Ensemble San Francisco

“A hip, unstuffy, and malleable group of high-quality chamber musicians who are dedicated to fresh programming” raves the San Francisco Classical Voice, “Ensemble San Francisco seems welcoming, warm, and well-positioned to expand not only its repertoire of high-quality performances, but also its circle of friendship.” Ensemble San Francisco (ESF) performs Fauré’s romantic G minor piano quartet and the award-winning String Quartet No. 1 by San Francisco Opera principal clarinet Jose Gonzalez Granero. This single movement work, inspired by Garcia Lorca’s poem Night of Sleepless Love is full of Spanish flare punctuated by a cadenza for solo violin. Concluding the program, Granero joins ESF for a joy-inducing sextet for clarinet, string quartet, and piano. The composer, Sheridan Seyfried, writes: “the Sextet is a spirited piece that embraces a range of stylistic influences, including Beethoven, rock and roll, and the blues. It uses a standard three-movement fast-slow-fast pattern. The last thing I composed was the introduction to the first movememnt—writing an effecting introduction is easier when you know where you’re going! The dark but highly energetic first movement is contrasted with a singing and lyrical second movement. This movement is the heart of the work. It features the interplay of melancholy music (clarinet and strings) and more hopeful music (piano and strings). The tension between the two forces (and instrumentations) is only resolved at the end of the movement. The drama gives way to an exuberant, joyous finale.” https://www.ensemblesanfrancisco.com https://www.josegonzalezgranero.com https://www.sheridanseyfried.wixsite.com/music