The Clickable Chamber Music Newsletter from Southern California
No.1080 — Friday, June 5, 2026 — Sunday, June 28, 2026
Next issue: Friday, June 26, 2026
Note: We are now on summer schedule. This issue covers three weeks.
An aficionado’s guide to upcoming livestreamed concerts on the world’s chamber music scene — with a
few select reprises of previously livestreamed concerts. If you’re not already a subscriber, subscribe (it’s
free) and have the newsletter delivered via Mailchimp to your email inbox by clicking:
https://mailchi.mp/8009648a48f8/clickable-chamber-music-newsletter
A condensed version (Part I, below) is now available on Substack, with a link to the full version hosted
online by Mailchimp. Subscribe and have the condensed version delivered free to your inbox, or view it
online:
https://jimeninger.substack.com/
The latest issue is always posted on the website of Classical Crossroads:
[Tip: Bookmark this link in the browser of your smart TV]
http://www.palosverdes.com/ClassicalCrossroads/CCMN.html
“ . . . live-streamed events have generated moments of startling power. . . . One could instead sample archived
professional-quality videos that opera houses, orchestras, and other organizations have placed online. For me,
though, the live or freshly recorded happenings matter more. They document, with the oblique power that the arts
possess, an extraordinary human phase in history. Their mere existence is bracing. . . .”
~ Alex Ross, The New Yorker
For a comprehensive listing of all chamber music concerts in Southern California — live-audience and
streamed — visit Mike Napoli’s website, PerformingArtsLIVE.com. (Performing artists and concert
presenters: Upload your concert announcements.)
http://bit.ly/PerformingArtsLIVE-ChamberMusic
Classical guitar aficionados, see George Gutman’s invaluable “Classical Guitar Events in Southern
California” and subscribe to his email alerts by clicking:
https://cgevents.org/SoCalEvents.htm
In This Issue
****************************************
The Condensed Section (Part I) serves as a guide to The Full-Information Section (Part II), which
follows and includes biographies of performing artists, complete concert programs and program notes,
venue addresses and map links, and additional information on each concert. [Tip: Note the number of the
item you’re interested in in Part I and scroll down to find it in Part II for complete information.] Each section
concludes with “Concert Reviews and Other Items of High Interest on Southern California’s Chamber
Music Scene.”
Part I. THE CONDENSED SECTION
HIGHLIGHTS AND HIDDEN GEMS
Select Streamed Concerts on the World’s Chamber Music Scene
1. Reprise from Classical Crossroads’ Pandemic Archive
“First Fridays at First! ~ fff “
Seraphour All-Female Vocal Quartet
Melissa Birch, Emma Grace Roche, Dana Rouse, Heidi Vass
https://seraphour.com/
Streamed Live from First Lutheran Church & School
in Torrance CA on Friday, February 3, 2023
The Program
Selections by Eleanor Daley (1955– ), Johannes Brahms (1833–1897),
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594), Aidan Vass (2003– ),
and Jacob Arcadelt (1507–1568)
Watch by clicking:
https://vimeo.com/796070133
2. St James’s Piccadilly Lunchtime Recitals
St James’s Church — 197 Piccadilly — London UK
Top emerging artists typically from leading London music colleges perform in St James’s historic venue,
renowned for its superb acoustics.
JIM’S PICK OF A RECENT GEM AT ST JAMES’S PICCADILLY
Livestreamed Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Šuma Quartet
Yixuan Ren and Pavla Bedřichová violins
Connor Quigley viola, Gabriel Webb cello
Guildhall School of Music Chamber Music Prize Winner 2026
The Program
Beethoven: String Quartet No.1 in F Major, Op.18
Janácek: String Quartet No.2, “Intimate letters”
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/suma-quartet/
Watch
https://youtu.be/ZYalerLWMe8?t=204
Livestreamed Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Seoyun Baek piano
Studying at the Royal College of Music.
The Program
Mozart: Sonata No.9 in D Major, K311
Rachmaninoff: Moments Musicaux, Op.16
https://bit.ly/StJamesPiccadilly-SeoyunBaek
Watch
https://youtu.be/pupw-azACgI?t=515
UPCOMING
Friday, June 5, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Yailín Martínez-Hierrezuelo flute
Jose Zalba-Smith flute
Alexandra Tinker piano
The Program
Poulenc: Un Joueur de flûte berce les ruines
for solo flute
Mercadante:
Variations on Cara per te quest’anima by Rossini
for solo flute
Kuhlau: Brilliant Duo No.3, Op.102
I. Allegro vivace
C.P.E. Bach: Sonata in A Minor, Wq13
for solo flute 2
I. Poco Adagio
II. Allegro
Piazzolla: Etudes No.3 (arr. for 2 flutes)
Doppler: Concerto for two flutes in D minor
Zalba: Rumba Duo
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/lunchtime-recital-7/
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Joseph Hancock tenor, Finlay Bloore baritone,
Amy Bach piano
The Program
Selections by: Robert Schumann, Rebecca Clarke,
Clara Schumann, Reynaldo Hahn, Gerald Finzi,
Gabriel Fauré, Michael Head, Henri Duparc,
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Johannes Brahms
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/lunchtime-recital-9/
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Nicole Wu piano
studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
The Program
To be announced
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/nicole-wu-piano/
Friday, June 19, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Harry Bowden piano
studying at the Royal Academy of Music
The Program
Brahms: 6 Klavierstücke, Op.118
Messiaen: Le Courlis Cendré from Catalogue d’Oiseaux
Ravel: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/harry-bowden-piano/
Monday, June 22, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Rui Deng piano
studying at the Royal Academy of Music
The Program
CPE Bach: Sonata in A Minor No.1, Wq49
“Württembergische Sonate”
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: No.8 in E Minor
from 12 Polonaises F.12
J.S. Bach: Toccata in F-sharp Minor, BWV910
Liszt: Fantasia and Fugue on B-A-C-H
Luciano Berio: 6 encores pour piano
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/rui-deng-piano/
Wednesday, June 24, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Mengzi Zhang fortepiano
https://www.mengzizhang.com/about
studying at the Royal Academy of Music
