La Musica International festival sets five-concert chamber series in Sarasota

After shaking up the routine of Sarasota’s La Musica International Chamber Music Festival during her first year as artistic director, pianist Wu Han continues to introduce new elements, new artists and expanded programming to the Sarasota series.

Last year, Wu Han added two concerts before the traditional April run of La Musica performances to broaden the reach of the organization and bring more attention to its programming.

Wu Han and her husband, cellist David Finckel, will once again be active participants in the 38th season, as they are joined by violinist Phillip Setzer for a concert of Schubert Trios in February. In March, La Musica will present the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln. Wu Han and Finckel serve as co-artistic directors of the ensemble.

Here is a look at the programs planned for the 2024 season.

Schubert Trios

5 p.m. Feb. 4

Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way, Sarasota

Wu Han, David Finckel and violinist Phillip Setzer join for performances of Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat major, D. 898, Op. 99 and Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major, D. 929, Op. 100. Setzer is a member of the Emerson String Quartert, and Finckel was part of that chamber group for 24 years until 2013.

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

7 p.m. March 11

Riverview Performing Arts Center

The chamber group, which is led by Wu Han and David Finckel as co-artistic directors, features Sooyun Kim, flute; James Austin Smith, oboe, Radovan Vlatković, horn; Paul Neubauer, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Nina Bernat, bass; Juho Pohjonen, piano. They will be performing works by Beethoven, Rossini, Benjamin Britten, Maurice Duruflé and Austrian composer Johann Hummel.

La Musica Festival

Sarasota Opera House

61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota

Mendelssohn, Brahms & Haydn

7:30 p.m. April 10. Pre-concert talk, 6:45 p.m.

Wu Han has put together an ensemble that will perform in different combinations during the three-night festival series. In addition to Wu Han, the musicians include violinists Julian Rhee, James Thompson and Danbi Um; Paul Neubauer, viola, Nicholas Carnellakis and Finckel, cello; Michael Stephen Brown, piano. The first program features Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Quartet, Op. 1, which La Musica says “exudes youthful exuberance and showcases the composer’s burgeoning genius,” Haydn’s Piano Trio, Hob. XV:18 and Brahms String Sextet No. 2, Op. 36, .

Mozart, Kodaly, Arensky

5 p.m. April 13, Pre-concert talk at 4:15 p.m.

The musicians will be performing fiery Hungarian folk tunes by Zoltán Kodály in his Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 12, along with Anton Arensky’s “Six Children’s Pieces’ for Piano, Four Hands, Op. 34, along with his Quartet No. 2 in A minor for Violin, Viola and Two cellos, Op. 35. The concert opens with Mozart’s own arrangement of his Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414.

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Schumann, Smetana & More

7:30 p.m. April 16, pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.

The final festival concert includes pieces with personal connections to loved ones. Bedřich Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor Op. 15 was written following the death of his young daughter, and Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44 was composed as a tribute to the virtuosity of his wife, Clara. The program also includes Lukas Foss’s Capriccio for Cello and Piano, Anton Dvorak’s Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 75 a and American composer Don Ellis’s “Bulgarian Bulge” for Cello and Piano, as arranged by cellist Nicholas Carnellakis.

A subscription for all five programs is $245. Single tickets are $60. For more information: 941-347-9656l lamusticafestival.org/tickets

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: La Musica preparing for 38th season of chamber music in Sarasota