Welcome Back to Port Townsend’s Chamber Music Series!
CELEBRATING THE STRING QUARTET Franz Josef Haydn changed the landscape of classical music when he codified the string quartet as a genre starting in about 1757. The range of the instruments from low to high, the ability of the four instruments to whisper or shout, and the almost limitless emotional variety have drawn composers to turn to the string quartet as a vessel for their most inspired work. Centrum celebrates the form by presenting three of the finest quartets performing today.
Ying Quartet
Robin Scott, violin Janet Ying, violin Phillip Ying, viola David Ying, cello
The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence
in the classical music world, combining brilliantly communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative
view of chamber music in today’s world. Now in its third decade, the Quartet has established itself as an ensemble of the highest musical qualifications. Their performances regularly take place in many of the world’s most important concert halls; at the same time, the Quartet’s belief that concert music can also be a meaningful part of everyday life has also drawn the foursome to perform in settings as diverse as the workplace, schools, juvenile prisons, and the White House. In fact, the Ying Quartet’s constant quest to explore the creative possibilities of the string quartet has led it to an unusually diverse array of musical projects and interests.
SUNDAY, 2:00 P.M. MARCH 12, 2023
W. A. Mozart
Quartet No. 22 in B-flat major, K. 589
Derek Bermel
New Commission (Title TBA)
Antonin Dvorák
Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106
Dover Quartet
Joel Link, violin Bryan Lee, violin Hezekiah Leung, viola Camden Shaw, cello
We are thrilled to once again present the Dover Quartet with all new repertoire, on the Wheeler stage after their stunning appearance here last June. Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the GRAMMY® nominated Dover Quartet has followed a “practically meteoric” (Strings) trajectory to become one of the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world. In addition to its faculty role as the Penelope P. Watkins 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.
The group’s awards include a stun- ning sweep of all prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, grand and first prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. Its prestigious honors include the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, and Lincoln Center’s Hunt Family Award.
MONDAY, 7:30 P.M. APRIL 10, 2023
Amy Beach
Quartet for Strings (In One Movement), Op. 89
George Walker
String Quartet No. 1
Antonin Dvorák
Quartet No. 10 in E-flat major, Op. 51
American Quartet
Peter Winograd, violin Laurie Carney, violin Daniel Avshalomov, viola Wolfram Koessel, cello with Lucinda Carver, piano
Internationally recognized as one of the world’s finest quartets, the American String Quartet has spent decades honing the luxurious sound for which
it is famous. The Quartet celebrated its 48th anniversary in 2022, and, in its years of touring, has performed in all fifty states and has appeared
in the most important concert halls worldwide. The group’s presentations of the complete quartets of Beethoven, Schubert, Schoenberg, Bartók, and Mozart have won widespread critical acclaim, and their 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.
By popular demand, the quartet will once again collaborate with Artistic Director Lucinda Carver.
SUNDAY, 2:00 P.M. JUNE 11, 2023
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 16 in F, Op. 135
Belá Bartók
String Quartet No. 3
Antonin Dvorák
Quintet No. 2 in A major for Piano and String, Op. 81
Sponsored by Anne and Dick Schneider