CONTACT Davidson & Choy Publicity Tim Choy (323) 954-7510, T.Choy@DCpublicity.com Laura Shane (808) 866-6054, L.Shane.DCpublicity@gmail.com Segerstrom Center for the Arts Tim Dunn (714) 556-2122 x4209, TDunn@SCFTA.org RELEASE DATE Images: SCFTA.org/media THE FAURÉ QUARTETT RETURNS TO SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS Concert Features Guest Artist Luis Primera, Double Bass Tuesday, March 19, 2019 Samueli Theater Tickets on sale now COSTA MESA, CA Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes back the Fauré Quartett, joined by double bassist Luis Primera on March 19, 2019 at 8:00pm in Samueli Theater. The concert features a unique pairing from the repertory of piano quintets that include the double bass, along with Frank Bridge s delightfully tuneful Phantasy. Quartett members include Dirk Mommertz, piano; Erika Geldsetzer, violin; Sascha Froembling, viola; and Konstantin Heidrich, cello. Single tickets start at $39 and are now available online at www.scfta.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings of 10 or more, please call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236.
Fauré Quartett NEWS 2/6 Special underwriting for this performance comes from Sam and Lyndie Ersan. Segerstrom Center for the Arts also 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 Bridge: Phantasy for Piano Quartet Frank Bridge (1879-1941) composed the Phantasy for Piano Quartet in 1909-1910 as an entry into an annual competition sponsored by Walter Cobbett, an English businessman and amateur violinist who wanted to revive the Fantasy form of earlier British music. A fantasia is generally a short, freely constructed musical composition in one movement with sections alternating in mood and texture. In Bridge s quartet there is just one movement, with six short sections separated by changes in key, tempo, mood and texture. Like much Victorian and Edwardian British music, it is infused with an atmosphere of the sea, whether in the gentle rocking of unhurried three-beat rhythms or in the wave-like ripples of piano passages. Vaughan Williams: Quintet in C Minor Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 1958) completed the Piano Quintet in C Minor in 1903, extensively revising it over the next two years before its premiere in London s Aeolian Hall. The four fiery falling chords that open the quartet are immediately inverted and expanded into a flowing melody for viola. Violin and then the full ensemble develop the idea into a mighty statement over a sustained pedal note low in the double bass. The second movement has a hymn-like melody, over which the piano lingers long and lovingly, with echoes of the four-note motif from the opening before moving to provide unity in the finale. Although he consigned the Piano Quintet to oblivion for the better part of a century, Williams did not forget the work, again writing variations on the final movement theme in the finale of his Violin Sonata. Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 Trout Sylvester Paumgartner, a wealthy amateur cellist commissioned Franz Schubert (1797-1828) to write a quintet, with similar instrumentation to include variations on one of his favorite songs by the composer, the very popular Die Forelle, The Trout. The movement starts with a simplified version of the opening of the song. As the music progresses, the theme only gradually reveals its full subtleties, culminating in the final variation, the focal point of the quintet. The work s great clarity of texture comes about largely through the way Schubert contrasts the rich, resonant scoring for the four string instruments with a brighter, more transparent piano line created by having the pianist frequently play in octaves high in the upper range of the keyboard. A hallmark of the work, the piano is usually heard in dialogue with the strings, rather than in a mutual single texture that develops the work s themes.
Fauré Quartett NEWS 3/6 BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION The Fauré Quartett has established itself as one of the world s leading piano quartets within just a few years. Dirk Mommertz (piano), Erika Geldsetzer (violin), Sascha Froembling (viola) and Konstantin Heidrich (cello) have discovered new sound fields in chamber music and perform compositions outside the mainstream chamber music repertoire. They are visionary in their approach and highly regarded for their experiments and discoveries; be it performances with the NDR Big Band, collaborations with artists like Rufus Wainwright or Sven Helbig, appearances in clubs like the Berghain, Cocoon Club or Le Poisson Rouge in New York or TV shows in KIKA or Rhapsody in School, getting children excited in chamber music. When they released their album Popsongs in 2009, there was a great deal of buzz in the press and audience. In the following year, the ensemble was awarded the ECHO Classic for their album classic beyond borders, their second award after their recording of Brahms piano quartets (Chamber Music recording of the year, 2008). Other prizes include the German Music Competition, the ensemble prize from Festspiele Mecklenbug-Vorpommern, international competition and recording awards, Music Prize Duisburg and Brahms prize Schleswig Holstein. The musicians of the Fauré Quartett are pioneers in many ways. After they met during their studies in 1995 in Karlsruhe for the 150 th anniversary of Gabriel Faure, the quickly realized that this combination offered new insights into undiscovered repertoire. In 2006, they signed a contract with Deutsche Grammophon, promoting them to the Champions League of classic music business. They made highly regarded benchmark-recordings with works by Mozart, Brahms, Mendelssohn and pop songs from Peter Gabriel and Steely Dan. Sony Classical has just released works from Mahler and Richard Strauss. Worldwide tours raise their profile abroad and international masterclasses are part of their work with students. The members teach at the universities of Berlin and Munich. Moreover, they were Artistic Directors of Festspielfruehling Rügen and are Quartet in Residence at the University of Music Karlsruhe. During their tours, the musicians appear in the world s most important chamber music venues including Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Berlin Philharmony, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires and Wigmore Hall London. All these mosaics form a unique profile for this defining chamber music ensemble. Luis Primera Luis Primera is a native of Venezuela where he began playing the double bass at age 14. In 2008 he became in a member of Latin American Academy of Double Bass where he studied with Felix Petit. He served as the principal bass with the Carabobo Orchestra of Venezuela and since 2008. He toured with the
Fauré Quartett NEWS 4/6 Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel to the United States, South America, Middle East, and Europe as Tutti bassist per 6 years. As a soloist, he has performanced Nino Rota s Divertimento Concertante. With orchestras in Venezuela. He was a semi-finalist in the International Society of Bassists Competition in 2015 and Europe BASS Competition in 2016 in the solo- category. He has participated in masterclasses with Timothy Cobb, Dominic Seldis, Kevin Brown, Edicson Ruiz, and Klaus Stoll. Mr. Primera is a Performance Diploma candidate at the Colburn School, where he studies with Peter Lloyd, and he is currently a member of American Youth Symphony. 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 to 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
Fauré Quartett NEWS 5/6 organizations: Tony Award -winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.
Fauré Quartett NEWS 6/6 FAURÉ QUARTETT Segerstrom Center for the Arts Samueli Theater 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. Program: Bridge: Phantasy for Piano Quartet Vaughan Williams: Quintet in C Minor Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 Trout Tickets - Start at $39 In person - The Box Office 600 Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Open 10 a.m. 6 p.m. daily Online - SCFTA.org Phone - (714) 556-2787 Open 10 a.m. 6 p.m. daily Group Sales - (714) 755-0236 Information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a public, non-profit organization. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a registered trademark. # # #