Zemlinsky: from dying Romantic era to birth of modernity

By Jacob Slattery, 31 October 2015

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Reviewed at Lincoln Center, Rose Building: Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Studio, New York City on 29 October 2015

Zemlinsky, String Quartet no. 1 in A major, Op.4

Zemlinsky, String Quartet no. 2 in A minor, Op. 15

Zemlinsky, String Quartet no. 3, Op.19

Zemlinsky, String Quartet no. 4, Op.25

Escher String Quartet

Adam Barnett-Hart, Violin

Aaron Boyd, Violin

Pierre Lapointe, Viola

Brook Speltz, Cello

The Eschers explores Eastern European repertory at Lincoln Center

Edward Sava-Segal, 3rd April

The quartet focus on composers' efforts to integrate folkloric elements into classical music structures in their recital in Alice Tully Hall.

*****

The Escher Quartet in the bucolic Catskill Mountains

Edward Sava-Segal, 2nd July

For their performance in the barn-like structure, the Eschers proposed several remakable pieces not standardly performed.

****1

Proms Chamber Music 6: Hugh Wood and Claude Debussy

Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade, 20th August

This year the Proms Chamber Music Series returns to the bright and spacious environment of Cadogan Hall to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Claude Debussy’s birth. At the sixth concert in the series an inspired programme given by BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, the Escher Quartet, paired two works exactly one hundred years apart in their composition: String Quartet No. 4, Op.

****1

Three Pieces from 1918 at the Cheltenham Music Festival

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 13th July

Red, white and blue bunting, with matching lighting, adorned the balconies of Cheltenham Town Hall, setting a patriotic scene for a concert of music from the year that World War I ended. Television presenter Julia Somerville opened the evening sat at a vintage newsdesk with her own careful research, for which she can be highly commended.

****1

Back to 1915: Kraggerud, Isserlis and more at the Cheltenham Music Festival

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 11th July

The concert opened with BBC newsreader Julia Somerville, summarising news from the year 1915 at an old-fashioned broadcasting desk complete with microphone. It was informative, and set the scene for this recital, one in a series of ‘time capsule’ concerts, solely featuring music composed in 1915 – including two of Debussy’s last chamber pieces.

****1

Music@Menlo: Launching Beethoven

Laurence Vittes, 17th July

With the eternally young Gilbert Kalish leading the way, the festival's all-star roster delighted an enthusiastic and knowledgeable Center for the Performing Arts audience.

*****

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Jacob Slattery

Jacob is a musician and raconteur based out of New York City. As a writer, he operates an online arts and culture blog with the goal of providing momentum for community-based arts projects in NYC. As an oboist, Jacob has performed internationally with orchestras from Vienna to Seoul. Born and raised in the lake-ridden, gopher empire of Minnesota, Jacob received a dual-degree in Music Performance and Marketing from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. His blog can be found here.

Escher Quartet guides dying Romantic era to birth of modernity in Zemlinsky Quartet cycle