Esmé Quartet Robert GreenbergHost · Lecturer Paul WianckoCello
Saturday Mornings
Saturday, December 13, 2025 10:00am
Herbst TheatreVenue Information
$80/$70/$60
About This Performance
Our Saturday Morning series combines full performances of chamber music works with unique insights, humor, history, and juicy backstory from Dr. Robert Greenberg, who is marking his 25th anniversary as our esteemed Music Historian-in-Residence this season.
Praised for their warm sound and powerful presence, the Esmé Quartet was formed in 2016 at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Germany by four musicians who had been friends since their youth. The Quartet has rapidly gained a worldwide reputation as a chamber ensemble of exceptional artistry and achievement.
Program
SCHUBERT: String Quintet in C Major, D. 956 “Cello Quintet” with Paul Wiancko, cello
Artist Information
Performer Biographies
Praised for their warm sound and powerful stage presence, the Esmé Quartet was formed in 2016 in Cologne, Germany by four Korean musicians who had been friends since their youth. They shared common interests and passions in music, the arts, and life. The Quartet takes it name “Esmé” from the old French word for “beloved.”
Robert Greenberg received a BA in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University, followed by a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has composed over fifty works for a wide variety of instrumental and vocal ensembles, and his works have been performed in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and the Netherlands, where his Child’s Play for String Quartet was performed at the Concertgebouw. Greenberg has performed, taught, and lectured extensively across North America and Europe. He is celebrating his 25th anniversary as Music Historian-in-Residence with San Francisco Performances, and he has served on the faculties of the UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.