About Music@Menlo
Music@Menlo is an internationally acclaimed chamber music festival and institute in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded by David Finckel and Wu Han, Music@Menlo features unique immersive programming, a roster of world-class artists, and a Chamber Music Institute for emerging and pre-professional musicians. Intimate performance venues and signature offerings such as AudioNotes CDs, Café Conversations, and the Encounter lecture series offer a wide range of opportunities for aficionados and newcomers of all ages to connect with chamber music in new and innovative ways.
Music@Menlo was inaugurated in 2003 with concerts, lectures, a training program for aspiring professional musicians, young performers concerts, open-to-the-public master classes, and a daylong open house offering behind-the-scenes access for the entire community. Following the course charted by the inaugural season, and spurred by its great success, all festival seasons have been constructed around well-defined themes in chamber music history:
2003 Season: The Unfolding of Music
A comprehensive overview of the development of Western classical chamber music in five units: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Early Twentieth Century, and Contemporary.
2004 Season: Origin/Essence: A Musical Odyssey
A comprehensive overview of the geographic variety of Western chamber music in six units: Italy, France, Germany, Vienna, Russia, and Eastern Europe.
2005 Season: Beethoven: Center of Gravity
An in-depth study of Beethoven’s life, work, and contribution to Western classical music in his three major compositional periods.
2006 Season: Returning to Mozart
A celebration of the redemptive qualities of Mozart’s chamber music through juxtaposition with music of other composers.
2007 Season: Bridging the Ages
An exploration of five critical sources of inspiration shared by chamber music composers across time and place.
2008 Season: The Unfolding of Music II
Traversing nearly 400 years of great music, we heard the world’s newest chamber work in the form of Music@Menlo’s first commission and world premiere.
VIDEO: Watch highlights from Music@Menlo’s 2008 festival.
2009 Season: Being Mendelssohn
A celebration of the Felix Mendelssohn bicentennial featuring performances by a roster of the world’s finest chamber musicians, the festival’s eighth season showcased Mendelssohn’s greatest chamber works alongside works by his predecessors, contemporaries, and artistic heirs.
VIDEO: Watch highlights from Music@Menlo’s 2009 festival.