Johannes Brahms Concerts in SoCal

Program: Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D minor, Op. 42, Hob. III: 43; Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66; Johannes Brahms: String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36 Performers: Jin-Shan Dai (violin); Michelle Tseng (violin); Bing Wang (violin); Katherine Woo (violin); Ingrid Hutman (viola); Jenni Seo (viola); Robert deMaine (cello); Jason Lippmann (cello); Zachary Mowitz (cello); Jennie Jung (piano) Featuring restless arpeggios, furious tremolos, and a passage of warm, hymn-like chords, Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 is a challenge for its performers and a delight for its listeners. Even the composer admitted it’s “a trifle nasty to play!” Two violins, two violas, and two cellos combine for the second half of the evening. Brahms’ dark but beautiful String Sextet No. 2 was written in the years following a failed relationship and captures love’s moments of sunshine and sorrow. The composer later confided to a friend, “Here I have freed myself from my last love.” Also on the program is a dark, tense, and refined work by Haydn, the “Father of the String Quartet.” Come early and enjoy a complimentary glass of wine before the performance, starting at 6:30pm.

Program: Betsy Jolas: Latest; Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah”; Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Daniel Harding (Conductor); Leif Ove Andsnes; Avery Amereau Leif Ove Andsnes calls Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto “glorious and happy music” that sets soloist and orchestra in a perfectly balanced dialogue. Despite its fiendish technical difficulty and symphony-like scale, Brahms’ Second doesn’t wear its heart on its sleeve but instead glows with carefully crafted elegance—especially in Andsnes’ capable hands, which “[blend] intimacy and bravura” in the piece ( Chicago Classical Review ). By contrast, Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, nicknamed “Jeremiah” for the Biblical prophet, bristles with raw emotional power. Daniel Harding leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic through Bernstein’s haunting and poetic First, expressing the composer’s self-described “crisis of faith” in a modern and tumultuous world. The concert begins with the colorful, jazz-infused Latest by Paris-based composer Betsy Jolas, who turns 100 years old in 2026. Aptly titled, this percussive piece is one of Jolas’ more recent works, but certainly not her last. “Old age has fortunately not diminished my curiosity,” she says. “I’m still learning and I’m still trying things I’ve never done before.”

Program: Betsy Jolas: Latest; Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 1, "Jeremiah"; Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Daniel Harding (Conductor); Leif Ove Andsnes; Avery Amereau Leif Ove Andsnes calls Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto “glorious and happy music” that sets soloist and orchestra in a perfectly balanced dialogue. Despite its fiendish technical difficulty and symphony-like scale, Brahms’ Second doesn’t wear its heart on its sleeve but instead glows with carefully crafted elegance—especially in Andsnes’ capable hands, which “[blend] intimacy and bravura” in the piece ( Chicago Classical Review ). By contrast, Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, nicknamed “Jeremiah” for the Biblical prophet, bristles with raw emotional power. Daniel Harding leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic through Bernstein’s haunting and poetic First, expressing the composer’s self-described “crisis of faith” in a modern and tumultuous world. The concert begins with the colorful, jazz-infused Latest by Paris-based composer Betsy Jolas, who turns 100 years old in 2026. Aptly titled, this percussive piece is one of Jolas’ more recent works, but certainly not her last. “Old age has fortunately not diminished my curiosity,” she says. “I’m still learning and I’m still trying things I’ve never done before.”

Program: Betsy Jolas: Latest; Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 1, "Jeremiah"; Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Daniel Harding (Conductor); Leif Ove Andsnes; Avery Amereau Leif Ove Andsnes calls Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto “glorious and happy music” that sets soloist and orchestra in a perfectly balanced dialogue. Despite its fiendish technical difficulty and symphony-like scale, Brahms’ Second doesn’t wear its heart on its sleeve but instead glows with carefully crafted elegance—especially in Andsnes’ capable hands, which “[blend] intimacy and bravura” in the piece ( Chicago Classical Review ). By contrast, Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, nicknamed “Jeremiah” for the Biblical prophet, bristles with raw emotional power. Daniel Harding leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic through Bernstein’s haunting and poetic First, expressing the composer’s self-described “crisis of faith” in a modern and tumultuous world. The concert begins with the colorful, jazz-infused Latest by Paris-based composer Betsy Jolas, who turns 100 years old in 2026. Aptly titled, this percussive piece is one of Jolas’ more recent works, but certainly not her last. “Old age has fortunately not diminished my curiosity,” she says. “I’m still learning and I’m still trying things I’ve never done before.”