The Program
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809):
Piano Sonata in D major, Hob. XVI:37
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837):
Piano Sonata No.5 in F-sharp Minor, Op.8
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791):
Fantasia No.4 in C Minor, K475
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) / Franz Liszt (1811–1886):
Der Erlkönig, S558/4
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/mengzi-zhang-piano/
Friday, June 26, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
The Purcell School — Chamber and Solo Recital
Pre-College Music School on London’s outskirts
https://www.purcell-school.org/
The Program
Eugène Ysaÿe: Ballade
Oskar Böhme: Trumpet Concerto in F Minor
Movement I
Mozart: Deh Vieni
Tosti: A vucchella
Puccini: O mio babbino caro
Chopin: Ballade no 3 in A-flat Major
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No.8
Movements I & II
https://bit.ly/SyJamesPiccadilly-ThePurcellSchool
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Free admission — Free to livestream
Find links to the livestreams by clicking:
https://www.youtube.com/@stjamesschurchpiccadilly/streams
Select Lunchtime Recitals are posted for on-demand re-streaming. Find them by clicking:
https://bit.ly/StJamesPiccadilly-PastConcerts
3. Classical Crossroads
~ presents ~
A Benefit Concert & Reception
To raise matching funds for a $15,000 NEA grant
to produce young-persons outreach concerts.
Ukrainian Violinist
Iryna Krechkovsky
~ and ~
Belgian Pianist
Steven Vanhauwaert
~ in their duet debut ~
The National Endowment for the Arts awarded Classical Crossroads its second grant to support six young
people’s outreach concerts over two years. However, the $15,000 grant requires a 1:1 match from
contributors. Two series favorites, Trio Céleste violinist Iryna Krechkovsky and “Second Sunday at Two”
Artistic Director, pianist Steven Vanhauwaert, have generously volunteered to perform their debut duet in
a half-hour benefit recital, followed by a patio reception. The recital will be livestreamed, and the event is
free, but don’t forget to bring your wallet and checkbook!
The Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791):
Violin Sonata No.18 in G Major, K301 (1778)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893):
Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op.42 (1878)
(Memory of a dear place)
II. Scherzo in C Minor
III. Mélodie in E-flat Major
George Gershwin (1898–1937):
Selection of favorites from “Porgy and Bess”
Attend in Person or Watch the Livestream
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Classical Crossroads simultaneously livestreams all its concerts for those unable to attend in person.
Watch the livestream at concert time only by clicking:
https://vimeo.com/event/4030680
An afternoon patio reception follows.
Free Admission ~ All Are Welcome
For information and online donations, click:
https://palosverdes.com/ClassicalCrossroads/
4. Music at St Mary’s Perivale
Perivale Lane, Perivale — West London UK
Sunday, June 7, 2026 — 3:00 PM UK — 7:00 AM Pacific
The Cygnus Piano Trio
Javier Montañana violin, Hannah Lewis cello,
Cesar Saura piano
The Program
Suk: Elegie, Op.23
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor, Op.50
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-07.shtml
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 — 2:00 PM UK — 6:00 AM Pacific
Firoze Madon piano
The Program
Selections by Haydn, Silvestrov, Chopin, Brahms,
Scriabin, Liszt, Debussy, and Prokofiev
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-09.shtml
Friday, June 12, 2026 — 7:30 PM UK — 11:30 AM Pacific
Tamila Salimdjanova piano
The Program
Robert Schubert: Four Impromptus, D899
Ravel: Jeux d’eau
Robert Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, Op.6
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-12.shtml
Sunday, June 14, 2026 — 3:00 PM UK — 7:00 AM Pacific
Natalia Lomeiko violin, Teagan Craggs violin,
Yuri Zhislin viola, Chris Terepin cello,
Nathan Perry double bass, Anna Hashimoto clarinet,
Francis Bushell bassoon, Hannah Williams horn
The Program
Schubert: Octet in F Major, D803
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-14.shtml
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 — 2:00 PM UK — 6:00 AM Pacific
Gabriele Sutkute piano
The Program
Haydn: Piano Sonata in B Minor, Hob.XVI:32
Debussy: La plus que lente
Debussy: Suite Bergamasque
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No.4 in F-sharp Major, Op.30
Szymanowski: Variations in B-flat Minor, Op.3
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-16.shtml
Sunday, June 21, 2026 — 3:00 PM UK — 7:00 AM Pacific
Robert Markham and John Humphreys piano duo
The Program
Mozart: Sonata in D Major, K381
Schubert: Fantasie in F Minor, D940
Ravel: Mother Goose suite
Dvorák: Three Slavonic Dances from Op.46
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-21.shtml
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — 2:00 PM UK — 6:00 AM Pacific
Mariamna Sherling piano
The Program
J.S. Bach: Partita No.1 in B-flat Major, BWV825
Beethoven: 32 Variations in C Minor, WoO80
Chopin: Scherzo No.2 in B-flat Minor, Op.31
Chopin: Scherzo No.4 in E Major, Op.54
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 in C-sharp Minor, S244 No.12
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-23.shtml
Sunday, June 28, 2026 — 3:00 PM UK — 7:00 AM Pacific
Madeline Grambow violin, John Lenehan piano
The Program
Mozart: Rondo from Serenade No.7 in D Major, ‘Haffner’
J.S. Bach: Largo from Sonata No.3 in C Major, BWV1005
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A Major, Op.47, “Kreutzer”
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-28.shtml
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Available afterward to stream on demand
Find the links to the upcoming and past livestreamed concerts by clicking:
https://www.youtube.com/@stmarysperivale2842/streams
5. First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
Organ Prelude Concert
UCLA Professor & First Church Organist Christoph Bull
https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/christoph-bull/
on the Great Organs of First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
Every Sunday — 10:30–11:00 AM Pacific — Free
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Available to stream on demand at the link below.
