24-25 Season
Press Release

Chamber Music Monterey Bay is pleased to announce its 58th Season at Sunset Center in Carmel.  We continue our tradition of bringing you dazzling ensembles, thrilling musicianship and programs to fold you in the familiar, tantalize you with a new masterwork, and touch your heart with beauty!   

The season opens on November 9 with the Grammy winning Pacifica String Quartet for their first appearance with Chamber Music Monterey Bay.  What a program they have in store!  Named “American Snapshots”, the program includes three iconic works, a varied musical depiction of America at different times in our history.  The string quartet by Samuel Barber, which contains his famous “Adagio,” Dvořák’s iconic ‘American’ String Quartet’, and George Crumb’s “Black Angels” which he “…conceived as a kind of parable on our troubled contemporary world”.  The Telegraph described the Pacifica Quartet as “…nothing short of phenomenal!” 

In January, we will introduce the youthful Isidore Quartet - winners of the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022 and an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2023.  About the Isidore, Violinist.com wrote “A focus and command beyond their years . . . [their] blazing virtuosity . . . had the audience leaping to their feet.”  They will present works by Erwin Schulhoff, Mendelssohn, Gabriela Smith, and Ravel.  Being heavily influenced by the Juilliard String Quartet, we find it a perfect happenstance that their January performance will be followed by the Juilliard Quartet’s appearance in February.  

Hailed by The Boston Globe as “the most important American quartet in history,” we are again honored to present the Juilliard String Quartet to our Monterey Peninsula audience.  Entering their 75th Season, they celebrate the addition of new violist Molly Carr as they mourn the loss of their former violist, Roger Tapping.  As reported by Strings, “The new Juilliard’s recording is a miracle of contrasting color and gorgeously exciting rubato.”  In this their sixth concert in Carmel since 1988, they will present a probing program of seminal works by Dvořák, Janáček and Beethoven.  “Whether playing Beethoven, Schubert, Bartok or Carter, the Juilliard Quartet remains unsurpassed in bringing attention to details and expressive devices.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer.

In April, we will present another amazing young ensemble, the Viano Quartet.  As put by The Boston Globe, “A rare unity of intention . . . a distinct ensemble personality . . . this [quartet] has something to say!”  What a magnificent discovery!  The Viano Quartet is one of the most sought-after performing young ensembles today and currently in-residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Bowers Program from 2024-2027. Winners of the First Prize at the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition, they have traveled to nearly every major city across the globe.  They bring to Carmel a very exciting and fun program – Haydn, Piazzolla, Kevin Lau (wait until you hear this!), Schubert and Prokofiev.  Come join us to get blown away by this young quartet, and their “Huge range of dynamics, massive sound, and spontaneity…all the warmth, balanced sound, rhythmic solidity, and elegance one could wish for.”  The American Record Guide.

The Season will conclude with the much-anticipated Catalyst Quartet with guest artist clarinetist Todd Palmer.  Always a favorite with the Carmel audience, The New York Times wrote “the Catalyst Quartet is beautiful to watch, like a family in lively conversation at the dinner table.” This will be the fourth performance for Chamber Music Monterey Bay by the Catalyst, and second for Mr. Palmer, a soloist, recitalist, chamber music collaborator, educator, arranger, and presenter in a variety of musical endeavors around the world.  They will perform: “Gumboots” by David Bruce, and Quintet in F-sharp minor by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.  The Washington Post described the Catalyst as “turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life”, while a Todd Palmer performance received this ultimate compliment “. . . provided a startling artistic experience whose echoes will haunt attentive listeners for a long time to come. — Spoleto Festival USA.  

Concerts begin at 7:30 pm.  Each concert will be preceded at 6:30 by a 30-minute pre-concert talk, providing attendees with deeper insights into the evening’s program.

CMMB remains committed to its mission of enriching the cultural life of the community through high-quality chamber music and educational outreach programs. This season will continue to feature the popular "Kids Up Front & Free!" initiative, offering discounted tickets for youth, chaperones, and music teachers.