Each summer, the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common commences a new concert season and publishes the schedule for the Fall Concert Series. This series has been a San Diego Public Library signature event since the 1950s and features local, national, and international chamber musicians.
2020-21 is the 65th season of the Concert Series, and we hope to share live, free music events with our community again as soon as it is possible. In the meantime, we are pleased to announce our Encore Concert Series. These are library performances from 1998-2002 that we have digitized so that we may offer free access to them online.
In celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th birthday in 2020, Encore Editions will include a selection of performances of beloved works by Beethoven performed by solo and chamber musicians. Recordings will be uploaded to the Library's YouTube Channel on a regular basis throughout the fall, as well as to the Concert Series webpage. Please enjoy these Encore Editions of excerpts and full concert presentations from our archives.
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. (PST) | Virtual Event |
Register Here
San Diego Public Library has partnered with
UC San Diego's Geisel Library in recent years to bring additional Toy Piano Festival performances to downtown San Diego. We are unable to share this program in our Neil Morgan Auditorium this year, but don't miss the first virtual edition of this event, free and open to all in our community! This year's event highlights the 20
th anniversary of the festival and celebrates the 50
th anniversary of Geisel Library.
Registration is open for the Library’s 20th Annual Toy Piano Festival, a virtual event for listeners of all ages. Playing new works for toy pianos and songs from “The Cat in the Hat Songbook,” festival director Scott Paulson will be joined by his toy piano colleagues Sue Palmer, Andrea Wingen, Kenneth Herman, Barbara Scheidker, Samara Rice, Christian Hertzog, Peter Flynn, Alex Segal, Gail Gipson, Kiera Sullivan, Linda Kernohan, Philippe Robles-Fradet, Janice Kelsh, Daria Binkowski, and Judy Schulman. Many of the premieres at this year’s festival will merely be 20 measures or 50 seconds, in tribute to the 20th anniversary of the festival and the upcoming 50th anniversary of our Geisel Library building.
Happy Birthday to our friends at UC San Diego Library! For more information about this event and the history of the festival, please visit Geisel Library's
website.
James Raphael, piano
Filmed on March 25, 2001 at the San Diego Central Library, pianist James Raphael’s performance includes timeless and beloved piano works by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Gershwin, and more.
The Grossmont Symphony Quartet
Juanita Cummins, piano/violin; Lee Wolfe, violin; Mark Crellen, viola; Gordon Grubbs, cello
Filmed on March 24, 2002 at the San Diego Central Library, this concert features Piano Trio Op. 44 by Louise Farrenc and Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 18, No. 2.
The Miryam Trio
Ethel Grossman, piano; Eileen Wingard, violin; Marcia Bookstein, cello
Double Mendelssohn
Filmed on March 12, 2000 at the San Diego Central Library, this concert includes trios composed by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn.
The Bridge Ensemble
Karen Sigers, piano; Mikhail Schmidt, violin; Helen Callus, viola; David Tonkonogui, cello
Filmed on October 30, 1999 at the San Diego Central Library, this concert excerpt features Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 26 by Johannes Brahms.
George Fee, piano
Filmed on February 27, 2000 at the San Diego Central Library, George Fee performs piano works by Scarlatti, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, and more.
The Odeum Guitar Duo
Robert Wetzel and Fred Benedetti, classical guitarists
Filmed on April 8, 2001 at the San Diego Central Library, this performance includes works by Ferdinando Carulli, Tomaso Albinoni, Franz Liszt, Antonio Soler, Isaac Albeniz, and Fernando Sor.
A Beethoven Celebration: Selections from Central Library Concert Series Programs
Päivikki Nykter and Cynthia Darby perform Violin Sonata no. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, no. 3 (October 8, 2000)
Kristine Wei performs Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 53, "Waldstein" (September 24, 2000)
The Bendetsky/Surina/Babayeva Trio perform Piano Trio in G major Op. 121a "Kakadu Variations" (October 24, 1999)
San Diego Public Library has partnered with UC San Diego's Geisel Library in recent years to bring additional Toy Piano Festival performances to downtown San Diego. We are unable to share this program in our Neil Morgan Auditorium this year, but don't miss the first virtual edition of this event, free and open to all in our community! This year's event highlights the 20th anniversary of the festival and celebrates the 50th anniversary of Geisel Library.