Click at concert time to watch the livestream and find the program:
https://www.fccla.org/live
6. 80th Ojai Music Festival
Esa-Pekka Salonen 2026 Music Director
Ara Guzelimian Executive Director
Thursday, June 11 through Sunday, June 14, 2026
Libbey Bowl, Ojai CA
See this year’s Ojai Music Festival Artists and Composers by clicking:
https://www.ojaifestival.org/2026-artists-composers/
And see the Schedule of Concerts by clicking:
https://www.ojaifestival.org/2026-festival-schedule/
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Find the livestream link at concert time on the Ojai Festival website:
https://www.ojaifestival.org/
7. Classical Crossroads’ Season Finale
“Second Sundays at Two” (beginning at 1:50 PM)
~ presents ~
I, too, sing America*
In celebration of America250 on Flag Day,
Steven Vanhauwaert plays
Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the
Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles
under the baton of
Maestro Charles Dickerson III
Sunday, June 14, 2026
1:50 PM: Maestro Charles Dickerson’s meaningful remarks
followed by the concert at approximately 2:00 PM
Rolling Hills United Methodist Church
26438 Crenshaw Blvd, Rolling Hills Estates CA
For a Google map, click:
https://goo.gl/maps/EMqwtwiN3mGozzX3A
* poem by Langston Hughes, 1926
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too
The Program
John Stafford Smith (1750–1836): The Star Spangled Banner
J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954), arr. Charles Dickerson:
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Bakhari Nokuri (2005– ): Afrospire
Arturo Marquez (1950– ): Danzon #2
George Gershwin (1898–1937): Rhapsody in Blue
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932): Stars and Stripes Forever
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
With the artists’ approval, a reprise will be available a day or two after the concert to stream on Classical
Crossroads’ Vimeo Showcase:
https://vimeo.com/showcase/classicalcrossroads
Watch the Livestream
Classical Crossroads simultaneously livestreams all its concerts for those unable to attend in person.
Watch at concert time by clicking Classical Crossroads’ Vimeo livestream link (updated a few days ahead
of each concert):
https://vimeo.com/event/4030680
Free admission. Donations appreciated. For concert series information and online donations, click:
http://www.palosverdes.com/ClassicalCrossroads/SecondSundays.htm
CONCERT REVIEWS AND OTHER ITEMS OF HIGH INTEREST
on Southern California’s Chamber Music Scene
A. Music critic Richard S. Ginell’s review on SFCV
“Orli Shaham’s Café Ludwig Showcases New American Chamber Works”
https://bit.ly/SFCV-RichardSGinell20260602
Richard Ginell begins, “Pianist Orli Shaham has been hosting, curating and playing in a chamber music
series, Café Ludwig, since 2008. Presented by the Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa’s Samueli Theater,
these Sunday afternoon concerts invite patrons to have coffee and ‘decadent desserts’ while principal
members of the PSO take turns performing music old and new. . . .”
B. Music critic Jim Farber’s review on SFCV
“Piano Spheres’ Satie Project Is as Odd and Funny as the Composer It Honors”
https://bit.ly/SFCV-JimFaber20260602
Jim Faber begins, “After three years and 30 commissions, Piano Spheres’ ‘The Satie Project’ culminated
Saturday and Sunday at the Boston Court in Pasadena, a fitting celebration to mark the company’s 30th anniversary.
“The concert interleaved Erik Satie’s works for piano-four-hands with seven commissioned works inspired
by his compositions. The featured composers were: TJ Cole, Mikhail Johnson, Jihyun Kim, Veronika
Krausas, Celka Ojakangas, Nathan Schram, and Dale Trumbore. . . .”
C. Classical Music Happy Hour with Emanuel Ax
New York’s Classical Music Radio Station WQXR’s “Classical Music Happy Hour” is a classical music
podcast from WQXR and Carnegie Hall, hosted by renowned pianist Emanuel Ax.
