IF YOU GUILD IT, THEY WILL COME
There is an outstanding music outfit which offers a series of chamber music concerts, introducing world renowned artists to Los Angeles audiences. Having seen some of its recent presentations of repertoire played at its premier level by sparkling chamber musicians, including the Borromeo and Avalon String Quartets (review), it seems unthinkable that The Music Guild is not a household name, especially given 
that it just announced its 70th Season. One of the largest classical music concert presenters in the West, The Music Guild offers 50 concerts annually, including evening concerts in the fall/winter season at three separate L.A. locations, and a Summer Festival of Sunday afternoon programs. The 2014/2015 season is listed below, and the exhaustive programming simply astounds.
Since 1945, this internationally recognized company has given some of the world’s most famous ensembles their first opportunity to perform in L.A., including the Juilliard String Quartet, the Budapest String Quartet, the Guarneri String Quartet, the Paganini String Quartet, the Beaux Arts Trio, and the Henschel String Quartet. The Music Guild, originally a musical series providing comfort for Eastern European émigrés, originated after World War II with a handful of concerts held annually at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.
Its “Music Changes Lives” program presents classical music in an intimate setting to children. The same artists who perform at the concerts play for kids in Metropolitan Los Angeles schools, which not only introduces great classical music to them, but inspires them to want to study and perform it as well (this company also provides concerts in facilities for Alzheimer’s patients).
The Music Guild is the first nonprofit chamber music organization to both produce concerts for and provide instruments to inner-city grammar schools and several Los Angeles area Charter Schools. Among other programs, The Music Guild created “Strings for Students,” “Keyboards for Kids” and “Piano Adoption”—enterprises which donate new violins, new keyboards, and orphaned pianos (other instruments are donated as well). As many colleges and universities are undergoing financial difficulties, The Music Guild has stepped forward with free master classes for students at CSULB and The Colburn School. On top of that, full-time students are offered significantly discounted tickets to each concert.
Below are the SummerFest 14 performances.
All take place at the University Synagogue in Brentwood.
11960 Sunset Boulevard at Saltair (Free Parking)
Tickets include complimentary coffee, cookies, Brie and Jarlsberg cheese,
veggies, strawberries and whipped cream from 2:30 to 3:00 pm and at intermission.
CALIFORNIA PIANO QUARTET
Sunday June 8, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Schubert: String Trio in B Flat Major, K. 471
Dvořák: Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, Op. 87
Fauré: Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 15
FIATO STRING QUARTET
Sunday June 29, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Mozart: String Quartet in B Flat Major, K. 458
Beethoven: String Quartet in B Flat Major, Op, 18. No. 6
Brahms: String Quartet in B Flat Major, Op. 67
TRIO CÉLESTE
Sunday July 27, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Beethoven: Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 1, No. 2
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D Minor, Op. 49
LYRIS STRING QUARTET
Sunday August 10, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 50, No. 6
Brahms: String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2
Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1
SAGUARO PIANO TRIO
Sunday August 24, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Beethoven: Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50
Below is the 2014/2015 fall/winter season.
Each ensemble performs three times:
MONDAY concerts take place at
University Synagogue in Brentwood
11960 Sunset Boulevard at Saltair (Free Parking)
TUESDAY concerts take place at
Daniel Recital Hall at Cal State Long Beach
(presented in association with The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music)
Palo Verde and Atherton (street parking or $5.00 in Lot 12)
WEDNESDAY concerts take place at
Adat Ari El Temple in North Hollywood
12020 Burbank Blvd. at Laurel Canyon (Free Parking)
BORROMEO STRING QUARTET
October 20, 21, 22, 2014 at 8:00 pm
Bach-Kitchen: Passacaglia & Fugue in C Minor
Britten: String Quartet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 36
Schubert: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 161
ASPEN STRING QUARTET (with Micah Yui, Piano)
November 10, 11, 12, 2014 at 8:00 pm
Mozart: Divertimento for String Trio in E Flat Major, K. 563
Beethoven: Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Major, WoO,* 36
(*WoO means Werke ohne Opuszahl – “Works without opus number”)
TRIO CÉLESTE
February 23, 24, 25, 2015 at 8:00 pm
Martin: Piano Trio on Popular Irish Melodies
Beethoven: Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3
Dvořák: Piano Trio in F Minor, Op. 65
HENSCHEL STRING QUARTET
March 9, 10, 11, 2015 at 8:00 pm
Mozart: String Quartet in B Flat Major, K. 589
Janáček: String Quartet No. 1. Kreutzer Sonata
Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1
LARK STRING QUARTET
April 20, 21, 22, 2015 at 8:00 pm
Wolf: Italian Serenade
Copland: Two Pieces for String Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2
Dvořák: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 106
LAFAYETTE STRING QUARTET (with Steven Vanhauwaert, Piano)
May 18, 19, 20, 2015 at 8:00 pm
Beethoven: String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132
Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81
The Music Guild
2014 – 2015 Season
for tickets, call 310.558.3500 or visit www.TheMusicGuild.org
email: concerts@TheMusicGuild.org
