Emerson String Quartet Partners with Calidore String Quartet at Segerstrom Center for the Arts

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1 CONTACT Tim Dunn (714) x4209, Laura Lanzi (714) x4371, Images: SCFTA.org/media RELEASE DATE Emerson String Quartet Partners with Calidore String Quartet at Segerstrom Center for the Arts Concert Features Works by Pulitzer Prize Winning Composer Caroline Shaw, R. Strauss, Bruckner, Shostakovich and Mendelssohn Emerson String Quartet Calidore String Quartet Thursday, February 8, 2018 Tickets on sale now COSTA MESA, CA The Emerson String Quartet, one of the giants of the classical music world and a cornerstone of the Center s annual Chamber Series, is joined by the exceptional young Calidore String Quartet to perform works from the string quintet, sextet and octet repertories on Thursday, February 8 at 7:45 p.m. in Samueli Theater. The Emerson have performed at the Center nearly every season for more than 25 years and its members have acted as mentors for the Calidore, which has won nearly every major chamber music prize available, including the inaugural M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition Grand Prize, the largest prize for chamber music in the world. The performance will include First Essay: Nimrod by American composer, musician and vocalist Caroline Adelaide Shaw, the youngest winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Also on the program will be works by Richard Strauss, Anton Bruckner, Dimitri Shostakovich and Felix Mendelssohn.

2 Emerson/Calidore NEWS 2/8 Single tickets start at $49 and are now available online at at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) For inquiries about group ticket savings for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds the Colburn Foundation for its support of the Chamber Music Series and its corporate partners including Kia Motors America, Official Automotive Partner; United Airlines, Official Airline; and Omaha Steaks International, Official Fine Food Retailer. PROGRAM NOTES Shaw: First Essay: Nimrod Performed by the Calidore String Quartet A Coretet Commission with participation by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting Carline Shaw (1982- ) was born in Greenville, North Carolina. She composed First Essay: Nimrod in 2016 for the Calidore String Quartet. In the composer s own words, The piece began as a simple exercise in translating the lilt and rhythm of one of my favorite authors, Marilynne Robinson, into music. She writes beautifully and bravely on notions of the human soul, the weaving delicately in and out of various subjects (politics, religion, science) in each of her rich, methodical essays. In addition to thinking deeply about how the Calidore String Quartet approaches music and who they are as musicians, my jumping off point for this piece was considering Robinson and other writers. Usually my music is inspired by visual art, or food, or some odd physics quirk, but this time I wanted to lunge into language, with all its complex splintering and welding of units and patterns! The piece begins with a gentle lilt, like Robinson herself speaking, but soon begins to fray as the familiar harmony unravels into tumbling fragments and unexpected repetitive tunnels. These unexpected musical trap doors lead to various worlds that are built from the materials of the beginning, like the odd way dreams can transform one thing into another. The title refers to the legendary biblical figure Nimrod, who oversaw the construction of the Tower of Babel a city designed to be tall enough to reach heaven but which resulted in confusion and scattering of language. This image of chaos and fragmentation, but also of extraordinary creative energy, may serve as a framework for listening to this musical essay. R. Strauss: Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85 Richard Strauss ( ) included the String Sextet in the opening of his opera Capriccio (1942). It is a brilliant piece within a piece, showing Strauss penchant for including wonderful stand-alone orchestral works that also have a dramatic purpose within the context of the operas. The Sextet is heard offstage. In the Countess Madeleine s chateau, her suitor, Flamand, has just composed the String Sextet for her. A heated argument follows between Flamand and his rival suitor, the poet Olivier. They cannot agree on which is the greater poetry or music. The Countess is as undecided between the two arts as she is her two suitors.

