"There is one God—Bach—and Mendelssohn is his prophet."

Jul 19, 08:41 AM

The 2009 season’s first concert program, “From Bach,” manifested in sound Hector Berlioz’s bold proclamation. The St. Lawrence String Quartet’s insightful performance of Bach’s The Art of Fugue provided a fitting benediction to Saturday evening’s concert at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. The program culminated in Mendelssohn’s rollicking Opus 110 Sextet, a work composed in Felix’s fifteenth year.

Following a full day of Chamber Music Institute rehearsals and coachings, the evening also offered the summer’s first Prelude Performance, featuring the International Program’s two resident ensembles: the Atria Ensemble impressed in their festival debut with Robert Schumann’s poetic Fairy Tales for clarinet trio, and the LK String Quartet’s interpretation of Beethoven’s String Quartet in F Major, op. 18, no. 1, drew an enthusiastic standing ovation. Both works will be offered once more over the upcoming three Prelude Performances, alongside music by Mozart and Mendelssohn. Sunday and Monday evenings set “From Bach” in the intimate acoustic of Menlo School’s elegant Stent Family Hall, and limited tickets are still available.