Beethoven In Context (Sunday Series)

Classical Foundations - Sept 20, 2026 2:00PM

Discover the musical world that shaped Beethoven through masterworks by Haydn, Mozart, and Weber. These composers laid the foundation for the innovations that would forever transform classical music. F.J. Haydn: Piano Trio in C major Hob. XV:27  W.A. Mozart: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 493 C.M. Von Weber: Grand Quartet in B-flat Major, WeV P.5   Matthew Zerweck, violin Emily Freudigman, viola Ken Freudigman, cello Steven Vanhauwaert, piano

Beethoven’s Circle - Nov 8, 2026 2:00PM

Meet the composers who influenced Beethoven, and those he inspired, through music by his teacher Albrechtsberger, mentor Haydn, frenemy Hummel, and student Ferdinand Ries. Together, their works reveal the vibrant artistic community surrounding one of history's greatest composers. J. G. Albrechtsberger: String Trio in C major, Op. 9 No.1   Ferdinand Ries: String Trio No.1 in E-flat Major, WoO. 70, No. 1  F.J. Haydn: Divertimento in B flat No. 8 in B-flat Major, Hob. V: 8    J.N. Hummel: String Trio in G major, WoO. 4 (S. 46) Matthew Zerweck, violin Emily Freudigman, viola Ken Freudigman, cello

The Complete Cello Sonatas - Feb 21, 2027 2:00PM

Experience all five of Beethoven's sonatas for cello and piano in a single unforgettable evening, tracing his extraordinary artistic evolution from youthful brilliance to profound maturity. Ken Freudigman, cello Viktor Valkov, piano

Finding His Voice - Mar 14, 2027 2:00PM

Beethoven's Op. 18 string quartets reveal a composer forging his own musical identity, while Sally Beamish's Opus California demonstrates how the quartet continues to inspire fresh artistic voices today. Sally Beamish: Opus California (String Quartet No. 2)  L. Van Beethoven: String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18, No. 4  L. Van Beethoven: String Quartet in A Major, Op 18, No. 5 Laura Scalzo and Matthew Zerweck, violin Emily Freudigman, viola Ken Freudigman, cello

Echoes of Beethoven - Apr 11, 2027 2:00PM

From the lyricism of Beethoven's Violin Sonata and Pastoral Symphony to John Corigliano's imaginative reworking of Beethoven's rhythmic ideas, this program explores how great music continues to resonate across generations. John Corigliano: Fantasia on an Ostinato  L. Van Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A Minor, Op.23  L. Van Beethoven: Symphony 6 (Arr. for piano trio) Matthew Zerweck, violin Ken Freudigman, cello Viktor Valkov, piano

A Legacy Unbound - May 16, 2027 2:00PM

Beethoven's transcendent late Quartet, Op. 131, stands alongside Bartók's First String Quartet, illuminating the profound influence Beethoven's final masterpieces had on the future of chamber music. Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 7 L. Van Beethoven: String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op 131 Laura Scalzo and Matthew Zerweck, violin Emily Freudigman, viola Ken Freudigman, cello

