach Family Foundation.

Akira Nishimura Samudra Manthan (The Churning of the Ocean Milk) West Coast Premiere
Gustav Holst, arr. Keisuke Nakagoshi The Planets

Since joining forces as the professional duo ZOFO in 2009, internationally acclaimed solo pianists Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi have electrified audiences from Carnegie Hall to Tokyo ,and outside-the-box thematic programming for piano-four-hands. This Grammy-nominated, prize-winning Steinway Artist Ensemble—one of only a handful of duos worldwide devoted exclusively to piano duets—is blazing a bold new path for four-hands groups by focusing on 20th and 21st century repertoire and by commissioned new works from noted composers each year. This concert will feature the West Coast Premiere of Samudra Manthan (The Churning of the Ocean Milk), a newly commissioned five-movement work by Japanese composer Akira Nishimura. Samudra Manthan is one of the best known episodes in Hindu mythology where gods and demons try to extract the Amrita (drink of immortality) from the ocean. Akira Nishimura’s piece is very smartly and beautifully written for piano duet, using the four hands in many different innovative ways. The program also includes The Planets, Gustav Holst’s seven-movement orchestral piece arranged for piano duet by Keisuke Nakagoshi. For more information please visit zofoduet.com.

Elinor Armer Nocturnes for Mezzo-Soprano and Piano Quartet World Premiere
Johannes Brahms Two Songs for Voice, Viola, and Piano, Op. 91
Johannes Brahms Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60

Persephone Chamber Ensemble is a recently formed, intergenerational women’s chamber group dedicated to programming music that highlights the integration of both traditional and contemporary vocal and instrumental chamber music. Its members are experienced artists with national and international careers both solo and collaborative. The program will include the world premiere of Nocturnes for Mezzo-Soprano and Piano Quartet, written especially for the ensemble by esteemed Bay Area composer Elinor Armer. This highly romantic new song cycle will be coupled with Brahms’ powerfully dramatic Piano Quartet in C Minor and his heartfelt Two Songs for Voice, Viola & Piano. Before the performance, Ms. Armer will comment on her settings of poetry by Rilke, Tennyson, McGuire and William Carlos Willams, and she will also be available afterwards to greet the public.

Peter Kramer Pieta I and Thema, from Fantasiestücke, written for the Continuum 88 project. World Premiere
*Daniel Godsil Études Chimiques for solo piano, No. 2, ‘Hélium’ World Premiere
*Shinuh Lee Chorale Fantasy No. 4, based on Lutheran Chorale ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’ written for the Continuum 88 project. World Premiere
Carl Czerny Etude, Op. 299, No. 9 from School of Velocity
*Addie Camsuzou Etude No. 1
Earl Wild 7 Virtuoso Etudes on Gershwin Songs, No. 4 ‘Embraceable You’
W. A. Mozart Fantasia in D minor, K. 397
Robert Schumann Fantasy in C major, Op. 17
(* composers who will be attending this concert)

Pianist Jihye Chang has been internationally and nationally engaged as a soloist, chamber musician, and new music specialist. She has premiered numerous works by prominent composers, including a piano concerto by the Grammy award winning composer Robert Aldridge, and has recorded five CDs of contemporary works on Albany and Centaur labels.

This program is the third chapter of her five-year solo piano project, Continuum 88, which began in 2016, spanning performances in Korea, Taiwan, and across the US. In this project, Chang explores the major forms and genres of piano literature – Preludes, Etudes, Fantasies, Miniatures and Variations, and Sonatas. This project has two goals: exploring the masterworks of each category and engaging living composers to write in that form/genre, then performing the newly written works more than once, and within the context of the literature. By doing so, Continuum 88 will foster a greater connection for the audience with these new works.

The program at O1C signals the beginning of Continuum 88, Part III: Into Fantasies, with a few etudes that will connect it with Part II: Etudes. This program will include four world premieres, with two works by Bay Area composers Addie Camsuzou and Daniel Godsil, and two works written for this project by Peter Kramer and Shinuh Lee. These new works will be programmed with Schumann’s monumental fantasy, Mozart’s short and fascinating fantasy, and a few wonderful etudes by Debussy, Gershwin/ Earl Wild, and Ligeti. Camsuzou, Godsil, and Lee will be present at the concert to discuss their works with any curious audience members.

Take refuge on the road to madness! Join soprano Winnie Nieh and pianist Paul Dab for a program on joy, seduction, love, loss and madness, featuring works by Purcell, Strauss, Ravel, the West Coast premiere of Richard Aldag’s Five Songs for Voice & Piano, and the world premiere (with piano) of Richard Festinger’s Love Wanders There and Winds of May. Winnie graduated from Harvard and received Associate diplomas from Trinity College London in piano, voice and violin. She has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, as well as in Germany, Canada, South Korea and Hong Kong. Paul graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2011 and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2014, and has studied at conservatories in Vienna, Austria and Glasgow, Scotland and participated in festivals in New York and North Carolina. Last season this duo delighted Bay Area audiences with two recitals, and Winnie tied for Second Place behind Joyce DiDonato in San Francisco Classical Voice’s poll for Best Vocal Recital 2016-17. Don’t miss this program and the chance to meet composers Richard Aldag and Richard Festinger. Please visit winnienieh.com and pauldab.com for more information on the performers.

Miriam Gideon Of Shadows Numberless
Mark Vance Points in Time San Francisco Premiere
Bruce Nalezny Poeme and Finale
Samuel Barber Sonata 

Pianist Lynn Schugren will explore the eclectic American style with four major works. Of Shadows Numberless (1987) is a series of short movements, each inspired by fragments of lines from Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale. A sophisticated and technically demanding work, it is full of luscious and impressionistic sound. Nevada County’s Mark Vance’s Points in Time, commissioned by Ms. Schugren and premiered in 2017 is a series of pieces evocative of events in the composer’s life, from views of glorious tulip fields in the Skagit Valley to the shock of the 9/11 attacks. Bay Area composer Bruce Nalezny’s Poeme (1988) was originally inspired by a dark poem by Spanish poet Jorge Manrique about death: a dramatic and powerful statement, followed by the virtuosic chase of his Finale. Samuel Barber’s Sonata, commissioned by the League of Composers in 1950 and premiered by Vladimir Horowitz, is a masterpiece of contemporary music. In this grand romantic sonata, full of emotion and longing, Barber uses the full orchestral range of the piano and presents many a technical challenge to the performer.