Mendelssohn, Piano Quartet in F minor, Op.2

Mendelssohn was only 14 years old when he completed his Piano Quartet in F minor, Op. 2-his second try at the form-but the work shows tremendous confidence. It's also a real workout for the piano (Mendelssohn's favorite instrument), but the strings manage to hold their own, especially in the whiplash-inducing finale.

Kamran Ince, Piano Quartet (Commissioner's Circle premiere)

Born in Montana to American and Turkish parents, Kamran Ince has been described by the Los Angeles Times as "that rare composer able to sound connected with modern music, and yet still seem exotic." Perhaps that's partly because he divides his time between the University of Memphis and Istanbul Technical University. Ince's latest work, a piano quartet written especially for the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music and the Los Angeles Piano Quartet, will receive its premiere at this concert, and may well bring two worlds together.

Chausson, Piano Quartet in A Major, Op.30

"Tragic gaiety" may sound self-contradictory, until you hear Ernest Chausson's Piano Quartet. It's a cascade of melodies that slither from dreamy melancholy to sheer exuberance, one of the last great expressions of French Romanticism. This is a rare opportunity to hear one of the finest but most neglected works of a fascinating composer who died in 1899 in what must be one of the first fatal bicycle accidents.