3 Emerson/Calidore NEWS 3/8 Bruckner: Slow Movement from String Quintet Anton Bruckner ( ) composed the String Quintet from December 1878 to July 1879 and dedicated it to Duke Max Emanuel of Bavaria. Robert Simpson, in the revised, 1992 edition of The Essence of Bruckner, withdrew earlier reservations he had expressed about this work and declared it "one of the most idiosyncratic but deepest chamber works since Beethoven." According to music critic Wilhelm Altman, If the only thing Bruckner had ever written for string instruments had been the slow movement of his string quintet, his reputation would have been secured for all time. The slow movement, Adagio, takes one directly to heaven. This is music of affirmation and there is no sense of resignation to an inevitable and unwished-for fate. The tonal color is quite unique, especially when the cello falls silent. Shostakovich: Two Pieces for String Octet Dimitri Shostakovich ( ) is said to have written both works, or rather, orchestrations, in one night. Probably written in 1931, they were apparently never published and effectively lost until the 1980s. They are short pieces, made up of themes that are heard later in his other works. Gerard McBurney describes the first work Elegy, as a haunting transcription of Katerina s aria from scene 3 of Shostakovich s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Op. 29, resulting in a delicate waltz for quartet; the second piece as a version of the famous and comical Polka from the Music Hall scene in the composer s ballet The Golden Age. Op.22. Mendelssohn: Octet, Op. 20 Felix Mendelssohn ( ) was just 16 years of age when he composed his Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 in It was a gift for his violin teacher, Eduard Ritz. The instrumentation, essentially a double string quartet, was strikingly innovative. He explores a wide range of expressive and textural resources only available to this combination of instruments. It is more symphonic in approach than the familiar smaller chamber music. There is drama and contrast throughout the work, many moments to display the brilliant virtuosity of the players and the prodigious talent of such a young artist who would live only to the age of 38. Emerson String Quartet Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer violins Lawrence Dutton viola Paul Watkins - cello The Emerson String Quartet has amassed an unparalleled list of achievements over four decades: more than thirty acclaimed recordings, nine Grammys (including two for Best Classical Album), three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize, Musical America s Ensemble of the Year and collaborations with many of the greatest artists of our time.

4 Emerson/Calidore NEWS 4/8 The arrival of Paul Watkins in 2013 has had a profound effect on the Emerson Quartet. Mr. Watkins, a distinguished soloist, award-winning conductor, and devoted chamber musician, joined the ensemble in its 37th season, and his dedication and enthusiasm have infused the Quartet with a warm, rich tone and a palpable joy in the collaborative process. The reconfigured group has been praised by critics and fans alike around the world. The Emerson brought the requisite virtuosity to every phrase. But this music is equally demanding emotionally and intellectually, and the group s powers of concentration and sustained intensity were at least as impressive." The New York Times. Having celebrated its 40th Anniversary last season-- a major milestone for a ground-breaking ensemble that has earned its place in the pantheon of the classical chamber music world, the Emerson looks towards the future by collaborating with today s most esteemed composers and premiering new works, thus proving their commitment to keeping the art form of the string quartet alive and more relevant than ever. In 2016, Universal Music Group reissued their entire Deutsche Gramophone discography in a 52-CD boxed set, and in April 2017, the Quartet released its latest album, Chaconnes and Fantasias: Music of Britten and Purcell, the first release on Universal Music Classics new US classical record label, Decca Gold. The season reflects all aspects of the Emerson s venerable artistry with high profile projects, collaborations and tours. In Fall 2017, the Emerson continues its series at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC for its 39th season, and performances at the Lincoln Center s White Lights Festival and at Alice Tully Hall. Other North American highlights of the season include a subsequent performance at the Princeton University of Shostakovich and The Black Monk: A Russian Fantasy, the new theatrical production co-created by the acclaimed theater director James Glossman and the Quartet s violinist, Philip Setzer; collaborations with the Calidore Quartet at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA and the Dover Quartet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and concert appearances at Cleveland, Philadelphia and Corpus Christi Chamber Music Societies, Vancouver Recital Society, Chamber Music Houston, Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts, South Mountain Concerts, Duke Performances and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, as well as in Sleepy Hollow, NY, Louisville, KY, Shreveport, LA and Richmond, VA. In April 2018, the renowned pianist Evgeny Kissin joins the Emerson for three performances at New York s Carnegie Hall, Chicago s Symphony Hall and Boston s Jordan Hall, and appears with the Quartet in France, Germany and Austria. Throughout the season, The Emerson embarks on multiple tours in South America, Asia and Europe comprising dates in Austria, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Throughout the season, the Emerson embarks on multiple tours in South America, Asia and Europe comprising dates in Austria, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Formed in 1976 and based in New York City, the Emerson was one of the first quartets whose