The Latest Podcast Episodes:
Ray Chen — superstar violinist wants you to practice
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Listen:
https://link.podtrac.com/44fhwr02
F. The Art of Listening
The Art of Listening is a bimonthly offering from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, created to
enhance your appreciation and enjoyment of classical music. Subscribe on Substack and have it delivered
to your inbox or read it online:
https://chambermusicsociety.substack.com/
The latest post: Thursday, May 28, 2026
A Singer from Mannheim and a Composer from Salzburg:
The Story of Constanze and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
by Paul Griffiths
https://bit.ly/CMS-ArtOfListening20260528
Part II. THE FULL-INFORMATION SECTION
************************************************
Greetings, Chamber Music Aficionados,
HIGHLIGHTS AND HIDDEN GEMS
Select Streamed Concerts on the World’s Chamber Music Scene
1. Reprise from Classical Crossroads’ Pandemic Archive
“First Fridays at First! ~ fff “
Seraphour All-female Vocal Quartet
Melissa Birch, Emma Grace Roche, Dana Rouse, Heidi Vass
Streamed Live from First Lutheran Church & School
in Torrance CA on Friday, February 3, 2023
The Program
Eleanor Daley (1955– ):
Os Justi (The Mouth of the Just)
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897):
Adoramus Te (We Adore Thee)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594):
Magnificat quarti toni (Magnify in four voices)
Aidan Vass (2003– ):
Angele Dei (Angel of God)
Jacob Arcadelt (1507–1568):
Ave Maria
Celebrating that which is true, beautiful and good, SERAPHOUR was formed as a response to the
isolation of the Covid pandemic. The Southern California-based group is on a mission to create beauty
and light out of a dark and quiet time. The all-female quartet is dedicated to the preservation and
proliferation of the sacred canon — highlighting unaccompanied classical sacred gems that celebrate the
beauty of the female voice. Presenting pieces from the Renaissance to present day and commissioning
new works for sacred contemplation, their music celebrates the tradition of beauty that spans centuries
and inspires souls. Read about Seraphour by clicking:
https://seraphour.com/
Watch the video by clicking:
https://vimeo.com/796070133
2. St James’s Piccadilly Lunchtime Recitals
St James’s Church
197 Piccadilly, London UK
For a Google map, click:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gneCNNdKciMfNEdBA
Top emerging artists from leading London music colleges perform in St James’s historic venue, renowned
for its superb acoustics. Read about the artists and find the livestreaming links by clicking the links below
each announcement. See “What’s On” at St. James Piccadilly for last-minute additions to the Lunchtime
Recitals, as well as other upcoming musical offerings by clicking:
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/?_filter=music
JIM’S PICK OF A RECENT GEM AT ST JAMES’S PICCADILLY
Livestreamed Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Šuma Quartet
Yixuan Ren and Pavla Bedřichová violins
Connor Quigley viola, Gabriel Webb cello
Guildhall School of Music Chamber Music Prize Winner 2026
The Program
Beethoven: String Quartet No.1 in F Major, Op.18
Janácek: String Quartet No.2, “Intimate letters”
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/suma-quartet/
Watch
https://youtu.be/ZYalerLWMe8?t=204
Livestreamed Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Seoyun Baek piano
Studying at the Royal College of Music.
The Program
Mozart: Sonata No.9 in D Major, K311
Rachmaninoff: Moments Musicaux, Op.16
https://bit.ly/StJamesPiccadilly-SeoyunBaek
Watch
https://youtu.be/pupw-azACgI?t=515
UPCOMING
Friday, June 5, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Yailín Martínez-Hierrezuelo flute
Jose Zalba-Smith flute
Alexandra Tinker piano
The Program
Poulenc: Un Joueur de flûte berce les ruines
for solo flute
Mercadante:
Variations on Cara per te quest’anima by Rossini
for solo flute
Kuhlau: Brilliant Duo No.3, Op.102
I. Allegro vivace
C.P.E. Bach: Sonata in A Minor, Wq13
for solo flute 2
I. Poco Adagio
II. Allegro
Piazzolla: Etudes No.3 (arr. for 2 flutes)
Doppler: Concerto for two flutes in D minor
Zalba: Rumba Duo
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/lunchtime-recital-7/
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Joseph Hancock tenor, Finlay Bloore baritone
Amy Bach piano
The Program
Selections by: Robert Schumann, Rebecca Clarke,
Clara Schumann, Reynaldo Hahn, Gerald Finzi,
Gabriel Fauré, Michael Head, Henri Duparc,
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Johannes Brahms
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/lunchtime-recital-9/
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Nicole Wu piano
studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
The Program
To be announced
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/nicole-wu-piano/
Friday, June 19, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Harry Bowden piano
studying at the Royal Academy of Music
The Program
Brahms: 6 Klavierstücke, Op.118
Messiaen: Le Courlis Cendré from Catalogue d’Oiseaux
Ravel: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/harry-bowden-piano/
Monday, June 22, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Rui Deng piano
studying at the Royal Academy of Music
The Program
CPE Bach: Sonata in A Minor No.1, Wq49
“Württembergische Sonate”
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: No.8 in E Minor
from 12 Polonaises F.12
J.S. Bach: Toccata in F-sharp Minor, BWV910
Liszt: Fantasia and Fugue on B-A-C-H
Luciano Berio: 6 encores pour piano
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/rui-deng-piano/
Wednesday, June 24, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
Mengzi Zhang fortepiano
https://www.mengzizhang.com/about
studying at the Royal Academy of Music
The Program
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809):
Piano Sonata in D major, Hob. XVI:37
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837):
Piano Sonata No.5 in F-sharp Minor, Op.8
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791):
Fantasia No.4 in C Minor, K475
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) / Franz Liszt (1811–1886):
Der Erlkönig, S558/4
https://www.sjp.org.uk/whats-on/mengzi-zhang-piano/
Friday, June 26, 2026 — 1:10 PM UK — 5:10 AM Pacific
The Purcell School — Chamber and Solo Recital
Pre-College Music School on London’s outskirts
https://www.purcell-school.org/
The Program
Eugène Ysaÿe: Ballade
Oskar Böhme: Trumpet Concerto in F Minor
Movement I
Mozart: Deh Vieni
Tosti: A vucchella
Puccini: O mio babbino caro
Chopin: Ballade no 3 in A-flat Major
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No.8
Movements I & II
https://bit.ly/SyJamesPiccadilly-ThePurcellSchool
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Free admission — Free to livestream
Find links to the livestreams by clicking:
https://www.youtube.com/@stjamesschurchpiccadilly/streams
Select Lunchtime Recitals are posted for on-demand re-streaming. Find them by clicking:
https://bit.ly/StJamesPiccadilly-PastConcerts
3. Classical Crossroads
~ presents ~
A Benefit Concert & Reception
To raise matching funds for a $15,000 NEA grant
to produce young-persons outreach concerts.
