Lyrica Chamber Music opens 2025-26 season with Brahms and Haydn

Humor and passion will share the bill when Lyrica Chamber Music opens its 2025-26 season with music of Haydn and Brahms.

Drawing from the talent pool that is the Perlman Music Program, Lyrica has gathered together violinists Giora Shmidt and Doori Na, violist William Frampton, cellist Jia Kim, and its own co-artistic director, pianist David Kaplan, for Haydn’s Joke Quartet and Brahms’ brooding Piano Quintet.

The music begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township, 240 Southern Blvd.

Lyrica concerts are presented with the support of Morris Arts which seeks to build community through the arts.

Itzhak Perlman’s Music Program has had a profound influence on the musicians who have been lucky enough to have him as a mentor.

“It's been impactful to see how he carries himself as more than just a violinist,” says Doori Na. “He’s a true lover of music of any instrument, voice, or genre, and he draws inspiration from it and makes us take attention to it.

“Just as importantly, he’s an example of the kind of person we aspire to be: kind, generous, overly dedicated to his students, and always ready with humor that makes us feel at ease. He teaches not only through his music, but through the way he lives.”

Brahms was a relatively young man in his early 30s when he composed the Piano Quintet. It’s not hard to hear the fire of youth in its tempestuous score.

“Musicians are drawn to Brahms for his lush harmonies and the depth of emotion woven into his music,” Na says. “His adventurous romantic storytelling pulls us in, making every phrase feel both intimate and grand. The Piano Quintet, in particular, has a symphonic scope; the grandeur of the piano fused with the richness of the quartet is truly a marvel.”

Haydn must have been good company, judging from the way humor shows up so often in his music such as the “Surprise” Symphony. His String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 2, is known as “The Joke,” because of the way the final movement lurches to its end, leaving listeners to guess when it is actually over. Be careful not to applaud too soon!

But jokes aside, the audience can expect the mastery that made Haydn the father of the string quartet.

“Haydn was the earliest strong proponent of the string quartet, writing 68 in his 77 years of life,” William Framton says. “The musical style of a string quartet he wrote in 1755 (just 5 years after J.S. Bach’s death, before Mozart’s birth and the wave of revolutions) is very different than the string quartet he wrote in 1803 (12 years after Mozart’s death).

“His string quartets became more democratic over time, evolving from solo violin with accompaniment to each player having dynamically shifting duties and shared artistic responsibility.”

The cherry on the top of this concert will be a performance of Schubert’s Impromptu Op. 90, No.1, played by David Kaplan.

Three more concerts mark Lyrica’s 2025-26 season. On Nov. 23, pianist Aaron Diehl will perform a recital in the tradition of stride-piano greats like Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and Willie “The Lion” Smith.

In the new year, pianist Vassily Primakov joins violinist Isabelle Ai Durrenberger and Lyrica co-artist director, cellist Ani Kalayjian, for Rachmaninov’s mystical Piano Trio in G minor on Feb. 22.

The season concludes on April 26 when Lyrica’s co-artistic directors, Kaplan and Kalayjian, join forces with clarinetist Moran Katz.

Praised by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "impossible to resist, captivating with lyricism, tonal warmth, and boundless enthusiasm," violinist Giora Schmidt has appeared as soloist with many prominent symphony orchestras around the globe including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Canada’s National Arts Centre, Toronto, Vancouver and the Israel Philharmonic.

A dynamic and versatile musician, violinist Doori Na is known for his deep commitment to chamber music, his leadership as concertmaster for orchestras, and his innovative work in contemporary music. He has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, the New York Philharmonic, and many more.

Violist William Frampton has been praised by critics for his “impressive” performances (The New York Times) and “a glowing amber tone” (The Boston Globe). Since his New York recital debut in 2009 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, William has enjoyed a career of performances around the world as a chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral player.

As a passionate and active chamber musician, cellist Jia Kim has worked with renowned artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Robert Mann, Kim Kashkashian, Frans Helmerson, Robert Spano, Emmanuel Villaume, and John Williams, as well as members of the Juilliard String Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, Takacs Quartet, and Orion String Quartet.

Kaplan has been called “excellent and adventurous” by The New York Times, and praised by the Boston Globe for “grace and fire” at the keyboard. As orchestra soloist, he has appeared with the Britten Sinfonia at London’s Barbican and Das Sinfonie Orchester Berlin at the Philharmonie, as well the Symphony Orchestras of Hawaii and San Antonio. As recitalist, he has performed at the Ravinia Festival, Sarasota Opera House, Music on Main in Vancouver, Strathmore, Washington’s National Gallery, and New York’s Carnegie and Merkin Halls.

Tickets for Lyrica concerts are $35 ($30 for seniors), and students and children are admitted free. For more information about Lyrica Chamber Music, visit www.lyricachambermusic.com or call 973-309-1668.