In La Speranza’s season finale, the precocious talents of Felix Mendelssohn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are featured in works written in the composers’ late teen years.

Performers:
Joanna Becker and Maria Lin, violins
Yvonne Smith, viola
Fran Koiner, cello

Tickets are $25/$15 (seniors 55+ and students) and good for in-person or virtual attendance. Subscribe to the season and save up to 20%!

La Speranza evokes the vibrant life of the Enlightenment through historically informed chamber music performances. One of the preeminent American ensembles dedicated to the performance of 18th and 19th century chamber music repertoire, La Speranza infuses performances with passionate authenticity.

BACH Concerto in A Minor for Violin

BACH Concerto in D Major for Harpsichord

BACH Concerto in A Major for Oboe d’amore

BACH Sonata in G Major for Two Flutes

TELEMANN Concerto in G Major for Viola

TELEMANN Concerto for in A Major for Flute, Violin, and 'Cello

YuEun Kim, violin • Corey Jamason, harpsichord • Stephen Hammer, oboe d'amore

Bethanne Walker & Vincent Canciello, flutes • Joseph Howe, violoncello

Yvonne Smith, viola • Tomà Iliev, violin

American Bach Soloists

Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

BACH Concerto in A Minor for Violin

BACH Concerto in D Major for Harpsichord

BACH Concerto in A Major for Oboe d’amore

BACH Sonata in G Major for Two Flutes

TELEMANN Concerto in G Major for Viola

TELEMANN Concerto for in A Major for Flute, Violin, and 'Cello

YuEun Kim, violin • Corey Jamason, harpsichord • Stephen Hammer, oboe d'amore

Bethanne Walker & Vincent Canciello, flutes • Joseph Howe, violoncello

Yvonne Smith, viola • Tomà Iliev, violin

American Bach Soloists

Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

BACH Concerto in A Minor for Violin

BACH Concerto in D Major for Harpsichord

BACH Concerto in A Major for Oboe d’amore

BACH Sonata in G Major for Two Flutes

TELEMANN Concerto in G Major for Viola

TELEMANN Concerto for in A Major for Flute, Violin, and 'Cello

YuEun Kim, violin • Corey Jamason, harpsichord • Stephen Hammer, oboe d'amore

Bethanne Walker & Vincent Canciello, flutes • Joseph Howe, violoncello

Yvonne Smith, viola • Tomà Iliev, violin

American Bach Soloists

Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

BACH Concerto in A Minor for Violin

BACH Concerto in D Major for Harpsichord

BACH Concerto in A Major for Oboe d’amore

BACH Sonata in G Major for Two Flutes

TELEMANN Concerto in G Major for Viola

TELEMANN Concerto for in A Major for Flute, Violin, and 'Cello

YuEun Kim, violin • Corey Jamason, harpsichord • Stephen Hammer, oboe d'amore

Bethanne Walker & Vincent Canciello, flutes • Joseph Howe, violoncello

Yvonne Smith, viola • Tomà Iliev, violin

American Bach Soloists

Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

Music for three is elevated to the grandiose in this program for flute and strings, featuring Beethoven’s Serenade for flute, violin and viola and other works from Beethoven’s lifetime.

Performers:
Alaina Diehl, flute
Joanna Becker, violin
Yvonne Smith, viola
Fran Koiner, cello

Tickets are $25/$15 (seniors 55+ and students) and good for in-person or virtual attendance. Subscribe to the season and save up to 20%!

La Speranza evokes the vibrant life of the Enlightenment through historically informed chamber music performances. One of the preeminent American ensembles dedicated to the performance of 18th and 19th century chamber music repertoire, La Speranza infuses performances with passionate authenticity.
www.la-speranza.com

La Speranza presents all six of Beethoven’s ground-breaking Op. 18 string quartets in three concerts over the span of eight days in Beethoven on the Bayou, our first biannual festival.

The final concert of the festival features Quartet no. 5 in A major and Quartet no. 6 in B flat major.

Performers:
Joanna Becker and Maria Lin, violins
Yvonne Smith, viola
Fran Koiner, cello

www.la-speranza.com/Beethoven

The second concert of the festival features Quartet no. 2 in G major and Quartet no. 3 in D Major.

La Speranza presents all six of Beethoven’s ground-breaking Op. 18 string quartets in three concerts over the span of eight days in Beethoven on the Bayou, our first biannual festival.

Performers:
Joanna Becker and Maria Lin, violins
Yvonne Smith, viola
Fran Koiner, cello

www.la-speranza.com/Beethoven

Back by popular demand, “A Baroque New Year’s Eve at the Opera” will usher in the new year within San Francisco’s beautiful Herbst Theatre. Start an early night on the town with a delightful program of arias, duets, and instrumental music from Baroque opera and concert, with plenty of time left for more celebrations in the evening or an early return home for a peaceful night. Bring your family and friends to celebrate a New Year full of wonderful music.

