La Jolla Music Society

Interdependent yet independent, these selections explore the musical concept of counterpoint—the relationship between two or more musical lines or voices, as seen by composers spanning the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th century. The evening includes the world premiere of a multimedia version of Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint, commissioned by SummerFest, the Synergy Initiative, and Lincoln Center, which will feature clarinets from all of the Lincoln Center performing ensembles.

The Baroque period contains riches that inspired composers above any other. We begin with J.S Bach’s immortal concerto for two violins, and continue to explore some of the most captivating pieces of his era and beyond, with C.P.E. Bach’s (his son) Cello Concerto, Biber’s brilliant and irreverent Battalia, a commentary on the Thirty Year War that engulfed Europe at the time, and “Grosso Mogul,” Vivaldi’s fiery and dazzling concerto.

What creative genius’ work has permeated the culture and had more influence than that of the Bard himself? Join us for this intermission-less Wednesday evening event as we enjoy music from Shakespeare’s time and hear some of his most famous words composed into song. Following Korngold's popular incidental music for the comedy Much Ado About Nothing, composed in 1920, we conclude with Beethoven’s “Ghost” Piano Trio, which came out of sketches for an opera based on Macbeth that he never…

Salons were the cultural and intellectual hub of Paris; open forums for the city’s most creative minds to engage in thought-provoking and often subversive conversations. These events, along with the famed Masquerade balls, were rife with stirring and seductive new ideas, art, literature, and music. The pieces on this program emerged from these glamorous salons and range from the charming piano duo by Debussy and Sarasate’s devilishly virtuosic Carmen Fantasy, to Ravel and Caplet’s decadent and macabre evocations of Edgar…

Step into the famed halls and studios of Le Conservatoire de Paris, the epicenter of Paris’ most innovative musical minds where, whether as student or professor, composers like Debussy, Lilli Boulanger, Franck, and Fauré reflected the great artistic and intellectual movements of their times.

Composers in Paris took pride in absorbing the artistry of others and building on it to create their own auditory worlds. Composers like Milhaud, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, and Ravel drew inspiration from Baroque composers and idioms to create the masterworks in this concert.

Join us for this special Wednesday evening event at The Conrad as we transport ourselves to the Italian countryside. The Four Seasons, Antonio Vivaldi’s radical violin concerto, is by far the composer’s most popular work. The concerto was one of the first of its kind and, in the right hands, can sound as revolutionary today as it did when it was first heard. The festivities continue after the concert with Italian-inspired fare and libations in the Wu Tsai QRT.yrd.

Stirred by the sublime lyricism and expressive richness of the Romantic era, the composers on this evening’s program display passionate intensity and striking emotional honesty. We begin with Schubert’s Quartettsatz, one of the pieces that helped pave the road to the Romantic era, followed by the premiere of Marc-André Hamelin’s lush Piano Quintet, heard in its recently completed version for the first time, and we end with Dvorák’s Piano Trio in F Minor, perhaps the composer’s most romantic outpouring and…

The complex textures and rich harmonies characteristic of Richard Wagner’s compositions had a magnetic force on the composers featured on this evening’s program. From Strauss’ lusciously scored and radiantly colorful String Sextet from his opera Capriccio and a string version of Berg’s intense Piano Sonata, to arrangements and works in honor of Wagner by his own father-in-law, Franz Liszt, this program is a testament to the dominant force of this Romantic master. The program ends with the rarely heard, lushly…

This special event transforms The Conrad for the spellbinding, once-in-a-generation vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, a multi-GRAMMY-winner and MacArthur Fellow. McLorin Salvant has a captivating passion for storytelling and weaves together jazz, blues, Baroque, and folk traditions from the world over. You’ll leave the concert entranced, but don’t float away too soon. Stick around after the concert for the best of San Diego’s culinary scene, craft cocktails, and more live music.

Join us for an evening with Cécile McLorin Salvant and Anthony Roth Costanzo, two of the greatest vocalists alive today, featuring and inspired by the music of Kurt Weill. Costanzo, who became an international sensation and won a GRAMMY for his portrayal of the pharaoh Akhnaten in the Philip Glass’ opera of the same name, makes his SummerFest debut. He is joined by multiple GRAMMY Award-winner Salvant, one of the most daring and brilliant performers of our time, for an…

SummerFest welcomes back the fan-favorite Miró quartet. For more than 25 years, the Miró Quartet has balanced a loyalty to the legacy of the string quartet and a devotion to the future of the form, regularly commissioning new works and collaborating with the finest artists of our time. For this special Wednesday evening event at The Conrad, the Miró partners with the sensational GRAMMY-winning composer and performer Caroline Shaw, presenting the West Coast premiere of Microfictions, a new work co-commissioned…

As the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in music, GRAMMY Award-winning composer Caroline Shaw strives to create intricate soundscapes that have never been heard before but have always existed. For this season’s Takeover @The JAI, Shaw will curate a cabaret-style concert of music she composed and music she loves, with the Miró Quartet and other friends, accompanied by cocktails and conversation.

Using the instrumentation of some of the most iconic pieces in music—Mozart’s clarinet quintet and Schubert’s octet and “Trout” quintet— composers Brahms, Françaix, and Chris Rogerson create their own unique and masterful works.