Ukrainian Violinist
Iryna Krechkovsky
~ and ~
Belgian Pianist
Steven Vanhauwaert
~ in their duet debut ~
Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 3:00 PM Pacific
Rolling Hills United Methodist Church
26438 Crenshaw Blvd, Rolling Hills Estates CA
For a Google map, click:
https://goo.gl/maps/EMqwtwiN3mGozzX3A
The National Endowment for the Arts awarded Classical Crossroads its second grant to support six young
people’s outreach concerts over two years. However, the $15,000 grant requires a 1:1 match from
contributors. Two series favorites, Trio Céleste violinist Iryna Krechkovsky and “Second Sunday at Two”
Artistic Director, pianist Steven Vanhauwaert, have generously volunteered to perform their debut duet in
a half-hour benefit recital.
Classical Crossroads’ founder and “Classical Interludes” Artistic Director Karla Devine will lead the
reception committee’s presentation of a special post-recital patio reception. The recital will be
livestreamed, and the event is free, but don’t forget to bring your wallet and checkbook!
Classical Crossroads is partnering with Chamber Music | OC in Lake Forest, First Lutheran School in
Torrance, and Santa Cecilia Arts & Learning Center north of downtown. Two outstanding ensembles
have been engaged: The Couch Wind Quintet and Resident Artists from Chamber Music | OC with top
pre-college students.
The Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791):
Violin Sonata No.18 in G Major, K301 (1778)
I. Allegro con spirito
II. Allegro.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893):
Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op.42 (1878)
(Memory of a dear place)
II. Scherzo in C Minor
III. Mélodie in E-flat Major
George Gershwin (1898–1937):
Selection of favorites from “Porgy and Bess”
Program Notes
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Sonata No.18 in G Major, K301
Across Mozart’s vast output, there is no genre of chamber music in which he was more prolific than the
violin sonata. Many of his final total of 35 are, however, very early; he had already composed 16 “sonatas
for keyboard with violin accompaniment” by the age of 10, and indeed the two earliest, written between the
ages of six and eight, were his first published works.
Mozart wrote his 19 mature violin sonatas from 1778 to 1788, and today we hear the second of these,
from the set of six composed in Mannheim and Paris in 1778 during an extended journey with his mother.
All but one of these works have only two movements. The first movement of No. 18 follows sonata form,
with a limpidly beautiful first theme that contrasts with the equally memorable, downward-tripping second
subject. The second movement has something of the character of a minuet-and-trio, though neither its
blithe outer sections nor the minore they enclose are labeled as such.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Souvenir d’un lieu cher (Memory of a dear place)
So overwhelmingly popular is Tchaikovsky’s orchestral music that it has tended to obscure his relatively
small but nonetheless significant output of chamber works. Today we hear his sole contribution for violin
and piano, or rather, two-thirds of it. While on vacation in May 1878 at Brailovo, the Ukrainian country
estate belonging to his benefactress Nadezhda von Meck, he composed the Scherzo and Mélodie, the
second and third movements of Souvenir d’un lieu cher. Its first movement, titled Méditation (not played
today), is Tchaikovsky’s rejected and repurposed first try at a slow movement for his Violin Concerto.
George Gershwin
Porgy and Bess
The American writer DuBose Heyward (1885–1940) wrote plays, poetry, and fiction, but is now
remembered only for his first novel, Porgy (1925). In 1926, George Gershwin read it and proposed to
Heyward that they collaborate on an operatic version. In the fall of 1933, they signed a contract to write the
opera, and in the summer of 1934, both went to Folly Beach, South Carolina (a small island near
Charleston), where Gershwin got a feel for the locale and its music. He worked on the opera there and in
New York, while Heyward collaborated with Gershwin’s brother, Ira, on the libretto, including the famous
standards, some of which we hear this afternoon.
Gershwin always referred to Porgy and Bess as a “folk opera” and, in a 1935 New York Times article,
explained his motivation: “Porgy and Bess is a folk tale. Its people naturally would sing folk music. When I
first began work on the music, I decided against using original folk material because I wanted the music to
be all of one piece. Therefore, I wrote my own spirituals and folksongs. But they are still folk music, and
therefore, being in operatic form, Porgy and Bess becomes a folk opera.”
Following its first performance at Carnegie Hall and its original Broadway run in 1935–36, Porgy and Bess
has been a staple of operatic stages worldwide ever since and is widely regarded not only as the crowning
masterpiece of Gershwin’s career but also as the greatest American opera for its pioneering fusion of
Western operatic traditions with uniquely American elements of jazz, blues, and Black spirituals.
