This compelling SummerFest program brings together very different masterworks “shaped by youth, urgency, and historical circumstance, inviting us to imagine what could have been.” Lili Boulanger’s Two Pieces for Violin and Piano—a Nocturne (1911) and a Cortège (1914)—stands as one of her most frequently performed chamber works, capturing her brilliant command of color, texture, and late-French Impressionism just a few years before her tragic death at age 24.  Viktor Ullmann’s String Quartet No. 3, Op. 46—written in 1943 during Ullmann’s imprisonment at the Theresienstadt (Terezín) concentration camp—represents both a peak of late-Second Viennese School expressionism and an act of absolute cultural resistance under horrifying circumstances. Written two years before his untimely death at age 38, George Gershwin’s landmark 1935 opera Porgy and Bess challenged ideas about American musical theater; virtuoso violinist Jascha Heifetz paid homage to Gershwin’s legacy in this “Selections from Porgy and Bess”—an pinnacle of the twentieth-century violin transcription repertoire. Finally, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater (1736) is one of the most celebrated, widely printed, and frequently performed sacred works of the entire 18th century. Composed in the final weeks of the composer’s life, it represents a watershed moment in music history—the bridge where the strict, contrapuntal religious music of the Baroque era yields to the deeply expressive, emotional directness of the emerging Galant style. My presentation will consider all of these works in the spirit of “What if,” placing them in the context of their creation and charting their broader influence.

Led by Music Director Inon Barnatan, the LJMS SummerFest 2026 will offer 21 concerts, 50+ free community events, and over 100 world‑class musicians from around the globe. Prelude Lectures begin one hour before the performance in the beautiful JAI gathering space, next to the main concert hall.