The Colorado Quartet Performs Shostakovich, Dvořák, and Volness on Sunday, October 26

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The Colorado Quartet, quartet in residence at Bard since fall 2000, performs works by Shostakovich, Dvořák, and Volness on Sunday, October 26. Free and open to the public, the program is presented by The Bard Center and begins at 3:00 p.m. in Olin Hall. No reservations are necessary; seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Colorado Quartet, “a first-class ensemble that rises with panache to meet every challenge in the music” (Washington Post), performs Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73; Antonín Dvořák's String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48, with guest artists Melvin Chen, viola, and Robert Martin, cello; and the Bard premiere of their 25th anniversary commission piece, Tree of Life Suite, by Kirsten Volness.

Recognized on four continents as one of the finest string quartets on the international scene, the Colorado Quartet’s members are Julie Rosenfeld and Lydia Redding, violins; Marka Gustavsson, viola; and Diane Chaplin, cello. Winners of both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Naumburg Chamber Music Award, their performances are noted for their musical integrity, impassioned playing, and lyrical finesse.

Highlights of past years include tours of more than 20 countries and performances in major cities across the globe. New York appearances have included the Mostly Mozart Festival, where they performed 20 Haydn quartets over a two-year period, and concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. The group regularly performs the complete Beethoven quartets, most recently in Berlin, making them the first female quartet to have performed the Beethoven cycle in both North America and Europe. The Colorado Quartet commemorated the 50th anniversary of Béla Bartók’s death in 1995 with the first complete performance in Philadelphia of the Bartók string quartets, and has since performed the Bartók cycle several times.

The Colorado Quartet continues its tenure as quartet in residence at Bard College, coaching chamber music ensembles and enabling Bard students to study throughout the academic year in private lessons with the quartet’s individual members, as well as with the group as a whole, in classes on the literature of the string quartet. The quartet’s inspiring style combines a deep scholarly knowledge of the quartet literature with energy, passion, and a focus on fine details. It’s critically acclaimed recordings of Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and contemporary composers can be found on Parnassus, Mode, and Albany Records. The Colorado Quartet commemorated its 20th anniversary in 2003 with a release of the first in a complete set of Beethoven quartet recordings.

For further information about the program, call The Bard Center at 845-758-7425.

This event was last updated on 10-27-2008

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