THREE GREAT PLAYERS, TWO MASTERPIECES, ONE TERRIFIC ENSEMBLE

Camerata Pacifica opens its 37th season with
a knockout pairing of Rachmaninoff and Schubert

I saw Camerata Pacifica three times last season, and I’ll just say it: they’re the best chamber ensemble in Los Angeles. There are plenty of organizations that can assemble first-rate musicians and put an attractive program onstage. Camerata Pacifica has something else going for it. The players are phenomenal, the programming has imagination, and the concerts have the kind of electricity that can make chamber music feel anything but chamber-sized.

Apparently I’m not alone. Chamber Music America just named Camerata Pacifica its 2026 Ensemble of the Year, a rather nice way to begin its 37th season. And what a way to begin it: pianist Irina Zahharenkova, violinist Grace Park and cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia tackling Rachmaninoff and Schubert over four Southern California concerts October 11–15.

Irina Zahharenkova

I especially love the pairing. Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22 is a solo-piano workout: 22 variations on Chopin’s Prelude in C, moving from melancholy to exultation and giving Zahharenkova plenty to sink her fingers into. Then Park and Cañón-Valencia join her for Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898. One composer takes a tiny piece of Chopin and spins it into a sprawling virtuoso showcase; the other gives three players one of the glories of the chamber repertoire. That’s quite a menu.

Grace Park (Marco Borggreve)

And these are some players. Zahharenkova is an Estonian pianist whose musicianship and command of color have drawn international acclaim. Park brings the violin, and Cañón-Valencia—a 2022 BBC New Generation Artist and silver medalist and Audience Favorite at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition—takes the cello. I haven’t heard this particular trio together, but I wouldn’t miss the chance.

Santiago Cañón-Valencia (Jesus Cornejo)

Artistic Director Adrian Spence has a terrific ear not merely for individual musicians but for putting musicians and music together. The ensemble’s repertoire stretches well beyond the expected warhorses—it has commissioned more than 20 works—and its roster draws chamber players from around the world. Yet there’s nothing museum-like about the concerts I’ve seen. The musicians play as though something is actually at stake.

This opening program may consist of only two works, but what works they are—and what players to put behind them. If you’ve never heard Camerata Pacifica, here’s your chance to find out why I keep raving about them. If you have, I probably don’t need to convince you. I’ll see you there.

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Camerata Pacifica: Rachmaninoff & Schubert

Sun. Oct. 11 at 3
Janet and Ray Scherr Forum, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Thousand Oaks

Tues. Oct. 13 at 7:30
The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Rd. in San Marino

Wed. Oct. 14 at 8
Zipper Hall at The Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave. in Los Angeles

Thurs. Oct. 15 at 7
Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Rd. in Santa Barbara

tickets: $75–$85, plus fees
for tickets, call 805.884.8410 or visit Camerata Pacifica
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