The Artists
Hailed as “lively and sensational” by Montreal’s Arts and Opinion and “flawless” by New York Concert
Review, prize-winning violinist Iryna Krechkovsky enjoys an international career as soloist, chamber
music collaborator, educator, and arts executive. She has appeared on Classical KUSC, KABC-TV Los
Angeles, the Korean Broadcasting System, National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting Service, and
as a speaker/performer at TEDxChapmanU. Born in Ukraine, Iryna Krechkovsky attended the Cleveland
Institute of Music and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University in New York,
where she was awarded the distinguished 40 Under Forty Alumni Award. She is Co-Founder and
Executive Director of Chamber Music | OC, where she curates the nationally recognized Pre-College
Program, and is a founding member of the award-winning ensemble Trio Céleste. Read about Iryna
Krechkovsky by clicking:
https://chambermusicoc.org/iryna-krechkovsky/
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times for his “impressive clarity, sense of structure and monster technique,”
Steven Vanhauwaert has garnered a wide array of accolades, including First Prize at the Los Angeles
International Liszt Competition. Mr. Vanhauwaert has made his solo debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall,
performing the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Fratello. He appeared as a soloist at the National
Center of the Performing Arts in Beijing, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, the Concertgebouw in Brugge,
the Great Hall of the Budapest Liszt Conservatory, the Forbidden City Theatre in Beijing, Segerstrom Hall,
and the National Philharmonic Hall in Kyiv. He has appeared with orchestras such as the Pacific
Symphony, the Lviv Philharmonic, the Sofia Sinfonietta, the Flemish Symphony, and the Kyiv Kamerata.
Read about Steven Vanhauwaert, a Steinway Artist, by clicking:
https://stevenvanhauwaert.com/
Attend in Person or Watch the Livestream
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Classical Crossroads simultaneously livestreams all its concerts for those unable to attend in person.
Watch the livestream at concert time only by clicking:
https://vimeo.com/event/4030680
An afternoon patio reception follows.
Free Admission ~ All Are Welcome
For information and online donations, click:
https://palosverdes.com/ClassicalCrossroads/
4. Music at St Mary’s Perivale
Chamber Music and Recitals
Perivale Lane, Perivale, West London UK
For a Google map, click:
https://goo.gl/maps/KdaP2qduGyv8ccYV7
Sunday, June 7, 2026 — 3:00 PM UK — 7:00 AM Pacific
The Cygnus Piano Trio
Javier Montañana violin, Hannah Lewis cello,
Cesar Saura piano
The Program
Suk: Elegie, Op.23
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor, Op.50
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-07.shtml
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 — 2:00 PM UK — 6:00 AM Pacific
Firoze Madon piano
The Program
Selections by Haydn, Silvestrov, Chopin, Brahms,
Scriabin, Liszt, Debussy, and Prokofiev
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-09.shtml
Friday, June 12, 2026 — 7:30 PM UK — 11:30 AM Pacific
Tamila Salimdjanova piano
The Program
Robert Schubert: Four Impromptus, D899
Ravel: Jeux d’eau
Robert Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, Op.6
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-12.shtml
Sunday, June 14, 2026 — 3:00 PM UK — 7:00 AM Pacific
Natalia Lomeiko violin, Teagan Craggs violin,
Yuri Zhislin viola, Chris Terepin cello,
Nathan Perry double bass, Anna Hashimoto clarinet,
Francis Bushell bassoon, Hannah Williams horn
The Program
Schubert: Octet in F Major, D803
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-14.shtml
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 — 2:00 PM UK — 6:00 AM Pacific
Gabriele Sutkute piano
The Program
Haydn: Piano Sonata in B Minor, Hob.XVI:32
Debussy: La plus que lente
Debussy: Suite Bergamasque
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No.4 in F-sharp Major, Op.30
Szymanowski: Variations in B-flat Minor, Op.3
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-16.shtml
Sunday, June 21, 2026 — 3:00 PM UK — 7:00 AM Pacific
Robert Markham and John Humphreys piano duo
The Program
Mozart: Sonata in D Major, K381
Schubert: Fantasie in F Minor, D940
Ravel: Mother Goose suite
Dvorák: Three Slavonic Dances from Op.46
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-21.shtml
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — 2:00 PM UK — 6:00 AM Pacific
Mariamna Sherling piano
The Program
J.S. Bach: Partita No.1 in B-flat Major, BWV825
Beethoven: 32 Variations in C Minor, WoO80
Chopin: Scherzo No.2 in B-flat Minor, Op.31
Chopin: Scherzo No.4 in E Major, Op.54
Liszt:
Hungarian Rhapsody No.12 in C-sharp Minor, S244 No.12
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-23.shtml
Sunday, June 28, 2026 — 3:00 PM UK — 7:00 AM Pacific
Madeline Grambow violin, John Lenehan piano
The Program
Mozart: Rondo from Serenade No.7 in D Major, ‘Haffner’
J.S. Bach: Largo from Sonata No.3 in C Major, BWV1005
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A Major, Op.47, “Kreutzer”
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-2026-06-28.shtml
St Mary’s Perivale is a small church dating back to the 12th century, which was active until being declared
redundant in 1972. Since then, it has been operated by Friends of St Mary’s Perivale as a concert venue
and arts center. The UK and Europe’s classical artists typically appear in three in-person and livestreamed
concerts a week. Since 2006, the ancient venue has been transformed into a high-quality broadcasting
center. Explore and discover concert gems by clicking:
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/
Find upcoming artists and ensembles through July 2027 by clicking:
https://st-marys-perivale.org.uk/events-001.shtml
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Available afterward to stream on demand
Find the links to the upcoming and past livestreamed concerts by clicking:
https://www.youtube.com/@stmarysperivale2842/streams
5. First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
Organ Prelude Concert
UCLA Professor & First Church Organist Christoph Bull
https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/christoph-bull/
on the Great Organs of First Congregational Church
of Los Angeles
Every Sunday — 10:30–11:00 AM Pacific — Free
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
540 S. Commonwealth Ave. (at Sixth St.), Los Angeles CA
For a Google map, click:
http://goo.gl/7g1N2f
The Program for Sunday, June 7, 2026
Improvisation on Gather Us In and Kingsfold
Erik Satie: Gymnopédie
Paul de Senneville: Ballad pour Adeline
Ludwig van Beethoven: Für Elise
William Walton: Allegro Reale
The Organ Prelude Concert programs are posted a few days ahead in the Order of Worship. Check and
download by clicking:
https://www.fccla.org/live
Organist Christoph Bull’s free, half-hour, live-audience & live-streamed Prelude Concerts on Sunday
mornings, beginning at 10:30 AM on the Great Organs of First Church, are an inspiring way to start your
week of amazing musical offerings. Attend in person or stay tuned in for the live stream of the First Church
Sunday Service, featuring the superb professional chamber choir Laude and Cathedral Choir, directed by
David Harris, as well as the organ Postlude. Donations appreciated. Read about organist Christoph Bull
by clicking:
https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/christoph-bull/
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Available to stream on demand at the link below.