No other Bay Area performances come close to offering the visual, aural, and emotional qualities that have made ABS’s Messiah in Grace Cathedral so superlative. Featuring a stellar cast of vocal soloists, American Bach’s annual tradition of performing Handel’s Messiah in San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral perennially provides a treasured December holiday event to capacity audiences.

A Bay Area holiday tradition now in its 25th year, ABS’s performances of Handel’s timeless work have become an essential part of the musical year for many music lovers and have attracted audiences of more than 50,000 from around the world.

No other Bay Area performances come close to offering the visual, aural, and emotional qualities that have made ABS’s Messiah in Grace Cathedral so superlative. Featuring a stellar cast of vocal soloists, American Bach’s annual tradition of performing Handel’s Messiah in San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral perennially provides a treasured December holiday event to capacity audiences.

A Bay Area holiday tradition now in its 25th year, ABS’s performances of Handel’s timeless work have become an essential part of the musical year for many music lovers and have attracted audiences of more than 50,000 from around the world.

In this special abridged evening performance, perfect for the whole family, you’ll hear the Christmas portion (Part I) of Handel’s Messiah along with music of the season by Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The finely tuned voices of the American Bach Choir and the polished sheen of sonorities brought by ABS’s period-instrument orchestra soar within the majestic interior of San Francisco’s Nob Hill landmark. Together with the best highlights of Handel's peerless composition, ABS will perform Charpentier's Messe de Minuit (“Midnight Mass”), one of the most treasured Christmas compositions from the Parisian Baroque.

With perhaps the most startling initial chord in any of Bach's compositions, the early cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde ("Stand steadfast against transgression") is a work of outstanding sonority and chromatic harmony. Bach called upon his youthful inspiration and contrapuntal mastery to create a soul-stirring and compelling admonishment to do good.

Unequivocally one of Bach's most moving and haunting solo cantatas, Ich habe genug ("I have enough") presents a soul who has experienced life's blessings and who, having seen and felt enlightenment, is ready to pass into the next realm, rejoicing in his readiness. The music tugs on our empathy and compassion while, at the same time, gently encourages our own wishes for bliss.

Perfectly paired with Bach's cantatas, the program also includes the dynamic Concerto in C Minor for Oboe & Violin and richly sonorous by German composers Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Georg Muffat.

https://americanbach.org/Aryeh-Nussbaum-Cohen-sings-Bach.html

With perhaps the most startling initial chord in any of Bach's compositions, the early cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde ("Stand steadfast against transgression") is a work of outstanding sonority and chromatic harmony. Bach called upon his youthful inspiration and contrapuntal mastery to create a soul-stirring and compelling admonishment to do good.

Unequivocally one of Bach's most moving and haunting solo cantatas, Ich habe genug ("I have enough") presents a soul who has experienced life's blessings and who, having seen and felt enlightenment, is ready to pass into the next realm, rejoicing in his readiness. The music tugs on our empathy and compassion while, at the same time, gently encourages our own wishes for bliss.

Perfectly paired with Bach's cantatas, the program also includes the dynamic Concerto in C Minor for Oboe & Violin and richly sonorous by German composers Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Georg Muffat.

https://americanbach.org/Aryeh-Nussbaum-Cohen-sings-Bach.html

With perhaps the most startling initial chord in any of Bach's compositions, the early cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde ("Stand steadfast against transgression") is a work of outstanding sonority and chromatic harmony. Bach called upon his youthful inspiration and contrapuntal mastery to create a soul-stirring and compelling admonishment to do good.

Unequivocally one of Bach's most moving and haunting solo cantatas, Ich habe genug ("I have enough") presents a soul who has experienced life's blessings and who, having seen and felt enlightenment, is ready to pass into the next realm, rejoicing in his readiness. The music tugs on our empathy and compassion while, at the same time, gently encourages our own wishes for bliss.

Perfectly paired with Bach's cantatas, the program also includes the dynamic Concerto in C Minor for Oboe & Violin and richly sonorous by German composers Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Georg Muffat.

https://americanbach.org/Aryeh-Nussbaum-Cohen-sings-Bach.html

With perhaps the most startling initial chord in any of Bach's compositions, the early cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde ("Stand steadfast against transgression") is a work of outstanding sonority and chromatic harmony. Bach called upon his youthful inspiration and contrapuntal mastery to create a soul-stirring and compelling admonishment to do good.

Unequivocally one of Bach's most moving and haunting solo cantatas, Ich habe genug ("I have enough") presents a soul who has experienced life's blessings and who, having seen and felt enlightenment, is ready to pass into the next realm, rejoicing in his readiness. The music tugs on our empathy and compassion while, at the same time, gently encourages our own wishes for bliss.

Perfectly paired with Bach's cantatas, the program also includes the dynamic Concerto in C Minor for Oboe & Violin and richly sonorous by German composers Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Georg Muffat.

https://americanbach.org/Aryeh-Nussbaum-Cohen-sings-Bach.html

A program with Lyra Baroque that involves Telemann’s Concerto for Viola in G Major. Stay tuned for more details!