Ken Freudigman

Kenneth Freudigman, the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Grammy Nominated Camerata San Antonio, has an extensive musical background. He served as the Principal Cello of the San Antonio Symphony from 2004 to 2022 and then of the San Antonio Philharmonic from 2022 to 2025. With a degree from the Eastman School of Music, he has studied under renowned teachers such as Steven Doane, Alan Harris, and Crispin Campbell. In addition to his work in San Antonio, Mr. Freudigman has performed with esteemed orchestras like the Atlanta Symphony, Mexico City Philharmonic, Grand Rapids Symphony, Virginia Symphony, and the New World Symphony, among others. His reputation as a cello pedagogue is highly regarded, and he also serves as the Conductor of Youth Orchestras of San Antonio Symphony and Concertino Orchestras. For the past 30 years, Mr. Freudigman has maintained a successful studio, tailoring lessons to meet the unique goals and challenges of each student. His teaching philosophy revolves around building a solid foundation through the fundamentals of string playing. He assesses the developmental stage of new students and guides them towards success. Over the years, Mr. Freudigman’s students have achieved notable accomplishments. Many have secured positions in prestigious Texas region and All-State ensembles, while others have attended renowned summer music festivals such as Interlochen, Sewanee, Sphinx Academy, Tanglewood, Bowdoin, Heifetz Academy, and The Perlman Institute. Some of his students have also participated in major music competitions, including Ronald Sachs, Sphinx, Stulberg, Ann Arbor Young Artist, Tchaikovsky Young Musician, and Hudson Valley, with several winning or placing in these competitions. His students have received various awards, such as the From the Top Jack Cooke Kent Young Artist Award, Texas Commission on the Arts Young Masters Recipient, Sphinx Power Grant, Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship and 3rd Place Laureate at the Sphinx Competition. Furthermore, Mr. Freudigman has guided his students to gain admission to renowned institutions such as Curtis, Colburn, Eastman, Juilliard, Rice, University of Michigan, Indiana University, Oberlin, Northwestern, New England Conservatory, University of Texas at Austin, Baylor University, University of North Texas, Texas Tech University, and DePaul University. Many of these students have gone on to successful careers in music, becoming faculty members at universities or performing as soloists and chamber musicians.

• Ken Freudigman's website

Emily Freudigman

Emily Freudigman is Co-Founder of Camerata San Antonio. Emily holds degrees in viola performance from Southern Methodist University, the Peabody Conservatory, and the University of Michigan and was a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival and School. She has studied chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Muir, Concord and Tokyo String Quartets, and she has performed with the Grand Rapids, Maryland, Fort Worth and Boston Symphony Orchestras. Emily was the Assistant Principal Viola of the San Antonio Symphony from 2002 to 2019. She maintains an active viola studio in San Antonio – her students accomplishments include performing in the Texas All-State orchestras (multiple principals), National Youth Orchestra and NYO2, reaching the finals of the American Viola Society’s junior and senior competitions, and attending prestigious summer music festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Interlochen Center for the Arts. Her students have gone on to study viola at Boston University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University, Louisiana State University, the University of Houston and the University of Texas.

• Emily Freudigman's website

Laura Scalzo

Originally from Long Island, New York, Laura Scalzo’s love of the violin was sparked by the great violinist, Itzhak Perlman, when she heard him play on “Sesame Street.” She began lessons at the age of 4 and has been playing ever since. She holds degrees from Temple University (BA), the University of Delaware (MM), and was a Tanglewood fellow for two summers. Her primary teachers have included William dePasquale, Xiang Gao, and Ellen dePasquale. Ms. Scalzo was a member of the first violin section of the San Antonio Symphony from 2011-2021, and served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Mid-Texas Symphony until 2024. Before moving to San Antonio, she was a tenured member of the Delaware and Allentown Symphonies. She has performed concertos with the Mid-Texas Symphony and the Wilmington Community Orchestra. A passionate chamber music lover, Ms. Scalzo has worked with various ensembles including the Serafin String Quartet, and the Mid-Texas Chamber Players. She has performed with Camerata San Antonio since 2023. Ms. Scalzo is an enthusiastic teacher and maintains a robust private studio. She also has many interests outside of music and in 2022 she founded a landscape design company, Roots in the City (www.rootsinthecitytx.com), which specializes in organic vegetable and native plant gardening.

