# Alexander String Quartet at St. John's Presbyterian Church, December 19, 2015

[San Francisco Performances](http://www.performances.org/performances/1516/ASQBerkeley.html) presents a [Robert Greenberg](http://www.robertgreenbergmusic.com/) lecture: _Mozart in Vienna, Season 2: Mozart Transcendent_ featuring the [Alexander String Quartet](http://www.asq4.com/)  
2015-12-19  
[St. John's Presbyterian Church](http://www.stjohnsberkeley.org)  
[2727 College Ave, Berkeley, CA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2727+College+Ave,+Berkeley,+CA&hl=en)  
10:00 AM, Saturday, December 19, 2015

[[2015-12-18|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2015|Up to the 2015 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2015#December_events|Up to the 2015 event list!]] ☸  [[2015-12-19-2|On to the next event!]]

## Tentative Program

* Mozart: Quartet in D Major, K. 575
* Mozart: Quartet in B-flat Major, K. 589 

## Set One: Mozart: Quartet in D Major, K. 575

[10:03 AM lights down, announcements by Ruth Felt]

01. [10:04 AM] [Lecture by Robert Greenberg]  
[ends 10:35, pause for a bit of tuning]  
   
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): String Quartet No. 21 in D major, K. 575, 1789
02. [10:35 AM] Allegretto
03. [10:43 AM] Andante
04. [10:48 AM] Menuetto and Trio. Allegretto
05. [10:54 AM] Allegretto  
[set ends 11:00 AM]

## Set Two: Mozart: Quartet in B-flat Major, K. 589

01. [11:23 AM] (Lecture by Robert Greenberg)  
[lecture ends 11:50 AM; pause for applause, then tuning]  
   
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quintet No. 22 in B-flat Major, K. 589, 1790
02. [11:50 AM] Allegro
03. [11:56 AM] Larghetto
04. [12:03 PM] Menuetto: Moderato
05. [12:10 PM] Allegro assai  
[show ends 12:14 PM]


## Performers

### Alexander String Quartet

[Alexander String Quartet](http://www.asq4.com/)

* Zakarias Grafilo: violin;
* Frederick Lifsitz: violin;
* Sandy Wilson: cello;
* Paul Yarbrough: viola.


### Robert Greenberg

* [Robert Greenberg](http://www.robertgreenbergmusic.com/): lecturer.

## Notes

Well, another December Saturday, another fine lecture and performance. When things go right, as they've done so far this morning, the experience is absolutely splendid! I appreciated the effort on Robert Greenberg's part to illuminate the structure of K. 575 -- it makes it ever so much more interesting to hear the performance with that extra bit of knowledge. On the minus side, it seemed as if the birds outside were unusually talkative this morning. Might be good for setting the scene, but kind of distracting during the actual performance. Not that there's much to be done about it except tune out the distraction. Bright and sunny outside at break -- nice to enjoy the fresh air like the birds were -- singing in the sunshine? I guess I approve of that!

The second set lecture was also pretty darn good, though the performance was somewhat shorter -- I guess Mozart just had less to say while composing this work. I could tell that it was noticeably shorter, but I can't allow as to whether anything was left unsaid. It remains a mystery to me as far as how a composer decides what will happen in their work. Which is one reason I enjoy this lecture/concert series. Not that RG addresses that point much, but I appreciate his insights and help in appraising the structural components of these works. [One more](2016:2016-01:2016-01-xx) for the series this season -- should be just as good!

{{tag>music Alexander_String_Quartet Robert_Greenberg St._John's_Presbyterian_Church Zakarias_Grafilo Frederick_Lifsitz Sandy_Wilson Paul_Yarbrough }}

[[2015-12-18|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2015|Up to the 2015 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2015#December_events|Up to the 2015 event list!]] ☸  [[2015-12-19-2|On to the next event!]]