Giacomo Susani and Jason Vieaux to Participate in La Musica Talk

La Musica International Chamber Music Festival announced that Italian composer Giacomo Susani and Grammy Award winning guitarist Jason Vieaux will participate in the April 10 pre-concert talk at 2:15 p.m. hosted by Robert Sherman. The concert, Strut and Fret, features the U.S. premiere of Susani’s Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet.

Giacomo Susani is an Italian guitarist and composer born in 1995. His music has been played by some of today’s leading figures in the guitar world, among them Grammy Award winner David Russell, and Creu de Sant Jordi awardee Stefano Grondona. Susani’s Concerto for Guitar and Small Orchestra was awarded second place at the prestigious Respighi Prize of New York in 2020 in the composition category. His compositions have been positively reviewed by publications such as This is Classical Guitar, Classical Guitar Magazine, and Il Fronimo.

Grammy Award winning guitarist Jason Vieaux is “among the elite of today's classical guitarists” (Gramophone) and is described by NPR as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.” He recently performed the premiere recording of a new solo work, Four Points of Light, composed for him by jazz legend Pat Metheny. Vieaux recently made his debuts for Domaine-Forget Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, and Wolf Trap. He has performed as soloist with over 100 orchestras.

2022 SEASON CONCERTS at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236 • Four-concert subscription $195 (purchase here).

Sunday, April 3, 3:00 p.m. | Derek Han Memorial Concert

Celebrate the legacy of La Musica’s co-founder and associate artistic director Derek Han. His friends and colleagues, including special guest pianist Wu Han, perform the music he loved. Special programming funded by The Exchange. $65

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 1 no. 2

Maurice Ravel, Sonata for Violin and Cello

Johannes Brahms, Quartet for Piano and Strings in G Minor, Op. 25

Wednesday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. | Innocence and Illicit Passion

The 15-year-old Mozart celebrated completion of his second set of string quartets by composing his sunny first viola quintet. One hundred years later, Franck created his piano quintet, secretly dedicated to his young lover. Is passion audible? $50

Wolfgang Mozart, String Quintet in Bb, K.174

Bernhard Romberg, Trio for Cello, Viola and Bass in E Minor, Op. 38 no. 1

César Franck, Quintet for Piano and Strings in F Minor

Sunday, April 10, 3:00 p.m. | Strut and Fret

Grammy Award-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux returns to perform in contemporary and Classical quintets, contrasted with the lush Dvořák quintet for piano and strings. Featuring the U.S. premiere of Giacomo Susani’s Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet. $50

Luigi Boccherini, Guitar Quintet in D Major, G.448, “Fandango”

Giacomo Susani, Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet

Antonin Dvořák, Quintet for Piano and Strings in A Major, Op. 81

Wednesday, April 13, 7:30 p.m. | From Darkness Into Light

Mozart’s dark and stormy piano quartet may have deterred its publisher, but it showed the way from the Classical to the Romantic – so Tchaikovsky owes Mozart (and Florence) for his inspiration. This souvenir is beyond festive – think 1812 without the cannons. $50

Wolfgang Mozart, Quartet for Piano and Strings in G Minor, K. 478

Zoltan Kodály, Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 12

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, String Sextet in D Major, Op. 70, Souvenir de Florence

PRE-CONCERT TALKS

Pre-concert talks, hosted by Robert Sherman, are free and begin 45 minutes prior to each concert at the opera house. For more than 40 years, Sherman was a music critic and columnist for The New York Times, and for nearly 20 years he served on the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School.

OPEN REHEARSALS, April 1-12, times vary

A rare opportunity to sit in on rehearsals, which will be held in the Bayfront Community Center at Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; and at the Sarasota Opera House. Rehearsals are free of charge for series subscribers, faculty and students; non-subscribers may purchase a pass to all rehearsals for $80, or daily passes for $20. Rehearsal schedule can be found at LaMusicaFestival.org.

For more information, visit LaMusicaFestival.org; for single tickets, call the Sarasota Opera box office at (941) 328-1300.