A VOYAGE YOU HAVE TO TAKE
Have you ever been to a Chamber Concert of virtuosic musicians in a grand venue such as Walt Disney Hall or Carnegie Hall but wished you could experience the program in an intimate setting? Do you wish that you could be just a few feet from the musicians? Have you ever desired to mingle with the players afterward with the freedom to ask any questions that strike your fancy? Have you ever wished that a musicologist could be on hand to elucidate on the composers and their work? And 
wouldn’t it be extravagant to chat about your impressions of the music while sipping champagne and nibbling on decadent food with a grand view of downtown L.A?
Last year, I discovered Le Salon de Musiques, a compendium of LA’s most renowned chamber music performers, and it is no longer the best-kept secret in town. The fourth season begins on October 6, 2013 and runs through June 1, 2014. Performed on the 5th floor of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion one Sunday a month at 4:00 pm, this season, appropriately named L’invitation au voyage, will take you on a journey to experience chamber music consisting of well-known pieces, United States premieres, lesser known gems, and a retinue of newly rediscovered composers (see schedule below). And if you purchase the season now, you will receive a 20% discount on all nine concerts.
Created by French Pianist/Melodist François Chouchan, this incredibly imaginative idea makes chamber music even more accessible to music lovers, giving them the opportunity to be embraced by the music in a lovely, intimate setting. Not only is it a 
perfect way to become totally immersed in the experience, but it is chamber music executed the way composers of the Romantic and Neo-Romantic movements intended it to be heard.
You will hear music by Lekeu, Gliere, Boellmann, Medtner, Arensky, Xaver Schawenka and Coleridge Taylor alongside the great works of Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Poulenc and Chausson, to name a few. Benjamin Godard, Reynaldo Hahn, and Frank Bridge will also be included in programs that enlighten and expand the musical enjoyment of the audience.
Inspired by the Salons of Marie Antoinette who hosted intimate concerts in Versailles, each program will be introduced by Musicologist Julius Reder-Carlson (who is anything but stuffy and professorial), followed by informal Q & A between the audience and the Artists, with French Champagne and a gourmet buffet provided by Patina. Co-artistic director John Walz has appeared as soloist with more than 150 symphony orchestras on four continents, and is currently the principal cellist with the Los Angeles Opera.
This organization is perfect for anybody: It’s elegant, casual, classy and surprisingly unpretentious. To be mere feet away from such distinguished musicians is an honor, and while the expertise of the artists is extraordinary, Chouchan selects emotional pieces for his intimate salon with melodies guaranteed to touch your heart. The glorious music, the tasty food, the view, the musical education, the company, the grace, the culture and–of course–the champagne all add up to what has quickly become one of my favorite events in Los Angeles.
photos by Ying Huang Photography
Le Salon de Musiques
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Fifth Floor, 135 North Grand Avenue
for tickets and info, call (310) 498-0257
or visit http://www.leSalondeMusiques.com
October 6, 2013 at 4:30 pm
LEKEU: Meditation for String Quartet
SCHUBERT: Death and the Maiden String Quartet in D Minor D 810
TEREZA STANISLAV (Violin) JESSICA GUIDERI (Violin) ROB BROPHY (Viola) BEN HONG (Cello)
November 3, 2013 at 4:00 pm
WAGNER: Siegfried Idyll for String Quartet WWV 103
WAGNER: Wesendonck Lieder for Soprano and Piano
SCHOENBERG: Verklaerte Nacht for String Sextet op. 4
TRACY COX (Soprano) TEREZA STANISLAV (Violin) ANNA LANDAUER (Violin) ROB BROPHY (Viola) SHAWN MANN (Viola) JOHN WALZ (Cello) ARMEN KSAJIKIAN (Cello) FRANCOIS CHOUCHAN (Piano)
December 8, 2013 at 4:00 pm
GLIERE: String Quartet no.2 in G Minor Op. 20
GRIEG: String Quartet in G Minor Op. 27
SERENA MCKINNEY (Violin) Erik ARVINDER (Violin) ROB BROPHY (Viola) ERIC BYERS (Cello)
January 12, 2014 at 4:00 pm: RECITAL
BOELLMANN: Sonata for Cello & Piano Op. 40
in A Minor
MARTINU: Sonata for Cello & Piano no.1 H 277
POULENC: Sonata for Cello & Piano Op. 143
JOHN WALZ (Cello) EDITH ORLOFF (Piano)
February 9, 2014 at 4:00 pm
MEDTNER: Two Canzonas with Two Dances for Violin & Piano Op. 43
RACHMANINOFF: Prelude & Danse Orientale Op. 2 for Cello & Piano
RACHMANINOFF: Elegie in E Flat Minor Op. 3 N.1 for Cello & Piano
ARENSKY: Piano Trio N.1 in D Minor Op. 32
MOVSES POGOSSIAN (Violin) JOHN WALZ (Cello) MONA GOLABEK (Piano)
March 9, 2014 at 4:00 PM
X. SCHARWENKA: Violin Sonata in D Minor (US PREMIERE)
X. SCHARWENKA: Cello Sonata in E Minor Op. 46a (US PREMIERE)
CLARA SCHUMANN: Piano Trio in G Minor Op. 17
FRANZ LISZT: Songs for Soprano & Piano
GUILLAUME SUTRE (Violin) TIM LANDAUER (Cello) STEVEN VANHAUWAERT (Piano) ELISSA JOHNSTON (Soprano)
April 6, 2014 at 4:00 PM
C. TAYLOR: Ballade for Violin & Piano in C minor Op. 73
B. GODARD: Two pieces for Cello & Piano Op. 61 (Aubade & Scherzo)
R. HAHN: Violin Sonata in C minor
R. HAHN: Songs for Soprano & Piano
CHAUSSON: Piano Trio in G minor Op. 3
PANTOUM TRIO: TEREZA STANISLAV (Violin) CECILIA TSAN (Cello) STEVEN VANHAUWAERT (Piano) HAE JI CHANG (Soprano)
May 4, 2014 at 4:00 pm
DVORAK: Romance for Piano & Violin in F minor Op. 11
BORODIN: String Quartet no. 2 in D Major
SHOSTAKOVITCH: Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 57
ROGER WILKIE (Violin) JESSICA GUIDERI (Violin) SHAWN MANN (Viola) JOHN WALZ (Cello) ROBERT THIES (Piano)
JUNE 1, 2014 at 4:00 pm
BRIDGE: Meditation, Spring Song & Elegy for Cello & Piano
BRIDGE: Russian Valse for Violin, Cello & Piano
X. SCHARWENKA: Serenade for Violin & Piano Op. 70 (US PREMIERE)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio no.3 in C Minor Op. 1
X. SCHARWENKA: Piano Trio no.1 In F Sharp Minor Op. 1 (US PREMIERE)
ANTONIO LYSY (Cello) SEARMI PARK (Violin) Francois CHOUCHAN (Piano)
