THE ARABELLA STRING QUARTET - Performs String Quartets by - May 9, 2021 SPONSORED BY THE SAUL B. AND NAOMI R. COHEN FOUNDATION
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THE ARABELLA STRING QUARTET
Performs String Quartets by
JOSEPH BOULOGNE, CLAUDE DEBUSSY
CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGES
May 9, 2021
Temple Emanuel
385 Ward Street
Newton, Massachusetts
www.templeemanuel.com
SPONSORED BY THE SAUL B. AND NAOMI R. COHEN FOUNDATION
PROGRAM
Quartet No. 1 from Six Quartetto concertans 'Au Gout du Jour'
Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Allegro Assai
Gratioso
Quartet No. 2 from Six Quartetto concertans 'Au Gout du Jour'
Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Adagio
Aria Andantino
Quartet No. 3 from Six Quartetto concertans 'Au Gout du Jour'
Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Allegro
Rondeau – moderato
String Quartet in g minor
Claude Debussy
Animé et très décidé
Assez vif et bien rythmé
Andantino, doucement expressif
Très modéré – En animant peu à peu – Très mouvementé et avec passion
2ABOUT THE ARABELLA STRING QUARTET
At their début concert in Boston in 2012, the Arabella Quartet received a glowing review
from The Boston Musical Intelligencer: “The group played like they had been together for
years…with freedom, drive, and risk-taking that were quite astonishing in a début
performance… the luftpausen were taken with complete unanimity, the senza
vibrato moments showed perfect tuning, and the sections with vibrato were actually
synchronized...” The Arabella Quartet, an ensemble of four like-minded musicians,
comprises Julie Eskar, violin, Sarita Kwok, violin, Ettore Causa, viola and Alex Lecarme, cello.
They represent Denmark, Australia, Italy and France; Their mélange of musical training and
backgrounds imbues their performances with distinctive freshness, inventiveness and
musical depth. In addition to performing as the Arabella Quartet, its members enjoy varied
individual careers and bring to their quartet life a mature musicality and sense of equality.
Julie Eskar is first concertmaster of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra, which was
awarded the 2020 International Classical Music Awards Best Recording for their recordings
of the complete Beethoven Symphonies. Eskar is also a founding member of the acclaimed
Eskar Trio. Sarita Kwok holds the Adams Endowed Chair in music, and is professor of music
and Chair of the Department of Music at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She is on the
faculty of the summer program Credo Music at Oberlin, and the International board of
directors of the international children's charity, Music Camp International. Eskar and Kwok
rotate in their roles as first and second violinists in the quartet. Ettore Causa is the viola
professor at Yale’s School of Music. Together with Boris Berman and Clive Greensmith, he
recently released a recording of Brahms clarinet sonatas, arranged for viola. Alex Lecarme is
a tenured member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which won 2 Grammy awards in
2019 for their recordings of the Shostakovich Symphonies 4 & 11. He is also a founding
member of the Boston Cello Quartet.
The Arabella Quartet's debut CD, titled In the Moment was released by Naxos Records in
May, 2017. An innovative program that explores time, place and mood through a series of
short pieces, the disc was named Album of the Week by ClassicFM who declared it, "an
album well worth dipping into, exceptionally well played."
3ABOUT THE COMPOSERS FEATURED TODAY
Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) was one of the most
intriguing men of the late eighteenth century. He was the son of a noble French plantation
owner and an African slave of Senegalese origin. Saint-Georges became a champion fencer,
boxer, horseman, trained in the social graces of the time, as well as concert violinist and
composer. Saint-Georges played an important role in the musical life of pre-revolutionary
France. As a composer he was one of the earliest pioneers of the symphonie concertante (a
concerto with multiple soloists). He also wrote numerous violin concerti, some of the earliest
known keyboard-violin sonatas, and was among the very first composers in France to write
string quartets. Today, Saint-Georges’ music is scarcely played and even in France, he barely
receives a mention in the music history books.
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was among the most influential composers of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. He was admitted at the age of ten to France's leading music
college, the Conservatoire de Paris. His music was a reaction against Wagner and the
German musical tradition. Throughout his career he wrote mélodies based on a wide
variety of poetry, including his own. He was greatly influenced by the Symbolist poetic
movement of the later 19th century. In his final years, he focused on chamber music,
completing three of six planned sonatas for different combinations of instruments. He died
at the age of 55 after a composing career of little more than 30 years.
SAVE THE DATE!
The ARABELLA STRING QUARTET returns virtually on
MAY 23, 2021 3PM - LIVESTREAM
to perform works of Saint-Georges and Ravel
THE SAUL B. AND NAOMI R. COHEN FOUNDATION
Founded in 1997, the Foundation supports and promotes the fine and performing arts. It
awards grants to promising young artists and especially gifted performing musicians to
enable them to further their artistic pursuits. The Foundation also assists in the
development of the musical careers of classical artists with assistance in arranging
performance engagements, counseling in career strategy, guidance in the selection of live
and recorded performances, and help in day to day living matters.
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