December 17, 2002
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu
The Juilliard String Quartet—the quintessential American chamber music ensemble—to perform at UCSB Campbell Hall
Summary Facts:
- Juilliard String Quartet
- One of the most internationally renowned chamber music ensembles
- An institution for over 50 years
- Performing works by Mozart, Gunther Schuller and Beethoven
- Sunday, January 26 / 4 pm
- UCSB Campbell Hall
- General: $30/$25, UCSB students: $19/$16
- Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535
The Juilliard String Quartet—recognized as a leader in its field for over 50 years—will perform on Sunday, January 26 at 4 pm in UCSB Campbell Hall. The ensemble is internationally renowned for performances that are characterized by clarity of structure, beauty of sound, plasticity of line, compelling rhythmic drive and an extraordinary unanimity of purpose. The Quartet celebrates its 40th anniversary as Quartet-in-Residence at the Library of Congress this 2002-2003 season. In its history the Juilliard String Quartet has performed a comprehensive repertoire of some 500 works, ranging from compositions by Bach, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms and Dvorák to works by 20th century masters such as Arnold Schoenberg and Elliott Carter. The ensemble records exclusively for Sony Classical and has been associated with the label since 1949; with more than 100 releases to its credit, the group is one of the most widely recorded string quartets of our time. In separate reviews the Boston Globe has called the ensemble “our national string quartet” and has also asserted, “The Juilliard Quartet, more than anybody else, established the modern repertoire as the modern repertoire. Try to imagine the 20th century without them. What a burden!”
The Juilliard String Quartet is comprised of Joel Smirnoff, violin; Ronald Copes, violin; Samuel Rhodes, viola and Joel Krosnick, cello. Copes, former professor of violin at the University of California, Santa Barbara, joined the ensemble in 1997. “Personnel changes don’t alter the quartet’s distinguished artistry,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote in 1998. “There has been no decrease in the tensile strength and vibrant interplay that have been Juilliard trademarks for eons.”
Their UCSB concert will feature Mozart’s Quartet in B flat major, K458, Op. 10, No. 3 “Hunt;” Gunther Schuller’s Quartet No. 4 and Beethoven’s Quartet in C major, Op. 59, No. 3 “Rasumovsky.” The quartet performed the adagio from the Mozart quartet at Ground Zero on September 11, 2002 in a special commemoration ceremony. Schuller composed String Quartet No. 4 in the spring and early summer of 2002, and dedicated the work to the memory of Felix Galimir, violinist, master chamber music coach, and long-time inspiring faculty member of the Marlboro summer institute in Vermont.
As quartet-in-residence at New York City’s Juilliard School, the Juilliard String Quartet is widely admired for its seminal influence on aspiring string instrumentalists from all over the world. In particular, the Juilliard continues to play an important role in the formation of new American string ensembles, such as the Alexander, American, Concord, Emerson, La Salle, New World, Mendelssohn, Tokyo, Brentano, Lark, St. Lawrence and Colorado string quartets.
A Pre-Concert Meet-the-Artists Discussion with the Juilliard String Quartet will be held at 3 pm for ticket holders only. As part of their residency, the group will hold a Master Class with UCSB students on Sunday, January 26 at 8 pm at Geiringer Hall, UCSB Music Building (the UCSB Department of Music is a co-sponsor of the event). The class is free and open to public observation.
Arts & Lectures has presented the Juilliard String Quartet eight times previously, including two multi-week residencies: on January 23, 1967; on January 31, 1970; on February 12, 17, 22, 26 and March 1, 1977; on February 12, 15 and 21, 1979; on February 14, 1985; on April 22, 1987, on May 8, 1996 and February 5, 1999.
The Juilliard String Quartet is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by the KCBX Public Radio. Tickets are $30 and $25 for the general public and $19 and $16 for UCSB students.
For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.
Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.