Ives Quartet Announces Spring Concert Series
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact Pam Lampkin
April 1, 2009
Tel: 650.224.7849 info@ivescollective.org
Sunday, April 26, 7 PM, Le Petit Trianon, San Jose
Friday, May 1, 8 PM, St. Mark’s Church, Palo Alto
May 3, 2009, 2PM, Koret Auditorium, De Young Museum, San Francisco
NEW HORIZONS: A Series of Firsts
• Ludwig van Beethoven, Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3
• Dan Becker, Time Rising, world premiere of a work commissioned
by the Ives Quartet
• Ernst von Dohnanyi, Piano Quintet in C Minor, Op. 1;
Christopher Basso, guest pianist
A pre-concert talk begins 45 minutes before each concert. Look forward to musical insights, personal anecdotes and historical perspective as guest host, composer Dan Becker, joins the quartet onstage to provide an insiders view of the creation of a new work for string quartet.
Palo Alto, CA – “Beethoven is my favorite composer, and the String Quartets along with the Symphonies are my very favorite pieces, and so as soon as I saw the Op. 18 on the concert program, I confess that the wave of history washed over me for awhile. I look at Beethoven as the great Classical “master of pattern”, — [especially middle Beethoven] — it had some effect on me and made me ponder how some of Beethoven’s ideas would translate to a minimalist style.” ~ Dan Becker
The Ives Quartet Spring Concert Series is a program of “Firsts.” All three composers wrote a lot of music before feeling “confident” enough to publish a quartet (or quintet in Dohnanyi’s case). How must Beethoven and Dohnanyi have felt about themselves when “going public” for the first time in these pieces?
We don’t usually listen to works by “great” composers in this context. It gives a fresh slant to the music. Why not listen to Beethoven and Dohnanyi as you would Dan Becker’s new piece – as first contributions to a venerable genre?
Imagine Dohnanyi learning that his teacher had sent his score of the Piano Quintet to Brahms. Then Imagine his pride and excitement in learning that Brahms was so impressed he insisted the piece receive a Viennese premiere. Brahms’ own piano quintet is among the most famous of chamber works in any genre.
We know that Beethoven was dealing with the specter of Haydn and Mozart’s own incredible achievements in the string quartet genre. Again, it must have taken chutzpah to go public with those two giant reputations looming.
Dan Becker has always been committed to the idea of collaboration, work shopping, and in general, both a “group” and a “process” approach to creative work. In theater and dance, pieces are evolving all the time due to the participants and the collaborative dynamic of those art forms. Dan finds it strange that this dynamic is so (often) foreign to Classical music. A generous commissioning grant from Meet the Composer has allowed Dan and the quartet to work collaboratively on Time Rising since November 2008.
“Several joys in this collaboration with the quartet have been; writing for dear friends and colleagues, trying to translate some musical ideas that are usually best manifested in ensembles with a variety of instrumental colors into a string quartet and being on the same program as Beethoven.”
~Dan Becker
Acclaimed, Bay Area pianist, Christopher Basso, winner of the 2001 First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs (IPCOA) joins the quartet for the Dohnanyi quintet on Sunday April 26 and Friday, May 1. The May 3 concert program, originally slated to feature “Locally Grown” works has changed, and will now include the Becker and Beethoven for our San Francisco patrons. A third work is yet to be announced.
Inspired by the passionate, artistic commitment of American composer Charles Ives (1874-1954), the Ives Quartet provides powerful musical experiences by presenting fresh and informed interpretations of a carefully curated repertory to San Francisco Bay Area, American and international audiences. The Ives Quartet combines the talent and experience of the international, solo, orchestral, chamber, and recording careers of its artist members – Bettina Mussumeli, violin; Susan Freier, violin; Jodi Levitz, viola; and Stephen Harrison, cello.
A generous grant from the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundationunderwrites this exciting spring series of “Firsts.”
TICKETS: General: $25 ~ Seniors: $20 ~
Students 13-18: $15; Children 12 and under FREE.
Seating is by general admission. Subscribers receive priority seating.
Tickets available at
http://www.ivescollective.org/tickets.htm or or 650.224.7849
B/W and Color jpg photos available athttp://ivescollective.org/news.htm#photo
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