Chamber Connexions | An Intimate Beginning

Chamber Connexions opens its new series with An Intimate Beginning at the Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater on Friday, October 16. The concert is presented by The Orchestra San Antonio, and the program centers on Mahler and Brahms.

The evening is built around the German concept of Gemütlichkeit—warmth, intimacy, and the feeling of being drawn into a shared space—which is exactly how chamber music is meant to be heard. It starts with Mahler's inwardly expressive Rückert-Lieder, moves into Brahms's Two Songs for mezzo-soprano, viola, and piano, and finishes with the fuller, more celebratory sound of his String Quintet No. 2 in G major. The whole thing is framed as an invitation to settle in, have a drink, and experience the music together.

On stage are soprano Sarah Shafer, cellist Nicholas Canellakis, pianist Liza Stepanova, violists John Largess and Matthew Cohen, and violinists Itamar Zorman and Brendan Speltz. Speltz is a San Antonio violinist and the series' Director of Artistic Programming; a former member of the Escher String Quartet, he's performed at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Aspen Music Festival, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Savannah Music Festival, and Wigmore Hall.

Chamber Connexions is The Orchestra San Antonio's new chamber music series, which pairs traditional masterpieces with new works and collaborations between local and international artists, alongside educational initiatives. An Intimate Beginning is the first outing. The concert is at 7:30 PM at the Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, inside the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, and admission is free.