# Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg and Roger Woodward at St. John's Presbyterian Church, December 17, 2016

[San Francisco Performances](http://www.sfperformances.org/performances/1617/ASQBerkeley.html) presents the [Alexander String Quartet](http://www.asq4.com/), with special guests [Roger Woodward](http://www.rogerwoodward.com/), and lecturer [Robert Greenberg](http://www.robertgreenbergmusic.com/)  
2016-12-17  
[St. John's Presbyterian Church](http://www.stjohnsberkeley.org)  
[2727 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705-1247 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2727+College+Ave,+Berkeley,+CA+94705-1247+USA&hl=en)  
10:00 AM, Saturday, December 17, 2016

[[2016-12-15|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2016|Up to the 2016 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2016#December_events|Up to the 2016 event list!]] ☸  [[2016-12-17-2|On to the next event!]]

## Set One: Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Major

[10:08 AM announcements]

01. [10:12 AM] Lecture by Robert Greenberg  
[ends 10:47, pause for a bit of tuning]  
   
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Major, WoO 36, 1785  
[Frederick Lifsitz does not play during this piece]
01. [10:47 AM] _Allegro vivace_
02. [10:55 AM] _Adagio con espressione_
03. [11:01 AM] _Rondo. Allegro_  
[set ends 11:05 AM]

## Set Two

01. [11:28 AM] [Introduction by Robert Greenberg]
02. [11:31 AM] Robert Greenberg: _Tempus Fugit_, for piano, 2008
03. [11:38 AM] [Lecture by Robert Greenberg]  
[ends 12:05 PM, pause for a bit of tuning]

### Greenberg: Invasive Species

Robert Greenberg (b. 1964): Invasive Species, 2015

01. [12:06 PM] _Three-Part Intention_
02. [12:08 PM] _March of the Yellow Crazy Ants_
03. [12:11 PM] _One-Part Incursion_
04. [12:12 PM] _Pretty Pretty Poison_
05. [12:16 PM] _Two-Part Ignition_
06. [12:16 PM] _E. globulus (10-20-1991)_  
[show ends 12:23 PM; bows & applause, then all off]


## Performers

### Alexander String Quartet

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

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


### Special Guests

* [Robert Greenberg](http://www.robertgreenbergmusic.com/): composer, lecturer;
* [Roger Woodward](http://www.rogerwoodward.com/): piano.

## Notes

Although today's opening work was certainly excellent for a teenager's effort, Beethoven or not, it wasn't quite enough to keep me from drifting away on a mid morning snooze once the edge of my first cup of Peet's wore down. Note to self: get more sleep!

Hard to act on that during set break, but it was easy to dash out to the lobby for a refill, then head to the deck to enjoy a bit of sunshine on a crisp morning. Mmmm, coffee!

Roberts second set closer, _Invasive Species_, was quite interesting. The finale, evoking the East Bay Firestorm of 1991, was particularly intense, and it seemed to me that when it ended, the audience reacted as if stunned. Huh, what? Time to clap? Very strange... mass hypnosis or something, I guess. That's gotta be a head-scratcher for RG and the performers: we played the heck out of that thing, why didn't the audience bounce up out of their seats? Hard to say for sure... Anyways, I'm glad I went. It's good to hear new music!

[Program Notes](http://sfperformances.org/img/perfnotes/1617/ASQBerkeleyNotes.pdf)

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

[[2016-12-15|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2016|Up to the 2016 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2016#December_events|Up to the 2016 event list!]] ☸  [[2016-12-17-2|On to the next event!]]