Album Notes

“Their playing captured each of the mercurial moods in the piece, and tuned into the restless, sometimes dark intensity beneath the gorgeous surface of the music. While the players performed with a sense of detail and awareness of the music as a series of extended, deeply felt moments, they also dispatched succeeding passages with a collective virtuosity that allowed the broader structure of the music to be clearly heard.”
- San Francisco Classical Voice

“San Francisco Premieres” features exceptional performances by The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. Seven commissioned new works by leading San Francisco/Bay Area composers are featured on this CD. The selection demonstrates the diverse cross section of music that was presented on the Ensemble’s concert series from 2003-2005. Three of the compositions were inspired by Beethoven’s extraordinary Opus 131. The new works on the CD are by composers based in the Bay Area: Kurt Rohde (LCCE’s Artistic Director), Laurie San Martin, Nathaniel Stookey, John Schott, Sam Nichols, William Beck, and Yu-Hui Chang. The Nichols, Beck, and Chang pieces were all inspired by one of Beethoven’s greatest works, his String Quartet, Opus 131, in c# minor. An excerpt of Left Coast's live performance of the Beethoven is included on this CD.