5 Emerson/Calidore NEWS 5/8 violinists alternated in the first chair position. The Emerson Quartet, which took its name from the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, is Quartet-in-Residence at Stony Brook University. During the spring of 2016, full-time Stony Brook faculty members Philip Setzer and Lawrence Dutton received the honor of Distinguished Professor, and part-time faculty members Eugene Drucker and Paul Watkins were awarded the title of Honorary Distinguished Professor. In January 2015, the Quartet received the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, Chamber Music America s highest honor, in recognition of its significant and lasting contribution to the chamber music field. Calidore String Quartet Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan violins Jeremy Berry viola Estelle Choi - cello The Calidore String Quartet, one of the most acclaimed and sought after chamber ensembles of its generation, has been heralded as the epitome of confidence and finesse (Gramophone Magazine). The Calidore String Quartet s deep reserves of virtuosity and irrepressible dramatic instinct (The New York Times) and balance of intellect and expression (Los Angeles Times) has won them accolades across the globe and firmly established them as one of the finest chamber music ensembles performing today. The Calidore String Quartet violinists Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry, and cellist Estelle Choi made international headlines as the winner of the $100,000 Grand-Prize of the 2016 and inaugural M- Prize International Chamber Music Competition, the largest prize for chamber music in the world. Also in 2016, the Quartet became the first North American ensemble to win the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and was named BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, an honor that brings with it recordings, international radio broadcasts and appearances in Britain's most prominent venues and festivals. Most recently in 2017 the Calidore was honored with the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. The season includes the Calidore s three-year residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center s CMS Two program. The Calidore regularly performs in the most prestigious venues throughout North America, Europe and Asia, such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, Seoul s Kumho Arts Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus and at many significant festivals, including Verbier, Ravinia, Mostly Mozart, Music@Menlo, Rheingau, East Neuk and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In addition to winning the M-Prize, the Calidore won grand prizes in virtually all major U.S. chamber music competitions, including the Fischoff, Coleman, Chesapeake, and Yellow Springs competitions and captured top prizes at the 2012 ARD Munich International String Quartet Competition and Hamburg International Chamber Music Competition. Highlights of the season include debuts at the Kennedy Center and in Boston, Philadelphia, Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Barcelona. The quartet returns to Wigmore Hall and the Verbier Festival as well as major series across North America from Montreal to Seattle. In April 2018, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln

