Escher Quartet with Jason Vieaux

“A level of individual technical precision and a collective musical purpose that is endlessly compelling. Sheer brilliance.”—The Strad

Acclaimed for their profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty, the Escher String Quartet “hold[s] the listener spellbound from first bar to last” (BBC Music Magazine). A former BBC New Generation Artist, the quartet has performed at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall and is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall. In its hometown of New York City, the ensemble serves as season artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Escher Quartet is joined by Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux. “Among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” (Gramophone), Vieaux is “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation” (NPR).

Program

Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in G Major, op. 77, no. 1; George Enescu: String Quartet no. 2 in G Major; Duke Ellington: In a Sentimental Mood; Fernando Bustamante: Misionera; Francisco Tárrega: Capricho árabe

Ariel Quartet
Beethoven Cycle, Part 2

“A blazing, larger-than-life performance.”—Washington Post

Distinguished by its virtuosic playing and impassioned interpretations, the Ariel Quartet has earned its glowing international reputation. Formed in Israel nearly twenty years ago, the Quartet was recently awarded the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award. The Ariel serves as the Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, where they direct the rigorous chamber music program and perform their own annual series of concerts in addition to their busy touring schedule.

In honor of Beethoven’s sestercentennial in 2020, the Ariel Quartet will perform the complete Beethoven Cycle. This concert marks the second of a five-concert series.

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in E-flat Major;op. 127; String Quartet in B-flat Major, op. 18, no. 6; String Quartet “Rasumovsky,” op. 59, no. 3

Cancelled: Spektral Quartet

This event has been cancelled. Our Box Office will be calling to process refunds. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the UC San Diego Box Office at 858-534-8497 or email artpower@ucsd.edu.

 

Declared “one of Chicago’s most adventurous chamber ensembles” (Chicago Tribune), the twice-Grammy-nominated Spektral Quartet actively pursues a vivid conversation between exhilarating works of the traditional canon and those written this decade, this year, or this week. Praised by the New York Times for its “supreme technical command that seems to come easily,” Spektral is known for creating seamless connections across centuries, drawing in the listener with charismatic deliveries, interactive concert formats, an up-close atmosphere, and bold, inquisitive programming.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment granting women’s constitutional right to vote, the Quartet’s SHE WILL NOT BE SILENT program is a celebration of legendary women composers throughout the course of history who followed their own path. It is dedicated to all women who have fought for their voices to be heard.

Program

Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartet in E-flat Major; Ruth Crawford Seeger: String Quartet; Eliza Brown: Quartet no. 1; Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Sigurdur Gudjonsson: Enigma

Quatuor Van Kuijk

“Style, energy, . . . and a sense of risk. . . . These four young Frenchmen made the music smile.”—Guardian

Currently BBC New Generation Artists, Quatuor Van Kuijk won first prize at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, as well as the Best Beethoven and Best Haydn prizes. Since their formation in 2012, the quartet has quickly established an international reputation, playing concerts in Europe, Australia, the U.S., and Asia, and receiving accolades at the Trondheim International Chamber Competition and the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy. The quartet is currently in residence at ProQuartet, Paris, where they study with members of renowned ensembles, including the Alban Berg, Artemis, and Hagen quartets.

Program:

Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F; Franz Schubert: String Quartet no. 10 in E-flat Major; Akira Nishimura: String Quartet no. 2 “Pulses of Light”

Quatuor Modigliani

“A gripping and persuasive performance, played with awesome individual and communal brilliance.” —The Strad

The Paris-based Modigliani Quartet, formed by four close friends in 2003, is one of the most sought-after string quartets and a regular guest at the world’s top venues, including London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Salzburg’s Mozarteum, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, and Tokyo’s Oji Hall, among others. Praised for their “elegance and shaded refinement [that brings] a distinctive style to the tapering of phrase, balance, and quality of sound” (Sydney Morning Herald), the quartet brings their distinctively French style and astonishing technical finesse back to ArtPower for an evening of string quartet masterpieces.

