Classical Sunday: In the Style Of — Fiona Cunninghame-Murray, Violin & Aleks Shameti, Piano

Seating: 5:00 PM
Concert Begins: 7:00 PM

Dinner service ends at 7:00 PM. Please arrive early if you plan to enjoy dinner before the performance. No food or beverage service will be available during the concert.


Violinist Fiona Cunninghame-Murray, who performed alongside Joshua Bell at Davies Symphony Hall as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s Great Performers Series, joins pianist Aleks Shameti for In the Style Of, an intimate program exploring how composers draw on musical traditions of the past and transform them into something distinctly their own.

The evening moves from the refined architecture of Bach and the brilliance of Mozart to Enescu’s richly colored, Romanian folk-inspired Violin Sonata No. 3, before concluding with a collection of beloved works by Fritz Kreisler—music filled with lyricism, virtuosity, Viennese charm, and playful tributes to earlier musical styles.

Program

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, BWV 825

Solo piano

Bach’s first keyboard partita unfolds as a sequence of stylized dances, balancing graceful forms with rhythmic vitality and the intricate musical craftsmanship for which Bach is celebrated.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

Piano Sonata No. 9 in D major, K. 311

Solo piano

Bright and spirited, Mozart’s D-major sonata moves between lyrical elegance and brilliant keyboard writing. Its lively outer movements surround a more intimate Andante, revealing both the grace and dramatic imagination of the young Mozart.

George Enescu (1881–1955)

Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25, “dans le caractère populaire roumain”

Violin and piano

Written “in the Romanian folk character,” Enescu’s Third Violin Sonata is one of his most distinctive chamber works. Haunting melodies, intricate ornamentation, shifting rhythms, and striking instrumental colors evoke the spontaneity and expressive freedom of Romanian folk music while creating a musical language unmistakably Enescu’s own.

Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962)

Selections for Violin and Piano

• Schön Rosmarin
• Farewell to Culcullain
• Liebesleid
• La Précieuse (in the Style of Louis Couperin)
• Aucassin et Nicolette
• Praeludium and Allegro (in the Style of Pugnani)
• Rondino on a Theme by Beethoven
• Polichinelle
• Toy Soldiers’ March
• La Gitana
• Berceuse romantique, Op. 9

Legendary violinist-composer Fritz Kreisler was celebrated for a style combining elegance, warmth, humor, and dazzling virtuosity. His beloved miniatures range from the Viennese charm of Liebesfreud and Liebesleid to brilliant showpieces and affectionate musical tributes written in the styles of composers from earlier eras—a fitting conclusion to In the Style Of.

Evening Format

Doors open at 5:00 PM, and guests are warmly invited to enjoy dinner before the performance.

Our full menu is offered à la carte during this time. Food and beverages are not included in the ticket price and will be offered separately from our regular Meyhouse à la carte menu before the performance begins.

To fully enjoy your dinner experience with the Meyhouse menu, timely arrival is highly recommended especially for parties of four or more, as a relaxed dining experience typically requires up to two hours. Dinner service concludes promptly at 7:00 PM.

At 7:00 PM, the room transitions into a focused, acoustically attentive concert setting. The performance lasts approximately 90 minutes, presented in two parts with an intermission.

To preserve the integrity and intimacy of the music, no food or beverage service will take place during the concert.

About Classical Sundays

Classical Sundays is an intimate chamber music series dedicated to works rooted in the Western tonal tradition—music shaped by melodic clarity, harmonic direction, and expressive depth.

Presented in a warm and acoustically refined setting, the series invites listeners into a space of close attention and shared musical experience—where every phrase can be heard, felt, and understood.