Saturday, October 18, 2008
Crown Jewels:
A Musical Tour through Europe's Princely Courts

A glittering evening off Baroque and Classical works for chamber orchestra and soloists, featuring a royal flush of composers who wrote for Europe's most musically voracious rulers: Haydn's Cello Concerto in D major; Mozart's "Musical Joke"' the splendor of Bach's Double Concerto for two violins; and Italian gems from Corelli and Vivaldi. With the Camerata San Marco, a virtuosic all-woman string orchestra, and guest soloists, this musical excursion includes the courts of Habsburg and Esterhazy and palaces of Saxony and Venice.

Artists:
Aya Hamada, harpischord; Jonathan Keren and Cordelia Hagmann, violins; Yehuda hanani, cello: Camerata San Marco

Saturday, December 6, 2008, 6:00 pm
An American Holiday Tapestry
The Rose Ensemble synthesize performance and scholarship into an exquisite sonic art. For their third return to Close Encounters, they reincarnate themselves in the 17th and 18th centuries on American shores-in a folkloric tapestry with traditional Acadian and Scottish dance music, Shaker melodies, spirituals, wassail songs, and Colonial Jewish synagogue hymns. The remarkable breadth of material also includes Mexican Baroque and Hawaiian selections, with mandolin and vihujela de mano accompaniment, as well as guitar, Native American flute, and foot stomping! IF the Rose Ensemble is back in town, can holiday cheer be far behind?

Artists:
The Rose Ensemble, Medieval and Renaissance singers

Saturday, February 21, 2009, 6:00 pm
Celebrating Mendelssohn-
and Discovering Eduard Franck I
The remarkably versatile composer-pianist-conductor-painter Felix Mendelssohn has come to personify genius as a prodigy in music, arguably more so than Mozart. In marking the 200th anniversary of his birth, we present his sparkling solo and chamber works, together with those of his great friends and colleagues Robert Schumann and Frederick Chopin, including the majestic Piano Quartet ini E-flat major. Op. 47, a sampling of ballads, mazurkas and polonaises, the much beloved Mendelssohn D minor Piano Trio, and Fanny Mendelssohn's Adagio for violin and piano.

Artists:
Shmuel Ashkenasi, violin; James Tocco, piano;  Yehuda Hanani, cello

Saturday, March 28, 2009, 6:00 pm
A Night of Quintets
Schubert's heavenly last word -- and by current consensus, the ultimate statement in chamber music -- the Quintet in C Major anchors a program of works for string quartet with the addition of guest cello. The combination imparts rich textures to an evening that includes Boccherini's glittering palace music and the premiere of a Klezmer-inspired quintet by Stephen Dankner.

Artists:
The Amernet String Quartet:
Marcia Littley de Arias, violin; Misha Vitenson, violin; Michael Klotz, cello; Javiar Arias, cello;
Yehuda Hanani, cello

Saturday, April 25, 2009, 6:00 pm
Beethoven & Shostakovich Trios
The most uplifting and the most heart wrenching -- this evening features an exercise in extremes. Two of today's brightest young performers join cellist Yehuda Hanani in a striking juxtaposition of the Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2, a wartime eulogy for a world gone mad, and Beethoven's Olympic "Archduke" Trio.

Artists:
Adam Neiman, piano; Stefan Milenkovich, violin; Yehuda Hanani, cello

Online tickets sales available until 1:00 pm concert day.  Tickets can be purchased at the box office starting at 4:00pm. Prices are $25.00 (balcony) and $35.00

Saturday, May 30, 2009, 6:00 pm GALA!
Celebrating Mendelssohn-
and Discovering Eduard Franck II
The festivities culminate in a gala concert, as we present Mendelssohn's sparkling solo and chamber works, together with those of his great friends and colleagues Robert Schumann and Frederic Chopin, including the majestic Piano Quartet in E-flat major, op. 47; a sampling of ballads, mazurkas and polonaises; and Songs without Words and Variations-two forms Mendelssohn brought to their highest points. Also works by Fanny Mendelssohn, and introducing the masterful String Sextet no. 1 by Eduard Franck, Felix's student and friend, to the American public for the first time!

Artists:
Avalon String Quartet: Blaise Magniere, violin; Marie Wang, violin; Anthony Devroye, viola; Cheng-Hou Lee, cello; James Tocco, piano; Yehonatan Berick, violin;  Yehuda Hanani, cello

Online tickets sales available until 1:00 pm concert day.  Tickets can be purchased at the box office starting at 4:00pm. Prices are $25.00 (balcony), $40.00 & $100 (includes preferred seating and reception).