Program:

W.A. Mozart: Quartet in C Major, K. 465 “Dissonance”; Igor Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet;  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: String Quartet no. 3 in E-flat Minor, op. 30

Ariel Quartet | Beethoven Cycle, Part 1

“ . . . a blazing, larger-than-life performance . . .”—The Washington Post
“wonderfully captured Beethoven’s emotional grit and fire”—Cincinnati Plain Dealer

Distinguished by its virtuosic playing and impassioned interpretations, the Ariel Quartet has earned its glowing international reputation. Formed in Israel nearly 20 years ago, when its members were middle-school students, the quartet now serves as the Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.

Widely considered to include some of Beethoven’s greatest compositions, this cycle consists of 16 quartets divided into three periods: early, when the composer was strongly influenced by Haydn and Mozart; middle, including three quartets that honored Russian Count Razumovsky; and late, a reflection of the final years of his life. This is the beginning of a four-year endeavor, with Ariel Quartet performing the complete Beethoven cycle, in honor of the composer’s 250th birthday in 2020.

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven: Quartet in F Major, op.18, no. 1; Quartet in G Major, op. 18, no. 2; Quartet in F Minor, op. 95; Quartet in F Major, op. 135

Hermitage Piano Trio

“Three of Russia’s most spectacular young soloists …turned in a performance of such power and sweeping passion that it left you nearly out of breath.”—Washington Post

Descending from the great Russian musical tradition, the Hermitage Piano Trio is distinguished by its exuberant musicality, interpretative range, and sumptuous sound. In the same way that St. Petersburg’s venerable Hermitage State Museum represents the very essence and history of Russia while also using its collection to embrace and promote cultures from around the world, the trio embodies the majesty of their Russian lineage.

A rarity in the chamber music world, this elite trio comprises three musicians who are noted soloists in their own right. Together they have performed to tremendous acclaim for audiences on major chamber music series in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Tucson, Portland (OR), San Miguel de Allende (Mexico), and New Orleans. They make their San Diego debut at ArtPower, presenting a program of Russian masterpieces.

Program

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor, op. 50; Sergey Rachmaninoff: Trio élégiaque in D Minor, op. 9

St. Lawrence String Quartet with Stephen Prutsman

The award-winning St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) has spent nearly three decades at the top of the chamber music world. Based at Stanford University, the ensemble is renowned for the intensity of its performances, its breadth of repertoire, and its commitment to concert experiences that are at once intellectually exciting and emotionally alive. A frequent visitor to ArtPower, SLSQ is this time joined by acclaimed pianist and composer Stephen Prutsman. Described as one of the most innovative musicians of his time, Prutsman was a medalist at both the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition and the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition.

Program

Robert Schumann: Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 44; Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in F Minor, op. 55 no. 2 “The Razor”; Stephen Prutsman: Color Preludes for Piano and Strings

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble

Drawn from the principal players of the world-renowned chamber orchestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, this “luminous, often breathtaking” (Washington Post) ensemble was created in 1967 to perform larger-scale works from the chamber music repertoire, such as wind trios and string octets. Directed by academy director/leader Tomo Keller, the ensemble has released over 30 recordings—more than any other chamber ensemble—of classical, romantic, and modern music from the last century.

Program

Erich Wolfgang Korngold: String Sextet in  D Major, Op. 10; Dmitri Shostakovich: Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11; Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

Smetana Trio

Founded in 1934, Smetana Trio is today’s foremost Czech chamber ensemble. Currently comprised of Jitka Čechová (piano), Jiří Vodička (violin), and Jan Páleníček (cello), the trio perpetuates the interpretational ideals created by their illustrious predecessors as well as other superlative 20th-century chamber music soloists. The Smetana Trio was recently awarded the 2017 BBC Music Magazine Award, the world’s only classical music award voted on by the public.

Program

Alexander Zemlinsky: Trio in D Minor, Op. 3; Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 8; Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49