PKM and Shinji Eshima by Cory Weaver

Music at Kohl Mansion Launches 40th Season

Music at Kohl Mansion (MAKM) will launch its 40th anniversary season October 16 with an extraordinary roster of international guest artists on eight Sunday nights through May 7, 2023 in the intimate and warm acoustic of the historic Great Hall at Kohl Mansion.

The season will be distinguished by the world premiere of critically acclaimed Bay Area composer Shinji Eshima’s commissioned chamber work entitled, Hymn for Her, a lively quintet for piano, marimba, clarinet, cello, and double bass.

Highlights of the season include double debuts of the Berlin-based Fauré Quartett in concert with special guest star, renowned mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; the Miró Quartet, 40th Anniversary Season Honorary Chairs, who will give the Bay Area premiere of Home by Pulitzer Prize-winning Kevin Puts; the debut of Curtis on Tour with violinist Ida Kavafian and cellist Peter Wiley with the Bay Area’s first hearing of Richard Danielpour’s A Shattered Vessel; and the live debut of the magnetic Maxwell Quartet from Scotland with the West Coast premiere of “Work Songs” inspired by the Scottish jute and textile industries in Dundee and the Hebridean Isles.

Joining the celebratory season will be the MAKM debut of England’s acclaimed Heath Quartet; and return engagements of Denmark’s popular Trio con Brio Copenhagen and San Francisco’s own highly revered Alexander String Quartet, an ensemble also celebrating its 40th anniversary.

MAKM Executive Director and Producer Patricia Kristof Moy said: “Each concert of our 40th Season holds special meaning as we reunite our loyal audiences with beloved ensembles from our glorious past, and introduce long-awaited international artists for their live MAKM debuts. For this Ruby Anniversary, I am especially proud to announce the world premiere of Hymn for Her by esteemed composer Shinji Eshima, an homage to our four decades of magnificent music-making. Complementing this commissioned work, our cherished Miró Quartet – Honorary Chairs for this season – will return with Kevin Puts’ seminal piece for our time entitled Home. Together, we will explore the many ways that music provides a sense of home, both here and around the world.”