Chamber Music Sedona Presents
The Escher String Quartet
Adam Barnett-Hart and Danbi Um, violins | Pierre Lapointe, viola | Brook Speltz, cello
Sunday, February 17, 2019 | 2:30pm
Sedona Performing Arts Center
995 Upper Red Rock Loop Rd, Sedona, AZ 86336
One of the preeminent ensembles of their generation, the Escher String Quartet presents a program of blockbuster favorites by Mozart, Dvorak (the beloved “American quartet), and Barber, including his heartbreaking “Adagio for Strings” in its original version.
About the artists
Formed in 2005, the Escher String Quartet has been hailed for its nuanced performances that combine profound textural clarity with a rich sound. A former BBC New Generation Artist, the quartet has performed at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall, is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall, and serves as Season Artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 2013, the Escher String Quartet received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant—a rarity for a chamber ensemble. The ensemble has made a distinctive impression throughout Europe, performing at venues such as Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, London’s Kings Place, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Auditorium du Louvre and Les Grand Interprètes series in Geneva. Alongside its growing success in Europe, the Escher Quartet continues to flourish in its home country, performing at Alice Tully Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Chamber Music San Francisco, and the Ravinia, Caramoor and Music@Menlo festivals. The group’s release of the complete Mendelssohn Quartets has earned the highest critical acclaim: the Guardian listed Volume II among the Top 10 CDs of 2016, and Volume III was nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award. With a passion for educating young musicians, the Escher String Quartet currently serves as String Quartet in Residence at Southern Methodist University and has given masterclasses at institutions such as London’s Royal Academy of Music.
Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet in F major, K. 590
Samuel Barber: String Quartet, Op. 11
Antonín Dvořák: “American” Quartet, Op. 96