6 Emerson/Calidore NEWS 6/8 Center presents the Calidore in its Alice Tully Hall recital debut. As protégés of the Emerson Quartet, the Calidore String Quartet will perform a joint program with the Emersons at the Ravinia Festival as well as major series in Portland, Ann Arbor and at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA. In addition to their Emerson collaboration, the Calidore will also perform with cellist David Finckel, pianists Wu Han and Allesio Bax and violist Roberto Diaz. In Summer 2017 the Calidore String Quartet debuted in France and Chamber Music Northwest (Portland, OR), Ravinia, Great Lakes and Hudson Valley Chamber Music festivals. Additionally, the Calidore serves as Quartet-in-Residence at both the Bellingham Festival of Music and Center Stage Strings Institute. The Calidore String Quartet has released three commercial recordings, the most recent of which includes quartets by Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn recorded live-in-concert at the 2016 Music@Menlo Festival. The French label Editions Hortus released the Calidore String Quartet s second studio recording: Serenade: Music from the Great War, featuring music for String Quartet by Hindemith, Milhaud and Stravinsky, along with the world-premiere recording of Jacques de la Presle s Suite en sol, and the second recording ever of Ernst Toch s Serenade. February 2015 marked the release of the Calidore s critically acclaimed debut recording of quartets by Mendelssohn and Haydn, for which Gramophone dubbed the Calidore String Quartet "the epitome of confidence and finesse,". The Calidore artists were featured as Young Artists-in- Residence on American Public Media s Performance Today. Their performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Korean Broadcasting Corporation, Bayerischer Rundfunk (Munich), Norddeutscher Rundfunk (Hamburg), and they were featured on German national television as part of a documentary produced by ARD public broadcasting. In the Season, the Calidore gave world-premieres of works by Caroline Shaw, Hannah Lash and Benjamin Dean Taylor. In addition, they premiered string quartets of Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw in New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Portland, Detroit and Belfast. The Calidore has collaborated with many esteemed artists and ensembles, including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Joshua Bell, David Shifrin, Inon Barnatan, Paul Coletti, David Finckel, Paul Neubauer, Ronald Leonard, Paul Watkins, Raphael Merlin and the Quatuor Ebéne, among others. Formed in 2010 at the Colburn School of Music, the Calidore has studied closely with such luminaries as the Emerson Quartet, David Finckel, Andre Roy, Arnold Steinhardt, Günther Pichler, Gerhard Schulz, Guillaume Sutre, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Paul Coletti, Ronald Leonard, Clive Greensmith, Martin Beaver and the Quatuor Ebène. As passionate supporters of music education, the Calidore String Quartet is deeply committed to mentoring and educating young musicians, students and audiences. Since 2016 the Calidore musicians serve as Visiting Guest Artists at the University of Delaware. From , they served as Artists-in-Residence at Stony Brook University. Using an amalgamation of California and doré (French for golden ), the ensemble s name represents a reverence for the diversity of culture and the strong support it received from

7 Emerson/Calidore NEWS 7/8 its home of origin, Los Angeles, California, the golden state. The Calidore String Quartet is committed to presenting performances that share the passion and joy of the string quartet chamber music repertoire. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence, offering unsurpassed experiences and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring arts-based education and community engagement programs. Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County s largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School. The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. Segerstrom Center is a leader among the nation s performing arts centers for providing education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. The Center s programs reach hundreds of thousands of students each year in five Southern California counties. Community engagement programs developed through the Center for Dance and Innovation and Center Without Boundaries also connect the Center more comprehensively with Orange County s many diverse communities. The CDI supports flagship artistic programming and a wide range of projects that celebrate innovation, nurture creativity and engage audiences of the future. It is home to the ABT Gillespie School and the School of Dance and Music for Children with Disabilities. The Center Without Boundaries develops partnerships with non-cultural organizations to help them in their own efforts to respond the ever-changing needs of the community. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons performed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. In addition to Segerstrom Center for the Arts as a presenting and producing institution, it also identifies the beautiful 14-acre campus that embraces the Center s own facilities as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award -winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

8 Emerson/Calidore NEWS 8/8 Emerson String Quartet and Calidore String Quartet Segerstrom Center for the Arts Samueli Theater Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 7:45 p.m. 610 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA Program: Shaw: First Essay: Nimrod R. Strauss: Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85 Bruckner: String Quartet - Adagio Shostakovich: Two Pieces for String Octet Mendelssohn: Octet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20 Tickets - Start at $49 In person - The Box Office Online Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA Open 10 a.m. 6 p.m. daily SCFTA.org Phone - (714) Open 10 a.m. 6 p.m. daily Group Sales - (714) Information provided is accurate at the time of printing, but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a private, non-profit organization. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a registered trademark. # # #