Lobero Theatre Chamber Music Project Concert

The new Lobero Theatre Chamber Music Project presents two concerts in one weekend featuring top international performers and ambitious musical selections. This is a new collaboration with Maestro Heiichiro Ohyama who hand-picked the players and curated the programs. Also a celebrated violist, Ohyama performs in the two concerts, which have completely different programs. The first concert is Saturday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre.

 “Heiichiro has successfully started several chamber music festivals and series by focusing on two major factors: top caliber musicians and legendary pieces,” said Benjamin Beilman, Musical Advisor to the new series. “The artists all have had rewarding musical experiences together, so we have an innate understanding of each other. So, we decided to start with key repertoire that is meaningful to us on stage and to our relationship with the audience, hopefully whetting an appetite for future concerts.”

 Beilman performs in two works on the Saturday, February 8 program, including Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins in C major with violinist Ida Kavafian, his teacher at the Curtis Institute and a former member of the Beaux Arts Trio. It was composed while Prokofiev was visiting Paris in 1932 for the first concert of Tritone, a musical society he directed with composers Milhaud, Honegger and Poulenc.

 Beilman and Ohyama are joined by celebrated young pianist Louis Schwizgebel and cellist Clive Greensmith (14-year member of the Tokyo String Quartet) for in Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor. The Brahms is known for its rollicking finale, which sounds like music from Hungarian café played by an ensemble of virtuoso soloists.

Beethoven’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major is performed by Schwizgebel, Kavafian, Ohyama, and Greensmith. Written in 1796, early in Beethoven’s career, it was intended to show off his skills as a pianist. It features elaborate and virtuosic piano writing and two opportunities for cadenzas.

 The music making continues on the following day, Sunday, February 9 at 4 p.m., with an entirely different program.