WSU - Weber State University Cultural Affairs

The richly rendered performances and superb musicianship of Interpreti Veneziani have garnered the ensemble international acclaim and made the group one of the major attractions in Venice, Italy. Playing original instruments and specializing in Vivaldi and other Baroque composers, Interpreti Veneziani is praised by audiences and critics alike, who hail the ensemble’s spectacular performances and the individual and combined talents of the musicians. Even though it is difficult to reproduce the Venetian atmosphere and Vivaldi’s music in concert halls, Interpreti Veneziani musicians unfold the romanticism of the city wherever they go, feeling that no other composer renders Venice better than Vivaldi.

The Calder Quartet takes its name from great American sculptor and mobile artist Alexander Calder, about whom French playwright Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, “His one aim is to create chords and cadences of unknown movements. His mobiles are at once lyrical inventions, technical, almost mathematical combinations, and the perceptible symbol of nature.” Emulating the work of its namesake, the quartet creates a sensation with elegant chamber music and a touch of the avant-garde.

Pictured left to right:Jonathan Moerschel, viola; Eric Byers, cello Benjamin Jacobson, violin; Andrew Bulbrook, violin

PROGRAM

Rouse’s String Quartet No. 1
Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Minor, Op. 138
Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble was created in 1967 to perform larger chamber works—from quintets to octets—with players who customarily work together, instead of the usual string quartet with additional guests. The ensemble, which draws from the principal players of the larger academy orchestra, has extensive touring commitments, with annual visits to France, Germany and Spain, and frequent tours to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

The ensemble gave a stellar performance at Weber State University in 2003, and this performance promises no less.

PROGRAM

Joachim Raff’s Octet for strings in C Major, Op. 176 Shostakovich’s Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet, Op. 11 Mendelssohn’s Octet for strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20

Paris in the 20s

January 20, 2009, 7:30pm
Austad Auditorium
$10/$8 Family of four $25