Sunday, February 5, 2006

Program

Shostakovich: Quartet No. 7 in F# Major, Opus 108
Schumann: Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Opus 41
Beethoven: Quartet No. 14 in C# minor, Opus 131

The St. Lawrence String Quartet has performed over 1500 times in the past fifteen years, establishing itself among the world-class chamber ensembles of its generation. In 1992, the quartet won both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Young Concert Artists competition, launching its members on a performing career that has brought them across North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Having been privileged to study with the Emerson, Tokyo and Juilliard String Quartets, the members of the St. Lawrence — violinists Geoff Nuttall and Barry Shiffman, violist Lesley Robertson, and cellist Christopher Costanza — are passionate educators. Since 1998 the St. Lawrence has held the position of Ensemble in Residence at Stanford University. In addition to teaching in the Department of Music, the group has established an annual chamber music institute for adult amateurs at Stanford.

As recording artists, the St. Lawrence have earned much critical acclaim. Their long awaiting recording of Schumann’s First and Third Quartets, released in May 1999, earned the coveted German critics award, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, as well as Canada’s annual Juno Award for Best Classical Album: Solo or Chamber Ensemble. Among other recent recordings are the EMI release of the strings quartets of Tchaikovsky, which BBC Music Magazine gave its highest rating, and the Yiddishbbuk of Argentinean-American composer Osvaldo Golijov, which received two Grammy nominations.

New Yorker Magazine wrote of the St. Lawrence that they are artists “remarkable not simply for the quality of their music making, exalted as it is, but for the joy they take in the act of connection.” Highlights of their last season include a performance, with the Emerson Quartet, of the Mendelssohn Octet in Carnegie’s new Zankel Hall, residence at the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston, SC, and their annual European tour.

The February 5th concert will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Wilton Congregational Church, on Route 33 just north of Wilton center. Tickets will be available for purchase one-half hour prior to performance for $25 each (Seniors $18/Students $10). For more information or to pre-reserve a ticket, please call (203) 762-3401 or 203 762-5019. Please note that seating is not assigned. The Candlelight Concerts benefit the Wilton Library.