Click at concert time to watch the livestream and find the program:
https://www.fccla.org/live
6. 80th Ojai Music Festival
Esa-Pekka Salonen 2026 Music Director
Ara Guzelimian Executive Director
Thursday, June 11 through Sunday, June 14, 2026
Libbey Bowl, Ojai CA
For a Google map, click:
https://goo.gl/6MRukB
“The Ojai Music Festival has been raising a finely calibrated ruckus each spring since 1947" — Alex Ross,
The New Yorker
See this year’s Ojai Music Festival Artists and Composers by clicking:
https://www.ojaifestival.org/2026-artists-composers/
And see the Schedule of Concerts by clicking:
https://www.ojaifestival.org/2026-festival-schedule/
From its founding in 1947, a healthy spirit of eclecticism and musical daring produced Ojai Music Festival
concerts that were fun and inspiring. That spirit was reinforced in 1954 with the appointment of Lawrence
Morton as the Festival’s artistic director, who was also the director of the historic Monday Evening
Concerts in Los Angeles. Under his leadership, the Ojai Music Festival developed an enduring concept
whereby the artistic director engages a different music director each year, around whose musical ideas
that year’s Festival is built.
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
Find the livestream link at concert time on the Ojai Festival website:
https://www.ojaifestival.org/
7. Classical Crossroads’ Season Finale
“Second Sundays at Two” (beginning at 1:50 PM)
~ presents ~
I, too, sing America*
In celebration of America250 on Flag Day,
Steven Vanhauwaert plays
Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the
Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles
under the baton of
Maestro Charles Dickerson III
Sunday, June 14, 2026
1:50 PM: Maestro Charles Dickerson’s meaningful remarks
followed by the concert at approximately 2:00 PM
Rolling Hills United Methodist Church
26438 Crenshaw Blvd, Rolling Hills Estates CA
For a Google map, click:
https://goo.gl/maps/EMqwtwiN3mGozzX3A
* poem by Langston Hughes, 1926
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too
Founded in 2009 by its Executive Director and Conductor Charles Dickerson III, the Inner City Youth
Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA) is the largest majority African American orchestra in the country.
With a focus on transforming the lives and minds of young people in Inner City Los Angeles through
high-quality music education, the organization teaches inner-city youth the great music of the world. It
provides opportunities to perform in the most magnificent settings of our community, including annual
summer concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Red about ICYOLA by clicking:
https://icyola.org/
The Program
John Stafford Smith (1750–1836):
The Star Spangled Banner (c.1773/1814)
J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954), arr. Charles Dickerson:
Lift Every Voice and Sing (c. 1900)
Bakhari Nokuri (2005– ): Afrospire (2022)
Arturo Marquez (1950– ): Danzón No.2
George Gershwin (1898–1937): Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932): Stars and Stripes Forever (1896)
Program Notes
The Star Spangled Banner
Today’s Flag Day program opens appropriately with the USA National Anthem, but neither its words nor its
music were originally conceived in the form we know today. The American lawyer and poet Francis Scott
Key (1779–1843) wrote Defence of Fort M’Henry in 1814 after seeing the American flag still flying over the
Baltimore fort following its assault by the British. It was soon published as a song, set to a popular tune
Key had used previously. That tune derived from The Anacreontic Song, written in the early 1770s by
English composer and organist John Stafford Smith (1750–1836) for an eponymous London society of
amateur musicians. The Key/Smith song soon became known as The Star-Spangled Banner, though it was
not officially adopted as the National Anthem by Congress until 1931.
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Following this is the well-known anthem, written around 1900 by African-American brothers, lyricist James
Weldon Johnson (1871–1938), and composer James Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954). Widely known as
the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing reflects the civil rights struggles of the time, using
imagery that evokes the biblical Exodus from slavery to the freedom of the promised land.
Afrospire
Jumping several generations, we come to a work for wind band by the young LA-based African-American
composer, producer, and drummer Bakhari Nokuri, who writes about his Afrospire: “… When I started the
work, I was going through a particularly challenging time in school, lacking motivation and drive. … I found that
the sounds of African drums resonated within my soul the most, making me feel connected to my African roots, and
pushing me to go on. Afrospire encapsulates this feeling of being transcended from reality and being left in a trance
or dream that tells you to keep going ...”
Danzón No.2
The second of Mexican composer Arturo Márquez’s nine-strong Danzón series (1994–2017) is by far the
most familiar and frequently performed, and it’s regrettable that its popularity has masked what the other
eight may offer. That said, Danzón No. 2 — commissioned by the National Autonomous University of
Mexico’s Department of Musical Activities — is instantly beguiling and memorable, opening with a clarinet
solo over a light claves+piano+strings accompaniment that rapidly spreads through the rest of the
orchestra and then twists, turns, and evolves over the next nine minutes or so through many changes of
pace, dynamics, texture, and rhythm.
