Working with composers is central to what we do at Sunset ChamberFest, and 2021 has been no different. We are thrilled to have been the first to present to the world, new versions of two pieces by Reena Esmail at this year’s Festival: Zeher (originally written for Brooklyn Rider) and the popular work Nadiya for flute and cello, both of which the composer revised after working with Sunset’s artists.

After the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival was cancelled in 2020, cellists were really disappointed. For us, this is really the best thing that happens in LA every four years. So I chose to have a mini-cello festival as part of Sunset ChamberFest in 2021, dedicating the first two programmes to the Piatigorsky Festival and its founder, Ralph Kirshbaum.