Music at Kohl Mansion

The chamber music series Music at Kohl Mansion returns to live programming for 2021-22. 

Sunday, October 31:  Harlem Quartet with pianist-composer Aldo López-Gavilán 

Program of Schumann and works to be announced in early October.

Noted for its “fresh, bracing, and intelligent” attitude towards classical music, vibrant programming, collaborations across genres, and fundamental commitment to outreach and education, the Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet returns for its third visit to Music at Kohl. Cuban pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán, brother of the Quartet’s first violinist, Ilmar López-Gavilán, joins the ensemble (with Melissa White; violin, Jaime Amador; viola; and Felix Umansky, cello) for a program full of exuberance, color, and spirit in a happy marriage of classical mastery and virtuoso jazz. The Harlem Quartet was founded in 2006 by the Sphinx Organization, and has played the world’s leading concert venues – including Carnegie Hall and The White House across North and South America, and Europe. The musicians are currently Quartet-in-Residence at London’s Royal College of Music.  

 

Sunday, November 21:  Rolston Quartet (MAKM Debut)

Program of Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Gabriela Lena Frank

Hailed as a “bright star in the string quartet sky,” the Rolston Quartet has received rave reviews and accolades since its founding in 2013 at Canada’s Banff Centre. After winning first prize in several prestigious competitions, the ensemble’s debut recording was named a “best classical album released in 2020” by BBC Music Magazine. This engaging foursome, (Luri Lee and Jason Issokson, violin; Hezekiah Leung, viola; and Yoshika Masuda, cello) is currently at work on a multi-year Haydn recording contract, some of which will be reflected in their Music at Kohl Mansion debut.

 

Sunday, December 12, 2021 - The Lee Trio (MAKM Debut)

Program of Beethoven, Schumann and Edmund Finnis (World Premiere)

An award-winning piano trio of three virtuosic performers, educators, and sisters hailing from San Francisco, the Lee Trio (Lisa Lee, violin; Angela Lee, cello; Melinda Lee Masur, piano) is recognized as one of the premier chamber ensembles on the international stage. The sisters bring their special synergy to the mainstage at Music at Kohl with a program of renowned classics punctuated by the world premiere of a work written for them, specifically composed to precede the great Beethoven Trio No. 7, “Archduke”.

 

Sunday, January 16, 2022 - Mesa-Yakushev Duo (MAKM Debut)

Program includes Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Andrea Casarrubios, Joaquin Nin & Lera Auerbach

Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa, one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation and first-prize winner of the 2016 Sphinx Competition, is joined by Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev, with many world-wide awards and honors to his credit, including concerts with the SF Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. The pair performs magnificent sonatas by Brahms and Rachmaninoff, as well as a few exciting surprises, including the California premiere of a work by Spanish cellist-composer Andrea Casarrubios, a tribute to the essential workers during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Sunday, February 13, 2022 – Ida Kavafian and Peter Wiley with Curtis on Tour (MAKM Debut)

Violinist Ida Kavafian and cellist Peter Wiley, world renowned soloists, chamber musicians, and esteemed faculty members of Philadelphia’s prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, lead a quintet of string players (ensemble members to be announced) in Schubert’s masterful String Quintet in C Major, paired with Curtis-composer Richard Danielpour’s A Shattered Vessel. Co-commissioned by Ida Kavafian in 2019, the piece was composed as a companion to be played alongside the Schubert.

Sunday, March 6, 2022 - Musicians from the San Francisco Symphony

Five string players from our own San Francisco Symphony travel from Davies Hall to our Great Hall to offer an evening that begins with one of Rossini’s youthful string sonatas written when the composer was just 12, showcases two celebrated African American women composers of past and present, and concludes with Dvořák’s superb String Quintet. Wyatt Underhill and Jessie Fellows, violins; Matthew Young, viola; Barbara Bogatin, cello; Daniel Smith, bass. 

Sunday, April 10, 2022 - Quatuor Danel (Debut Live)

Program includes Tchaikovsky and César Franck

The French-Belgian Quatuor Danel transported viewers with their performance during MAKM’s virtual season and will travel to the Kohl Mansion to close the 39^th Season live and in person. The quartet is famous for its bold, concentrated interpretations of major string quartet cycles. Its lively, fresh vision of the traditional quartet repertoire has earned the Quatuor Danel praise for vivid and intense performances that keep audiences “on the edge of their seats.” Marc Danel and Gilles Millet, violins; Vlad Bogdanas, viola; Yovan Markovitch, cello.

TICKETS: Season tickets for the full 7-concert series are now available; subscriptions are $307 (General), $292 (Senior) and $107 (age 30 and under). Single tickets for individual concerts will go on sale beginning Aug. 20; tickets are $52 (General), $49 (Senior) and $22 (age 30 and under). To purchase tickets, please visit www.musicatkohl.org or call the Music at Kohl Mansion Box Office, (650) 762-1130.

 

PRE-CONCERT TALKS: In lieu of in-person pre-concert talks for the fall concerts, all ticket holders will receive in advance informative pre-recorded remarks. 

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: With a return to live, indoor performances in the Kohl Mansion’s Great Hall, all audience members will be required to show proof of full vaccination either at the time of purchase or prior to entry to the live concert. All staff and members of the public are required to wear a facial covering at all times while indoors. In order to allow for social distancing, Music at Kohl Management will reduce its indoor seating to a maximum of 60% of capacity. Convenient public hand sanitizing stations will be provided. 

All programs, artists and COVID-19 health and safety protocols are subject to change. Music at Kohl Mansion is located at 2750 Adeline Drive, Burlingame. For additional information about Music at Kohl Mansion, visit www.musicatkohl.org or phone (650) 762-1130.