Viktor Valkov

Winner of the 2015 Astral Artists National Auditions, and Gold medalist at the 2012 New OrleansInternational Piano Competition, Viktor Valkov has been highly acclaimed by the critics as “lion of thekeyboard” and “sensational”. Among numerous chamber music and solo appearances, during the lastfew concert seasons Mr.Valkov also performed with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Salt Lake Symphony, and West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Since 2002 Valkov has given a number of recitals in USA, Japan, China, Haiti, England, Germany, Italy, Norway, Greece, Bulgaria, and Macedonia. In Bulgaria, Viktor Valkov appeared in performances with most of the major orchestras and at most of the important music festivals. In 2003, he received aninvitation from the New Symphony Orchestra, and conductor Rossen Milanov, to perform Dimitar Nenov’s Grande Piano Concerto. Thus he became the fifth pianist to perform that concerto and the only one to do the entire version. In 2007, Mr.Valkov made his debut with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr.Valkov’s concert activities reflect a vast interest in the chamber music repertoire, as well as lesser known piano music. He frequently performs with the Bulgarian cellist, Lachezar Kostov, in a cello and piano duo. Both being deeply interested in broadening the repertoire for that medium, they often include in their programs composers like Kabalevsky, Roslavetz, Schnittke, Saint-Saens (the Second cello Sonata), and others. Their close friendship and professional collaboration began in 2000. In 2009, the Kostov-Valkov Duo gave their Carnegie Hall debut at Zankel Hall. In 2011 they won the Liszt-Garisson International Competition, where they were awarded First Prize, the overall Liszt Prize as well as all the special prizes in the collaborative artists category. As a solo performer one of Mr.Valkov’s latest projects featured Busoni’s Fantasia Contrappuntistica, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition as the focal point of his concert programs. During the 2011-2012 Viktor Valkov presented a program of music from the 1600’s including composers like Froberger, L Couperin, Frescobaldi, Buxtehude and selections from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Mr.Valkov has made a number of recordings for the Bulgarian National Radio archive, many of which have been broadcast. He has also recorded for Bulgarian National Television and Macedonian Radio and Television. Since 2008 he has recorded albums for a number of labels including NAXOS, GrandPiano, Toccata Classics, Albany Records, Summit Records, Parma Recordings, Bridge Records, and Acis Records. Viktor Valkov is currently an Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Steven Vanhauwaert

Praised by Alex Ross: “Brilliant” (The New Yorker), Mark Swed: “Monster technique” (L.A. Times), and Chu Meng: “Dazzling” (Beijing Today), Steven Vanhauwaert has garnered a wide array of accolades, amongst which the First Prize at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition. Mr. Vanhauwaert has appeared as a soloist at the National Center of the Performing Arts in Beijing, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, the Concertgebouw in Brugge, the Great Hall of the Budapest Liszt Conservatory, the Forbidden City Theatre in Beijing, Segerstrom Hall, and the National Philharmonic Hall in Kiev. He has appeared with orchestras including the Pacific Symphony, the Lviv Philharmonic, the Sofia Sinfonietta, the Reno Chamber Orchestra, the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, the Flemish Symphony and the Kyiv Kamerata. Mr. Vanhauwaert serves as co-director for the Unbound Chamber Music Festival in Mammoth Lakes, a 3-week long summer festival featuring guest artists from around the world. He is also the Artistic Director for the Second-Sundays-at-Two series in Rolling Hills, CA. His discography, on the Hortus, Sonarti, ECM, and Bridge labels, covers a wide range of composers, from Joseph Woelfl to Stravinsky and Tigran Mansurian. His recordings have been awarded 5 Diapasons, a nomination for the International Classical Music Awards, the France Musique’s Editor’s Choice, and 5 stars on Pizzicato Magazine. Mr. Vanhauwaert serves on the faculty at the University of Utah’s School of Music and he is a Steinway Artist.

• Steven Vanhauwaert's website

Matthew Zerweck

Matthew Zerweck began his music studies at age 5, after watching Itzhak Perlman perform on the children’s television show, “Sesame Street.” After studying with several esteemed artist teachers, he entered the Eastman School of Music. He earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music (BM, MM, Performers’ Certificate). He served as teaching assistant to the world renowned violinist and teacher, Charles Castleman, and was awarded the John Celentano award for excellence in chamber music. Formerly the Assistant Concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony (2008-2012), Matthew teaches violin full time in San Antonio. His students have won all of the local accolades, including the YOSA Concerto Competition, Inspired by KPAC radio contest, and admission into the TMEA All-state Orchestra. They have attended high-level summer programs, like Cactus Pear Young Artists’, BUTI, Interlochen, and Heifetz Institute. Recent graduates have gone off to attend Oberlin, Eastman, CIM, HEMU, and RAM. His students have also premiered the works of local San Antonio composers at the Doseum as part of “Made in SA IX.” In his spare time, Matthew enjoys family time with his wife Nancy, and two children, Charlie and Amelia.

• Matthew Zerweck's website