A program with Lyra Baroque that involves Telemann’s Concerto for Viola in G Major. Stay tuned for more details!

In “From Consort to Quartet”, La Speranza explores the early origins of the string quartet through music of Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell, and Johann Albrechtsberger. Franz Joseph Haydn’s sublime String Quartet in C major, Op. 20 no 2 rounds out the program.

Featuring Beethoven’s pristine Op. 18 no 3 quartet plus adding one more cello to the mix for a string quintet by Beethoven’s contemporary George Onslow.

Handel’s cantata Apollo & Dafne was written in Venice when he was just 24 years old. It tells the story of Apollo’s vanity as he suggests that even Cupid’s bow is no match for his own. Challenging Apollo’s boastfulness, Cupid shoots his arrows and Apollo falls prey to rapturous yearnings for Dafne. She spurns his advances and, in a desperate effort to escape, is transformed into a laurel tree.

The Pythagorean theory of Musica Universalis ("The Harmony of the Spheres"), built on the premise that music was a central force in the creation of Earth, is given rapturous credence in Handel’s setting of the Ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day, an exquisite Restoration period verse by John Dryden, England’s first Poet Laureate. Arias in praise of flutes, violins, trumpets, organs, and above all the power of harmony make this an absolutely beautiful testament of music's charms!

Handel’s cantata Apollo & Dafne was written in Venice when he was just 24 years old. It tells the story of Apollo’s vanity as he suggests that even Cupid’s bow is no match for his own. Challenging Apollo’s boastfulness, Cupid shoots his arrows and Apollo falls prey to rapturous yearnings for Dafne. She spurns his advances and, in a desperate effort to escape, is transformed into a laurel tree.

The Pythagorean theory of Musica Universalis ("The Harmony of the Spheres"), built on the premise that music was a central force in the creation of Earth, is given rapturous credence in Handel’s setting of the Ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day, an exquisite Restoration period verse by John Dryden, England’s first Poet Laureate. Arias in praise of flutes, violins, trumpets, organs, and above all the power of harmony make this an absolutely beautiful testament of music's charms!

Handel’s cantata Apollo & Dafne was written in Venice when he was just 24 years old. It tells the story of Apollo’s vanity as he suggests that even Cupid’s bow is no match for his own. Challenging Apollo’s boastfulness, Cupid shoots his arrows and Apollo falls prey to rapturous yearnings for Dafne. She spurns his advances and, in a desperate effort to escape, is transformed into a laurel tree.

The Pythagorean theory of Musica Universalis ("The Harmony of the Spheres"), built on the premise that music was a central force in the creation of Earth, is given rapturous credence in Handel’s setting of the Ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day, an exquisite Restoration period verse by John Dryden, England’s first Poet Laureate. Arias in praise of flutes, violins, trumpets, organs, and above all the power of harmony make this an absolutely beautiful testament of music's charms!

Handel’s cantata Apollo & Dafne was written in Venice when he was just 24 years old. It tells the story of Apollo’s vanity as he suggests that even Cupid’s bow is no match for his own. Challenging Apollo’s boastfulness, Cupid shoots his arrows and Apollo falls prey to rapturous yearnings for Dafne. She spurns his advances and, in a desperate effort to escape, is transformed into a laurel tree.

The Pythagorean theory of Musica Universalis ("The Harmony of the Spheres"), built on the premise that music was a central force in the creation of Earth, is given rapturous credence in Handel’s setting of the Ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day, an exquisite Restoration period verse by John Dryden, England’s first Poet Laureate. Arias in praise of flutes, violins, trumpets, organs, and above all the power of harmony make this an absolutely beautiful testament of music's charms!

Happy festivity is the theme of this program that features music composed for a banquet and a short ballet titled "A Beautiful Wedding," written by Georg Muffat to introduce his musicians to the sounds of Versailles. The mellifluous flauto traverso is brought front and center in Vivaldi's celebration of a singing goldfinch, and truly charming overtures by Maurice Greene — a composer who held all major musical appointments in England and was a founder of the original Academy of Ancient Music — feature a pair of dulcet flutes. The central focal point of this program reflects Bach’s explorations into the most up-do-date styles of his era, coming to monumental fruition in his last works, including “The Musical Offering,” a lofty zenith of the composer's practically scientific application of musical forms that culminates in his most superbly crafted Trio Sonata.

Happy festivity is the theme of this program that features music composed for a banquet and a short ballet titled "A Beautiful Wedding," written by Georg Muffat to introduce his musicians to the sounds of Versailles. The mellifluous flauto traverso is brought front and center in Vivaldi's celebration of a singing goldfinch, and truly charming overtures by Maurice Greene — a composer who held all major musical appointments in England and was a founder of the original Academy of Ancient Music — feature a pair of dulcet flutes. The central focal point of this program reflects Bach’s explorations into the most up-do-date styles of his era, coming to monumental fruition in his last works, including “The Musical Offering,” a lofty zenith of the composer's practically scientific application of musical forms that culminates in his most superbly crafted Trio Sonata.