Program: Betsy Jolas: Latest; Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah”; Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Daniel Harding (Conductor); Leif Ove Andsnes; Avery Amereau Leif Ove Andsnes calls Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto “glorious and happy music” that sets soloist and orchestra in a perfectly balanced dialogue. Despite its fiendish technical difficulty and symphony-like scale, Brahms’ Second doesn’t wear its heart on its sleeve but instead glows with carefully crafted elegance—especially in Andsnes’ capable hands, which “[blend] intimacy and bravura” in the piece ( Chicago Classical Review ). By contrast, Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, nicknamed “Jeremiah” for the Biblical prophet, bristles with raw emotional power. Daniel Harding leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic through Bernstein’s haunting and poetic First, expressing the composer’s self-described “crisis of faith” in a modern and tumultuous world. The concert begins with the colorful, jazz-infused Latest by Paris-based composer Betsy Jolas, who turns 100 years old in 2026. Aptly titled, this percussive piece is one of Jolas’ more recent works, but certainly not her last. “Old age has fortunately not diminished my curiosity,” she says. “I’m still learning and I’m still trying things I’ve never done before.”

Program: Betsy Jolas: Latest; Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 1, "Jeremiah"; Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Daniel Harding (Conductor); Leif Ove Andsnes; Avery Amereau Leif Ove Andsnes calls Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto “glorious and happy music” that sets soloist and orchestra in a perfectly balanced dialogue. Despite its fiendish technical difficulty and symphony-like scale, Brahms’ Second doesn’t wear its heart on its sleeve but instead glows with carefully crafted elegance—especially in Andsnes’ capable hands, which “[blend] intimacy and bravura” in the piece ( Chicago Classical Review ). By contrast, Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, nicknamed “Jeremiah” for the Biblical prophet, bristles with raw emotional power. Daniel Harding leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic through Bernstein’s haunting and poetic First, expressing the composer’s self-described “crisis of faith” in a modern and tumultuous world. The concert begins with the colorful, jazz-infused Latest by Paris-based composer Betsy Jolas, who turns 100 years old in 2026. Aptly titled, this percussive piece is one of Jolas’ more recent works, but certainly not her last. “Old age has fortunately not diminished my curiosity,” she says. “I’m still learning and I’m still trying things I’ve never done before.”

Program: Betsy Jolas: Latest; Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah”; Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Daniel Harding (Conductor); Leif Ove Andsnes; Avery Amereau Leif Ove Andsnes calls Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto “glorious and happy music” that sets soloist and orchestra in a perfectly balanced dialogue. Despite its fiendish technical difficulty and symphony-like scale, Brahms’ Second doesn’t wear its heart on its sleeve but instead glows with carefully crafted elegance—especially in Andsnes’ capable hands, which “[blend] intimacy and bravura” in the piece ( Chicago Classical Review ). By contrast, Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, nicknamed “Jeremiah” for the Biblical prophet, bristles with raw emotional power. Daniel Harding leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic through Bernstein’s haunting and poetic First, expressing the composer’s self-described “crisis of faith” in a modern and tumultuous world. The concert begins with the colorful, jazz-infused Latest by Paris-based composer Betsy Jolas, who turns 100 years old in 2026. Aptly titled, this percussive piece is one of Jolas’ more recent works, but certainly not her last. “Old age has fortunately not diminished my curiosity,” she says. “I’m still learning and I’m still trying things I’ve never done before.”