By Michael Zwiebach, Senior Editor
Festival season is the perfect time to discover a love for chamber music. Neither stuffy nor sedate, this is music where players relate to each other on a close level. You can observe as well as hear their interactions and pick out the sound of individual instruments. Not to mention there’s a lot of wonderful music out there created by and for small groups. Throw in a festival setting, and a chamber music concert is the perfect topper for a summer day.
These are my top picks this week:
1. “Being Mendelssohn,” Music@Menlo, July 19, 4 p.m. The Music@Menlo festival is recapping some of its greatest hits this year, and this concert is one that should be on your must-do list. Mendelssohn was never at a loss for melodic inspiration. Some of the music on this concert from early on in the composer’s career is largely underplayed, as opposed to that of his later works. And of course, the musicians are exceptional. Arrive early to hear the Prelude Performance from the young musicians in Menlo’s training programs.
