Johann Sebastian Bach Concerts in SoCal

Program: Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5, “Spring”; Reena Esmail: Wir; Ludwig van Beethoven: Three Songs; Ludwig van Beethoven: An die Ferne Geliebte, Op. 98; J.S. BACH: Two arias Performers: Hilary Hahn (violin); Matthias Goerne (baritone); Gloria Chien (piano) Three-time Grammy winner Hilary Hahn teams up with pianist Gloria Chien, “who appears to excel in everything” ( The Boston Globe ), and acclaimed lied singer Matthias Goerne, whose voice carries “every tremor of emotion with clarity and depth” ( Bachtrack ), for an intimate evening at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Blending a new English text with fragments of German poetry from a Holocaust survivor, Esmail’s Wir features a call-and-response that she says, “echoes across the canyons of history into our present hope that it’s not too late to recover solitude.” Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte , which translates to “To the distant beloved,” similarly explores longing and separation, while his more cheerful “Spring” Sonata captures the warmer, zestier aspects of life. “Despite being one of his most optimistic works, the Sonata was written as the composer came to accept that he would never hear again. To this sunny piece Hahn [brings] perfection and energy” ( Bachtrack ). Select songs and arias by Beethoven and Bach also bring emotional depth and brilliance to this special performance.