Pacifica Quartet with Jorg Widmann, Clarinet March 8, 2011

SF Performances presents the Pacifica Quartet and composer and clarinetist Jorg Widmann 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 8 at Herbst Theatre. On the program are quartets by Haydn and Widmann, Brahms's Quintet in B minor, performed with Widmann, and Widmann playing Stravinsky on solo clarinet.

SF Performances last presented the Pacifica Quartet-comprised of violinists Simin Ganatra and Sibbi Bernhardsson, violist Masumi Per Rostad and cellist Brandon Vamos-in 2008 with the complete Elliott Carter string quartets, which they have recorded. Since then, this adventurous ensemble has been named quartet-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Ensemble of the Year by Musical America. In 2009, they received the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. Widmann, the prolific German composer whose compositions range from opera, multi-media collaborations and vocal and orchestral works, takes the stage as a collaborator on the clarinet as well as a composer.

The Pacifica Quartet showcases Widmann's Quartet No. 3, "Hunting Quartet," which he describes as a "classical but grim scherzo with a hunting rhythm being chased to death." "The fact that three high strings conspire against the cello in a further (deadly) change of perspective and put the blame on this instrument is an analogy to social patterns of behavior," he writes in the program notes.

Widmann also plays the brilliant, technically demanding Three Pieces for solo clarinet by Stravinsky and joins the Pacifica Quartet for Brahms's monumental Clarinet Quintet, which melds romantic themes and seamless variations.

Fearless in their musical interpretations, the members of the Pacifica Quartet are artists whose energetic performances are not to be missed. Tickets for this unique program start at just $35. For more information, visit sfperformances.org or call 415.392.2545.

Official Website: http://sfperformances.org/performances/1011/PacificaQuartet.html