Meet the Vera Quartet

Erin Keefe is the concertmaster and the first violinist of the Minnesota Orchestra. She's fantastic in smaller ensemble settings as well. Today, we'll take you to La Jolla's Summerfest to hear Erin Keefe, Jay Campbell, and Joyce Yang play Fanny Mendelssohn's Piano Trio.

Maria Duenas is a 22-year-old violinist and composer. She grew up in Spain and went to school in Germany and Austria. Although she's still a student, she already has a couple of major label albums, and she gave her Carnegie Hall debut in October to rave reviews. Duenas plays Jean Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D minor on today's show, with Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducting the Philharmonia symphony orchestra.

In 2007, Composer Errollyn Wallen wrote a piece to mark the anniversary of the Abolition of the British Slave Trade. She says, ‘It is human instinct to be free, just as it is for the river to rush headlong to the sea.’ We'll dive into Errollyn Wallen’s Mighty River on today's show.

Dora Pejačević was a trailblazer. She became the first Croatian composer to write a concerto in 1913. Then, while serving as a nurse in World War One, she wrote what is considered to be the first modern symphony in Croatian music. On today's show, we'll hear Pejačević's Piano Quartet in D minor from a concert presented by the Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival.

In 1928, Maurice Ravel spent some time hanging out with George Gershwin in Harlem jazz clubs. The sounds Ravel heard in Harlem made their way into some of his subsequent compositions. On today’s show, pianist Inon Barnatan joins the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra to play Ravel's jazz-influenced Piano Concerto in G Major.

Celina Anna Kintscher grew up in Germany, attended high school in South Africa, and is now studying composition at UCLA. This mix of cultures informs her work. Today, we'll hear a piece Kintscher wrote last year during ECI, the Emerging Composers Intensive in Carmel Valley, California.

Dora Pejačević was a trailblazer. She became the first Croatian composer to write a concerto in 1913. Then, while serving as a nurse in World War One, she wrote what is considered to be the first modern symphony in Croatian music. On today's show, we'll hear Pejačević's Piano Quartet in D minor from a concert presented by the Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival.

In 2008, composer Peteris Vasks wrote a new piece, a fantasy for violin and strings. In the program notes, he wrote: "It is about the greatest power in the whole world—love. Love is, was, and will be as long as we will be... I hope this work will reach the listeners and make the world a little brighter and more open to love." We'll hear Vox Amoris (Voice of Love) by Peteris Vasks on today's show.

Pianist Mitsuko Uchida says in Beethoven's music you can hear that life is life, and sometimes, you have to cry. Yet, she hears such optimism amid the tragedy. Mitsuko Uchida plays Beethoven on today’s show.

Conductor Elim Chan works with orchestras worldwide. She stays fit by boxing; she appreciates situations where she might get a black eye if she loses concentration. On today’s show, conductor and boxer Elim Chan leads the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra at a concert in Berlin.