The Sarasota Music Festival kicked off its 2026 season on June 5 with “Beethoven & Mendelssohn,” a chamber program that featured works by the titular composers, as well as two pieces written by contemporary female artists. Held in Sarasota Orchestra’s Holley Hall, the concert showcased the talents of festival fellows and faculty members performing together side by side, which will happen this year, for the first time, in each concert.

The performance opened with Florence Price’s poignant and startlingly short “Adoration.” An idyllic and somewhat wistful melody led by the clarinet contrasted the soft whispers in the other instruments. While trying to decide whether I wished for the clarinet to be softer or the other instruments to be just a tad louder, I was snapped out of my thoughts by the abrupt termination of the piece. 

Like any good appetizer, Price’s work left the listener with a sense of incompleteness and hunger for more that, in this case, set the table for the main course. Yet, at the concert’s close, I found my mind returning to those fleeting moments at its beginning, wishing we’d had a little more time to be lost in that beautiful reverie. Luckily, brevity was not the name of the game for the remaining pieces, the shortest of which was 29 minutes in length. 

The unfortunate happenstance of a broken instrument in the moments preceding a performance is an event that arises at least once in every musician’s career. As one of the musicians explained, Festival Fellow Cade Araza’s horn malfunctioned just before he was scheduled to join his peers onstage for Beethoven’s “Septet in E-Flat Major.” Luckily, the number of musicians in Sarasota at the moment also meant a substitute instrument was easily found. And though Araza was introduced to a brand new (to him) horn only minutes before taking it on stage, he played in a manner as unphased and brilliant as if it were his own. I have no idea whether this was the first time Araza has encountered this situation, but he handled it with a grace and resolution that will help him become a fine professional. 

Beethoven rather lamented the Mozart-esque qualities of his septet, but I would argue that Mozart might not have been as dramatic with the moody opening notes of the first movement; as expressive and tearjerkingly beautiful with the melodies in the first violin throughout the piece; or have included the vast array of emotion. These qualities, brilliantly executed by the SMF musicians, clearly differentiated the two composers.

Amy Beach’s “Piano Quintet in F-sharp Minor” was to me the standout in the program. What began as a soft lullaby morphed into a swirling tempest. Despite their harmonic consonance, Beach’s string and piano lines roiled and churned against each other in melodic combat. The second movement was spiderwebbed with cavernous longing. But it was the third movement with its renewed vitality and passion that made Beach’s work the most romantic moment of the evening. 

Mendelssohn’s “Octet in E-Flat Major” concluded the concert. Turbulent, fast-paced, and dramatic, it was a fitting resolution. 

As a flutist, I often find myself fascinated by the obvious differences in string player’s movements. Such was the case in the performance of the Mendelssohn. Cellist Kathryn Fakeley’s graceful movement and magnetic expression would have been captivating even without her glittery red ensemble. Seated next to her, fellow cellist Maurice Neuman was more stoic and rigid in his movements. Yet, both coaxed the same beautiful melodies and striking expressions from their instruments. It’s a paradox I’ve yet to unravel, but perhaps it captures that elusive element of human nature that makes us each unique. 

While many chamber groups play together for years, the Sarasota Music Festival musicians have only rehearsed together this past week. This makes the ensemble cohesion I witnessed in each of the opening night’s pieces even more striking. Different combinations of faculty members and fellows will perform in each concert through June 13.

The Sarasota Music Festival continues with 7:30 p.m. June 6 and 12 chamber programs in Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota and a 7:30 p.m. June 13 orchestral concert at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. For tickets and more information: sarasotaorchestra.org/festival; 941-953-3434.