Released: January 6, 2012
Lincoln, Neb. - The Chiara String Quartet (Rebecca Fischer and Hye-yung Julie Yoon, violins; Jonah Sirota, viola; and Gregory Beaver, cello) presents its next concert in the Hixson-Lied Concert Series on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall, 11th and R streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's city campus.
Tickets are $20 general, $10 seniors and $5 students and are available from the Lied Center Box Office at (402) 472-4747 or at the door.
The concert includes Schubert's String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 29; Gabriela Lena Frank's "Milagros" (Nebraska premiere); and Brahms' String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 67.
The Chiara Quartet commissioned Gabriela Lena Frank's "Milagros" as part of their innovative Creator/Curator program. For this program, the composers are asked to create new works for string quartet, then curate musical programs to surround these new pieces.
Born in Berkeley, Calif., to a mother of mixed Peruvian/Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian/Jewish descent, Frank explores her multicultural heritage most ardently through her compositions. She has travelled extensively throughout South America and her pieces reflect and refract her studies of Latin-American folklore, incorporating poetry, mythology, and native musical styles into a western classical framework that is uniquely her own. "Milagros," or "miracles," is inspired by the sounds and personalities of Andean lands and is a celebration of the 10 years of mutual growth that Frank and the Chiara Quartet have enjoyed together.
The concert will begin with Austrian composer Schubert's String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 29. Written in 1824, it dates around the time he composed his monumental "Death and the Maiden" Quartet. Concluding the program is German composer Brahms' String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, which took him years to complete. Due to Brahms' predecessor Beethoven, and his haunting legacy as a composer, it wasn't until Brahms turned 40, in 1873, that he felt confident enough to complete this piece.
The next Hixson-Lied Concert Series concert will take place March 7, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
Chiara Quartet in new partnership with Matt Talbot Kitchen
The Chiara String Quartet has partnered with the Matt Talbot Kitchen (2121 N. 27th St., Lincoln) for a series of events entitled "Music for Hope Concert Series Featuring the Chiara String Quartet." Its next concert will be on Wednesday, March 28 at 6 p.m. Performances take place after dinnertime and will be for the poor and homeless clients of Matt Talbot and other agencies serving the poor in Lancaster County. Although the concerts are not open to the general public, the Chiara Quartet appreciates the opportunity to share music with clients of Matt Talbot in an unconventional venue, bringing the joys of music to the community. For more information about Matt Talbot Kitchen, visit www.mtkserves.org. (Media including photographers and television crews are welcome at this event with advance notice. Please contact Christina Jensen PR at (646) 536-7864 if you plan to attend or for more information.)
About the Chiara Quartet
Renowned for bringing fresh excitement to traditional string quartet repertoire as well as for creating thoroughly insightful interpretations of new music, the Chiara String Quartet captivates and enthralls its audiences throughout the country. Over its first decade, the Chiara has established itself as among America's most respected ensembles, lauded for its "highly virtuosic, edge-of-the-seat playing" (The Boston Globe). Most recently, composer Jefferson Friedman's String Quartet No. 3, part of the Chiara String Quartet's "Jefferson Friedman: Quartets" album released in April on New Amsterdam Records, has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category. (Editor's Note: Copies available upon request)
The Chiara Quartet has been artists-in-residence at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln since 2005. In the summer, they are in residence at Greenwood Music Camp as well as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Chamber Music Institute. The Chiara trained and taught at The Juilliard School, mentoring for two years with the Juilliard Quartet, as recipients of the Lisa Arnhold Quartet Residency from 2003-2005.
Chiara (key-ARE-uh) is an Italian word, meaning "clear, pure, or light." More information about the Chiara Quartet can be found online at www.chiaraquartet.net and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chiarastringquartet.