Rhapsody in Blue
Though still only 25, George Gershwin was already celebrated for his piano works, songs, successful
Broadway musicals, and experimental jazz works when in November 1923 the bandleader Paul Whiteman
commissioned him to write a concerto-like piece for an all-jazz concert in honor of Lincoln’s Birthday to be
given at Aeolian Hall in midtown Manhattan. Whiteman became fixated on performing such an extended
composition by Gershwin after they collaborated on the Broadway review The Scandals of 1922. For various
reasons Gershwin didn’t begin work until five weeks before the scheduled premiere, and later claimed that
it was born in his mind during a train journey to Boston: “It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty
bang ... there I suddenly heard — and even saw on paper — the complete construction of the rhapsody, from
beginning to end. …. I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our
unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston I had a definite plot of the
piece, as distinguished from its actual substance.”
Stars and Stripes Forever
We end with what could be called another, “unofficial” national anthem; indeed in 1987 the US Congress
made The Stars and Stripes Forever the country’s official National March. Amongst his huge output of “light”
music in many forms, including 15 operettas, his no fewer than 136 marches stand out. In his 1928
memoir Marching Along, Sousa recorded that he composed The Stars and Stripes Forever on Christmas Day,
1896, at sea aboard the SS Teutonic while returning from a European vacation.
The Concerto Soloist
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times for his “impressive clarity, sense of structure and monster technique,”
Steven Vanhauwaert has garnered a wide array of accolades, including the First Prize at the Los Angeles
International Liszt Competition. Mr. Vanhauwaert made his solo debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall and
has appeared in some of the world’s leading venues, including the National Center of the Performing Arts
in Beijing, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, the Concertgebouw in Brugge, the Great Hall of the
Budapest Liszt Conservatory, the Forbidden City Theatre in Beijing, Segerstrom Hall, and the National
Philharmonic Hall in Kyiv. A Steinway Artist, Steven is Artistic Director of Classical Crossroads’ Second
Sundays at Two series and serves as Assistant Professor on the faculty at the University of Utah’s School
of Music. Read about Steven Vanhauwaert by clicking:
https://stevenvanhauwaert.com/
Live-Audience & Simultaneously Livestreamed
With the artists’ approval, a reprise will be available a day or two after the concert to stream on Classical
Crossroads’ Vimeo Showcase:
https://vimeo.com/showcase/classicalcrossroads
Watch the Livestream
Classical Crossroads simultaneously livestreams all its concerts for those unable to attend in person.
Watch, beginning with Maestro Charles Dickerson’s remarks followed by the concert, by clicking Classical
Crossroads’ Vimeo livestream link at 1:50 PM:
https://vimeo.com/event/4030680
Free admission. Donations appreciated. For concert series information and online donations, click:
http://www.palosverdes.com/ClassicalCrossroads/SecondSundays.htm
CONCERT REVIEWS AND OTHER ITEMS OF HIGH INTEREST
on Southern California’s Chamber Music Scene
A. Music critic Richard S. Ginell’s review on SFCV
“Orli Shaham’s Café Ludwig Showcases New American Chamber Works”
https://bit.ly/SFCV-RichardSGinell20260602
Richard Ginell begins, “Pianist Orli Shaham has been hosting, curating and playing in a chamber music
series, Café Ludwig, since 2008. Presented by the Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa’s Samueli Theater,
these Sunday afternoon concerts invite patrons to have coffee and ‘decadent desserts’ while principal
members of the PSO take turns performing music old and new. . . .”
B. Music critic Jim Farber’s review on SFCV
“Piano Spheres’ Satie Project Is as Odd and Funny as the Composer It Honors”
https://bit.ly/SFCV-JimFaber20260602
Jim Faber begins, “After three years and 30 commissions, Piano Spheres’ ‘The Satie Project’ culminated
Saturday and Sunday at the Boston Court in Pasadena, a fitting celebration to mark the company’s 30th
anniversary.
“The concert interleaved Erik Satie’s works for piano-four-hands with seven commissioned works inspired
by his compositions. The featured composers were: TJ Cole, Mikhail Johnson, Jihyun Kim, Veronika
Krausas, Celka Ojakangas, Nathan Schram, and Dale Trumbore. . . .”
E. Classical Music Happy Hour with Emanuel Ax
New York’s Classical Music Radio Station WQXR’s “Classical Music Happy Hour” is a classical music
podcast from WQXR and Carnegie Hall, hosted by renowned pianist Emanuel Ax.
The Latest Podcast Episodes:
Ray Chen - superstar violinist wants you to practice
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Listen:
https://link.podtrac.com/44fhwr02
F. The Art of Listening
The Art of Listening is a bimonthly offering from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, created to
enhance your appreciation and enjoyment of classical music. Subscribe on Substack and have it delivered
to your inbox or read it online:
https://chambermusicsociety.substack.com/
The latest post: Thursday, May 28, 2026
A Singer from Mannheim and a Composer from Salzburg:
The Story of Constanze and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
by Paul Griffiths
https://bit.ly/CMS-ArtOfListening20260528
Best wishes and take care,
Jim Eninger, Editor-in-Chief
Edna R.S. Alvarez, Copyeditor
Clickable Chamber Music Newsletter from Southern California
“... invaluable ...” ~ Mark Swed, The Los Angeles Times
Available on Substack at
https://jimeninger.substack.com/