Left Coast is thrilled to invite you to our 27th season. Season tickets are on sale now.
Set 1: Changing and Unchanging Things
To open our season we dive into Japanese culture and its intersection with western classical music with Sharaku Unframed, a micro-opera by Hiroya Miura featuring virtuoso shamisen player Hidejiro Honjo. The work explores the mysteries surrounding 18th Century Japanese woodblock artist Toshusai Sharaku. A new chamber work from Karen Tanaka is inspired by the Asian Art Museum's Changing and Unchanging Things exhibit--about Noguchi and Hasegawa, two artists who explored intersections of Japanese and Western visual art. This is paired with music of Debussy, famously inclined toward Japanese music.
Karen Tanaka – Wind Whisperer for flute, viola, harp WORLD PREMIERE
Claude Debussy – Trio for flute, viola, harp
Dai Fujikura – Neo
Hiroya Miura – Sharaku Unframed, a micro opera WORLD PREMIERE
SPECIAL PREVIEW
Saturday, October 5, 2019, 1:00pm, Salon Event and Talk at the
San Francisco Asian Art Museum
San Francisco
Saturday, October 5, 2019, 7:30 PM
SF Conservatory Concert Hall, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco
Berkeley
Sunday, October 6, 2019, 7:30 PM
The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley
Set 2: Air From Other Planets
Schoenberg's Second String Quartet, an exquisite work from 1908, broke new ground in a variety of ways. The most striking innovation is the addition of a soprano for the last two movements. The texts are Stefan George's poems "Litany," about faltering faith, and "Rapture," about transcendence, which begins "I feel air from another planet." To explore how Schoenberg was influenced by Mozart, one of his favorite composers, we're pairing the work with the C Major String Quartet, K. 465. Complementing these masterworks are newly commissioned pieces from Jamie Sampson and John Schott.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – String Quartet in C Major, K. 465
Arnold Schoenberg – String Quartet #2
John Schott – New Work for guitar and viola WORLD PREMIERE
Jamie Sampson – Waving Goodbye for guitar, voice, and string quartet WORLD PREMIERE
Berkeley
Saturday, November 2, 2019, 7:30 PM
The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley
San Francisco
Monday, November 4, 2019, 7:30 PM
SF Conservatory Recital Hall, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco
Set 3: French Sublime
Left Coast explores the French sublime, earthly and divine, first with music of Nadia Boulanger and Claude Debussy, and then Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time. Beginning with the sound of an improvising nightingale surrounded by a shimmer of sound, the piece transports us through multiple universes. One Wing, a new work from Kurt Rohde reflects Messiaen's enduring influence.
Nadia Boulanger – Three Pieces for Cello and Piano
Claude Debussy – Premiere Rhapsody
Olivier Messiaen – Quartet for the End of Time
Kurt Rohde – One Wing WORLD PREMIERE
Berkeley
Sunday, February 2, 2020, 7:30 PM
The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley
San Francisco
Monday, February 3, 2020, 7:30 PM
SF Conservatory Recital Hall, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco
Set 4: Fairytale Pieces
Music illuminates folklore in Schumann's Fairytale Pieces for viola and piano, Chris Castro's musical rendition of myths about Coyote and Old Man Farmer, and Carl Schimmel's Ladle Rat Rotten Hut––a topsy turvy Little Red Riding Hood for the 21st Century. Featuring guest storyteller Susan Strauss.
Robert Schumann – Fairytale Pieces, Op. 13
Chris Castro – Coyote Goes to the Sky and Birds of Fortune
*Featuring guest storyteller Susan Strauss*
Carl Schimmel – Ladle Rat Rotten Hut WORLD PREMIERE
Berkeley
Sunday, March 8, 2020, 7:30 PM
The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley
San Francisco
Monday, March 9, 2020, 7:30 PM
SF Conservatory Recital Hall, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco
Set 5: Living in Color
Sarah Gibson's I prefer living in color, the winner of Left Coast's 20th annual composition contest, inspires a dive into music rich with imagery. Gabriella Smith's Anthrozoa depicts the vibrant life among the coral reefs, and Brahms' Violin Sonata in G evokes the rain. Josiah Catalan's companion work to the Brahms, a world premiere, ties together new and old.
Sarah Gibson – I prefer living in color 2019 COMPOSITION CONTEST WINNER
Dai Fujikura – Flicker
Gabriella Smith – Anthrozoa
Elliot Carter – Esprit rude / esprit doux and Steep Steps
Veronika Krausas – Cloisonne
Johannes Brahms – “Regen” Violin Sonata in G. Major
Josiah Catalan – New Work for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and double bass WORLD PREMIERE
Berkeley
Sunday, May 31, 2020, 7:30 PM
The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley
San Francisco
Monday, June 1, 2020, 7:30 PM
SF Conservatory Recital Hall, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco
