All posts by Patrick_McCarty

Telegraph Quartet – April 9, 2024

The Telegraph Quartet was established in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2013 with an equal passion for the standard chamber music repertoire and contemporary, non-standard works alike. Lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle as “powerfully adept . . . with a combination of brilliance and subtlety,” the ensemble has performed in concert halls, music festivals, and academic institutions across the United States and abroad. 

Program subject to change:

  • Fanny Mendelssohn
    • String Quartet in E-flat major
  • George Walker
    • String Quartet no. 1
  • Antonín Dvořák
    • String Quartet no. 14 in A-flat major

Telegraph Quartet website

Merz Trio – March 12, 2024

The Merz Trio formed in New York City in December 2016. In addition to “traditional” recitals, the group seeks to create original interdisciplinary projects, bringing their music into conversation with collaborators including dancers, directors, chefs, sommeliers, puppeteers, and graphic designers. The trio has performed on stages around the world and won recognition as winner of the Naumberg, Concert Artists Guild, Fischoff, and Chesapeake Competitions.

Program subject to change:

“The Complete Brahms Piano Trios”

  • Trio no. 2 in C major
  • Trio no. 3 in C minor
  • Trio no. 1 in B major

Merz Trio website

Jupiter String Quartet & Soyeon Kate Lee – February 13, 2024

 Now enjoying their twentieth year together, the Jupiter String Quartet has been described by the New Yorker as “an ensemble of eloquent intensity” which has “matured into one of the mainstays of the American chamber-music scene.” In addition to their performing careers, the quartet members have been artists-in-residence since 2012 at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Korean-American pianist Soyeon Kate Lee has been lauded by the New York Times as a pianist with “a huge, richly varied sound, a lively imagination and a firm sense of style,” and by the Washington Post for her “stunning command of the keyboard.” 

Program subject to change:

  • Ludwig van Beethoven
    • String Quartet no. 8 in E minor
  • Elizabeth Maconchy
    • String Quartet no. 3
  • Johannes Brahms
    • Piano Quintet in F minor

Jupiter String Quartet website

Ulysses Quartet – December 5, 2023

 The Ulysses Quartet, based in New York City, was founded in the summer of 2015. The group is committed to sharing the power of music by offering interactive programs and workshops for all ages that serve to demystify the traditional repertoire while introducing audiences to existing new works. The Ulysses Quartet has been praised by The Strad for its “textured versatility” and by the Buffalo News for its “blend of exuberance and polished artistry.” 

Program subject to change:

  • Joseph Haydn
    • Quartet no. 5 in D major
  • Benjamin Britten
    • Quartet no. 2 in C major
  • Rhiannon Giddens
    • At the Purchaser’s Option
  • Ludwig van Beethoven
    • Quartet no. 9 in C major

Ulysses Quartet website

Lysander Piano Trio – October 17, 2023

The Lysander Piano Trio has been praised by The Strad for its “incredible ensemble, passionate playing, articulated and imaginative ideas and wide palette of colors.” The group has developed a reputation for exciting programming, connecting well-known masterworks with pieces by lesser-known and underrepresented composers. Formed at the Juilliard School, the ensemble first launched at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York City in the 2010—2011 season. 

Program subject to change:

“Sounds from the North”

  • Edvard Grieg
    • Andante con moto in C minor
  • Amanda Röntgen-Maier
    • Trio in E-flat major
  • Franz Schubert
    • Trio in E-flat major

 

Lysander Piano Trio website

Kleine Kammermusik – September 19, 2023

 With paired oboes and recorders, and a supportive group of bassoon, cello, viola da gamba, and keyboard, Kleine Kammermusik comprises a versatile blend of instruments suited to music ranging from vivid outdoor celebrations and military fanfares to intimate chamber gatherings. Kleine Kammermusik’s members all hold prominent posts in early music groups across the country. 

Program subject to change:

  •             Telemann    Suite no. 2 in G major
  •             Michel Corrette    Sonata no. 2, op. 20
  •             Telemann    Fantasia in G minor
  •             Handel    Trio Sonata in C minor
  •             Thomas Augustine Arne    Sonata no. 3 in G major
  •             Couperin     Sonata “La Steinquerque”
  •             Michel Lambert     Vos mépris chaque jour
  •             Purcell     Ground in Gamut
  •             Lully     Chaconne des Scaramouches

Kleine Kammermusik website

Dover Quartet – Tuesday, March 14, 2023

The New Yorker writes of the Dover Quartet, “Few young American ensembles are as exciting and accomplished.”  Formed in 2008 at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Dover catapulted to international stardom in 2013, following a stunning sweep of all prizes at the Banff International String Competition.  The Quartet has also won grand and first prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and fourth prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.  Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “the next Guarneri Quartet,” the Dover is now one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world. In addition to its faculty role as the Ensemble-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Dover Quartet holds residencies with the Kennedy Center, Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Artosphere and the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival.

Dover Quartet website

 

Verona Quartet – Tuesday, February 14, 2023

The Verona Quartet  serves as Quartet-in-Residence on the faculty of the Oberlin College and Conservatory.  Acclaimed by the Calgary Herald for its “bold interpretive strength, robust characterization and commanding resonance”, the Verona Quartet champions the rich breadth of the string quartet repertoire through contemporary classics.  The Quartet has appeared across four continents, enchanting audiences at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Wigmore Hall (U.K.) and Melbourne Recital Hall (Australia).

Verona Quartet website

Manhattan Chamber Players Piano Quartet – Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Founded in 2015, the Manhattan Chamber Players is a chamber music collective of New York-based colleagues and friends who maintain impressive independent musical careers, while sharing a desire to come together in flexible combinations to perform the greatest works in the chamber repertoire at the highest level.  The Minnesota Beethoven Festival lauded the MCP for its stunning musicianship, palpable energy and the “sheer joy” the ensemble brought to the stage. The MCP Piano Quartet featuring pianist Adam Golka, violinist Brendan Speltz,  violist Luke Fleming and cellist Brook Speltz will bring us three piano quarter masterpieces by Mozart, Brahms and Fauré.

Manhattan Chamber Players website

Poulenc Trio – Tuesday, October 18, 2022

America’s best-known oboe, bassoon and piano classical chamber music trio, the Poulenc Trio has rediscovered and redefined piano-wind chamber music for the 21st century.  Since its founding in 2003, the Trio has vastly expanded the repertoire available for these three instruments with more than twenty new works written or arranged for the group, including three triple concertos for Trio and full orchestra.  The Trio has also made a commitment to explore and promote music that reflects its members’ African, Asian, Eastern European and Jewish roots.  The Washington Post has described a Poulenc Trio concert as “urbane and sophisticated with near-effortless lightness and grace.

Poulenc Trio website