Classical Music: Travel
Search:
Classical Music: Travel
 |
THE EMERSON PLAYS COMPLETE BEETHOVEN STRING QUARTETS IN CONTEXT |
|
Antoine du Rocher NEW YORK, 30 MAY 2007—The string quartet is often seen as the vehicle for the blossoming of a certain idea of pure music, born during the early years of German romanticism. For those with a passion for this intimate musical form, the Emerson String Quartet's Perspective Series at Carnegie Hall is an excellent pretext to visit New York City before the arrival of the often intolerable tropical humidity that is the defining feature of summer in New York. Unquestionably America's finest string quartet, the Emerson has programmed a series of eight concerts that feature the complete Beethoven quartets alongside works ranging from Mendelssohn and Schubert to Ives, Bartok, and Shostakovich, along with the world premiere of a new quartet by the Paris-based Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho entitled Terra Memoria, commissioned by Carnegie Hall. Until now, such an approach has been the chasse gardée of the Alban Berg Quartet , the leading draw in string quartets, for over twenty years. The Viennese quartet is revered, notably in Europe, for its ablility to communicate the same classical elegance in Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert as in Berg, Bartok or Janacek. Fresh from performances of the Beethoven cycle in Europe earlier this spring, it will be interesting to hear the Emerson in its approach to Beethoven in context. Each concert, except June 3, will be preceded by a "prelude concert", a 45-minute chamber music event featuring talented young musicians. To introduce the Perspectives series there will be a lecture on June 2 in Weill Recital Hall which will include guest lecturers Michael Steinberg, author of The Symphony: A Listener's Guide; Ara Guzelimian; and members of the Emerson Quartet. Beethoven's 16 string quartets, composed between 1798 and 1826, stand today as a cornerstone of the chamber music repertoire. The first six quartets, created early in the composer's life, clearly show the influence of Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. Beethoven continued to expand upon the string quartet form throughout his lifetime as his compositional style evolved. His last five quartets, including the Grosse Fuge, were the final works that he completed and among the most complex and forward-looking that he ever composed. They continue to inspire and influence composers to this day.
PERSPECTIVES SERIES CONCERT SCHEDULE.
Thursday, May 31 at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 2 at 11am Sunday, June 3 at 5 pm Thursday, June 7 at 8
pm Sunday, June 10 at 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 12 at 8
p.m. Thursday,
June 14 at 8 p.m.
Carnegie Hall If New York is not on your business or leisure travel calendar, June will also see the Emerson String Quartet in Aspen, Colorado at the Aspen Music Festival (21 - 23 June), the Ravinia Festival at Highland Park near Chicago (26 June). In July, the Emerson will be at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts (1 July), and finally at Chamber Music Northwest / Reed College in Portland, Oregon for two concerts devoted to the late quartets of Shostakovitch and Beethoven (2, 3 July). CD Tip
Formed in 1976, the Emerson String Quartet—violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violist Lawrence Dutton, and cellist David Finckel—celebrates its 30th Anniversary Season throughout 2006 - 2007. The Grammy Award winning quartet recently released an all-Brahms disc comprising the three Brahms Quartets and the Piano Quintet with Leon Fleisher whose distinguished career came to a halt in 1964 because of dystonia, a neurological disorder in the fingers of his right hand. Some forty years later and many performances of the left-handed repertoire to his credit, the American pianist has returned to the two-hand literature thanks to Botox treatments. |
|
| [ Feedback | Home ] If you value this page, please send it to a friend. Copyright © 2005 Euromedia Group, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. |
Headline Feed
Email to a friend
