Werther and the English Cat––Character Pieces with Guest Marc Teicholz

The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the Board of Directors wish to thank Henry and Judith Presler for their generous sponsorship of this concert.

Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 8pm 142Throckmorton Theatre MILL VALLEY | Monday, December 5, 2011 at 8 pm SAN FRANCISCO Dennis Gallagher Arts Pavilion

In his opera Minette, Hans Werner Henze chronicled the misadventures of an English cat; he then re-imagined the work to create a guitar duo version. We are delighted to present Michael Goldberg and guest Marc Teicholz in this compelling musical narrative. A dramatic character of another sort, Goethe’s pensive hero, Werther, was the inspiration for Brahms’ brooding C Minor Piano Quartet. Ross Bauer’s Piano Quartet completes the program.

Hans Werner Henze • Minette

Ross Bauer • Piano Quartet

Johannes Brahms • Piano Quartet in C minor, Opus 60, Werther

The Clarinet Program

The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the Board of Directors wish to thank Teresa Darragh and Parker Monroe for their generous sponsorship of this concert.

The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the Board of Directors wish to thank Janet Luck and Stephen Kealhofer for their generous sponsorship of musician Jerome Simas for this concert.

Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 8pm 142Throckmorton Theatre MILL VALLEY | Monday, January 23, 2012 at 8 pm SAN FRANCISCO GREEN ROOM

Jerome Simas, Left Coast’s remarkable clarinetist, inspired us to program Stephen Hartke’s Horse with the Lavender Eye. This is an evocative trio in four movements, including one titled “Cancel My Rumba Lesson.” We are also pleased to present clarinet works of Johannes Brahms and Left Coast composer Eric Zivian, along with Velvet Hammer, our first performance of a work by the young 2011 Gaudeamus Prize nominee, Sean Friar.

Sean Friar • Velvet Hammer

Eric Zivian • Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano

Stephen Hartke • Horse with the Lavender Eye Episodes for Violin, Clarinet and Piano

Johannes Brahms • Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in F Minor, Opus 120, No.1

The Shoulders of Giants

The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the Board of Directors wish to thank Kathleen and Martin Cohn for their generous sponsorship of this concert.

Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 8pm 142Throckmorton Theatre MILL VALLEY | Monday, March 26, 2012 at 8 pm SAN FRANCISCO Green Room

Left Coast presents the world premiere of a new duo by Kurt Rohde, and two arresting string quartets by contemporary composers who were inspired by musical giants. Lei Liang pays tribute to the great Mongolian musician Serashi, Sam Nichols to the Grosse Fuge of Beethoven. The program concludes with a late Beethoven string quartet, one of the unparalleled masterworks of the chamber music literature––”music,’” as one historian described it, “that transcends music, that even transcends human feelings and thoughts, to achieve a spiritual level above all worldly concerns.”

Kurt Rohde • New Work for Violin and Viola WORLD PREMIERE

Lei Liang • Serashi Fragments

Sam Nichols • Refuge

Ludwig van Beethoven • String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Opus 127

Delicacies for Diverse Ensembles

WEDNESDAY, June 6, 2012 at 8pm 142Throckmorton Theatre MILL VALLEY | Monday, June 11, 2012 at 8 pm SAN FRANCISCO Dennis Gallagher Arts Pavilion

In his last years, Claude Debussy conceived of a set of six sonatas for “diverse ensembles.” He completed three, including the work for harp, flute and viola that appears on this concert alongside the premiere of Yu Hui Chang’s companion piece for guitar, flute and viola. The string trio is the third diverse ensemble featured on this program; we’ll hear Andrew Norman’s spectacular Companion Guide to Rome, a collection of portraits of the composer’s favorite Roman churches, which developed into “character studies of imaginary people, [his] companions for a year of living in the Eternal City.”

Andrew Norman • A Companion Guide to Rome for String Trio

Yu Hui Chang • New Work for Flute, Viola and Guitar WORLD PREMIERE

Manuel de Falla • Le tombeau de Claude Debussy for Guitar, G.56

Claude Debussy • Sonata for Harp, Flute and Viola