Alexander String Quartet and Lecturer Robert Greenberg January 17, 2009

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of composer Felix Mendelssohn's birth, the Alexander String Quartet and Music Historian-in-Residence Robert Greenberg offer "Happy Birthday, Felix, From Your Friends!" a series of five Saturday morning concerts with lectures, presented by San Francisco Performances.

The series begins on January 17 with the Alexander String Quartet joined by the Afiara Quartet to perform Mendelssohn's famous Octet, Opus 20. The Alexander Quartet will also perform the String Quartet in A minor, Opus 13. On January 31st the Alexander Quartet will perform String Quartets Opus 12 and Opus 44, No. 2. Remaining concerts are on February 14, March 14, and April 11.

Throughout history, the best chamber music has been created and performed among friends and colleagues who enjoy not only a close rapport, but a passion for the intimate musical experience. Such was the case with composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), whose creative relationships resulted in some of the 19th century's most remarkable chamber music. In a contemporary parallel, members of the Alexander String Quartet and Music Historian Greenberg have enjoyed a close relationship - under the auspices of San Francisco Performances - that has resulted in dozens of performances, recordings, premieres, and in-depth surveys of important chamber music.

The Alexander Quartet and Greenberg have been exploring masterworks of chamber music in this unique Saturday-morning format for nearly 15 years. Together they have explored the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn and others, as well as surveys of more challenging composers such as Bartok and Shostakovich. The key to their success is a winning mix of top-caliber performances of complete works paired with Greenberg's high-energy, content-rich lectures.

$36/$24.

Official Website: http://www.performances.org