Lecture-Concert Series presents American String Quartet in concert March 31
ASU - Jonesboro: Lecture-Concert Series presents American String Quartet in concert
March 31
The 2010-11 Lecture-Concert Series at Arkansas State University presents the
American String Quartet, in the fourteenth event of the series at Riceland Hall,
Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, on Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. This concert,
like all Lecture-Concert Series events, is free, and the public is welcome.
Additional funding support is provided by the ASU Department of Music, the ASU
College of Fine Arts, and the Mid-America Arts Alliance with generous underwriting
by the National Endowment of the Arts, the Arkansas Arts Council, and foundations,
corporations and individuals throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska,
Oklahoma, and Texas.
The American String Quartet, Peter Winograd, violin; Laurie Carney, violin; Daniel
Avshlomov, viola; and Wolfram Koessel, cello, will perform a program including the
quartet in B-flat Major, K. 458, "Hunt" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the quartet in
E-flat Major, Op. 12 by Felix Mendelssohn; and the quartet in D minor, D. 810,
"Death and the Maiden" by Franz Schubert.
Internationally recognized as one of the world's finest quartets, the American
String Quartet celebrated its 30th anniversary during the 2005-2006 season.
Highlighting the anniversary was the quartet's debut in a new series of recordings
on the Arabesque label, including quartets of composer Richard Danielpour.
Highlights of their 2006-2007 season include performances with Guillermo Figueroa,
Lydia Artymiw, and Edgar Meyer, and a tour of Europe. The quartet was honored to
perform a series of retrospective concerts celebrating the Naumburg Foundation's
80th anniversary, performed by previous winners of the Naumburg Award.
In more than three decades of touring, the American String Quartet has performed in
all 50 states and appeared in virtually every important concert hall throughout the
world. Their presentations of the complete quartets of Beethoven, Schubert,
Schoenberg, Bartók, and Mozart have won widespread critical acclaim.The 1998
MusicMasters Complete Mozart String Quartets, performed on a matched quartet set of
instruments by Stradivarius, are widely considered to have set the standard for this
repertoire.
The American String Quartet's innovative approach to concert programming has won
them a number of notable residencies in recent years, including "Beethoven the
Contemporary" at the University of Michigan, "The Six Mozart Viola Quintets" at the
Aspen Music Festival with Guarneri Quartet violist Michael Tree (broadcast live
nationally via Chicago super-station WFMT), and a recent four-year cycle titled
"4-5-6." at Princeton University, where the quartet performed the complete quintets
and sextets of Mozart and Brahms, joined in each concert by renowned guest artists.
Resident quartet at the Aspen Music Festival since 1974 and the Manhattan School of
Music in New York since 1984, the American has also served as resident quartet at
the Taos School of Music (1979 to 1998), the Peabody Conservatory, and the Van
Cliburn International Piano Competition. The Quartet's diverse activities have also
included numerous international radio and television broadcasts, tours of Asia, and
performances with the New York City Ballet, the Montreal Symphony, and the
Philadelphia Orchestra.
As champions of new music, the American has given numerous premières, most recently
Richard Danielpour's quartet No. 4, commissioned by Kansas City Friends of Chamber
Music, and Curt Cacioppo's "A distant voice calling," commissioned by Arizona
Friends of Chamber Music. Albany Records released their recording of three quartets
by Kenneth Fuchs in 2001.
The quartet's extensive discography can be heard on the Albany, CRI, MusicMasters,
Musical Heritage Society, Nonesuch, and RCA labels. The quartet is popular with
national radio audiences and has been featured on Minnesota Public Radio's "St. Paul
Sunday Morning," National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," and live
broadcasts on WFMT.
Formed in 1974, when its original members were students at the Juilliard School, the
American String Quartet was launched by winning both the Coleman Competition and
the Naumburg Award in the same year. Individually, the members devote additional
time outside the quartet's active performance and teaching schedule to solo
appearances, recitals, and master classes.
Lecture-Concert events are free and open to the public. The series serves ASU and
the community in presenting notable speakers and performers of diverse backgrounds
and wide appeal. For more information, contact Lecture-Concert committee chair Dr.
Tim Crist (tcrist@astate.edu) at (870) 972-2094.
