Music@Menlo Festival Friends Meetup

Music@Menlo Summer Festival: This program showcases trio dynamics at their finest, with Bohemian spirit in Dvořák's Terzetto, the rich timbres of Brahms’s Trio in A minor, and a haunting Elegy. Clarinetist David Shifrin returns with pianist Shai Wosner and a festival debut by cellist Jonathan Swensen.

PROGRAM
Dvořák | Terzetto in C major for Two Violins and Viola, op. 74
Brahms | Trio in A minor for Piano, Clarinet, and Cello, op. 114
Suk | Elegy for Piano Trio, op. 23
Smetana | Piano Trio in G minor, op. 15

ARTISTS
David Shifrin, clarinet
Stella Chen, Jessica Lee, Richard Lin, Arnaud Sussmann, violins
Aaron Boyd, viola
David Finckel, Jonathan Swensen, cellos
Gilbert Kalish, Chelsea Wang, Shai Wosner, pianos

LOCATION: Stent Family Hall, Menlo School, Atherton

The Jim and Mical Brenzel Encounter Series invites you to go beyond the concert hall and explore the heart of chamber music. Led by top musicians and thinkers, these evening talks explore the themes of each festival with great stories, insights, and musical moments. Whether you're a longtime fan or just getting into chamber music, you'll come away inspired.

On July 24, oboist extraordinaire James Austin Smith leads a journey through musical history from a wind player’s perspective. The evolution of wind instruments is explored for the first time at the festival, from their beginnings some 40,000 years ago to their coming of age during the Renaissance. From the physics of producing sound to the evolution of wind technology to the great players who inspired composers–this is sure to be one of Music@Menlo’s most memorable Encounters.

LOCATION: Martin Family Hall, Menlo School, Atherton

World-renowned violinist Kristin Lee and pianist Michael Brown reunite on stage for an intimate, artist-curated recital celebrating diverse cultural influences in American classical music.

Fritz Kreisler | Praeludium and Allegro (in the Style of Pugnani) for Violin and Piano
Charles Ives | Violin Sonata no. 4, op. 63, Children’s Day at the Camp Meeting
Ernest Bloch | Violin Sonata no. 2, Poème mystique
John Adams | Road Movies for Violin and Piano
Michael Stephen Brown | Sigh for Violin and Piano (West Coast Premiere)
Amy Beach | Romance for Violin and Piano, op. 23
George Gershwin | Fantasy on Themes from Porgy and Bess, op. 19 (arr. Frolov)

LOCATION: Stent Family Hall, Menlo School, Atherton

This lively program highlights the wind quintet as a centerpiece of chamber music, with familiar masterworks alongside lesser-known pieces by Charles Martin Loeffler and Ludwig Thuille. Renowned German clarinetist Sebastian Manz makes a Music@Menlo debut, joined by flutist Tara Helen O’Connor and bassoonist Jake Thonis.

PROGRAM
Beethoven | Quintet in E-flat major for Piano and Winds, op. 16
Mendelssohn | Concert Piece no. 1 in F minor for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano, op. 113
Loeffler | Rhapsody no. 1 for Oboe, Viola, and Piano, "L’étang"
Mozart | Arias for Woodwind Quintet
Thuille | Sextet in B-flat major for Piano and Winds, op. 6

ARTISTS
Tara Helen O’Connor, flute
James Austin Smith, oboe
Sebastian Manz, clarinet
Jake Thonis, bassoon
Kevin Rivard, horn
Paul Neubauer, viola
Michael Stephen Brown, Hyeyeon Park, Sahun Sam Hong, pianos

LOCATION: Spieker Center for the Arts, Menlo School, Atherton