Cypress String Quartet at Koret Auditorium, SF Main Library on April 7, 2015

San Francisco Public Library presents a Call & Response preview with Cypress String Quartet
2015-04-07
Koret Auditorium, Lower Level, New Main Library
100 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA
12 noon, Tuesday, April 7, 2015
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[11:56 AM lights down, musicians onstage; Introduction by ?]

1. [11:59 AM] Beethoven: String Quartet No. 8 (1808), Op. 59, No. 2: 1st Movement: Allegro
2. [12:06 PM] [opening remarks from Jennifer Kloetzel]
3. [12:12 PM] Beethoven: Op. 59, No. 2: 2nd Movement: Molto adagio (Si tratta questo pezzo con molto di sentimento)
4. [12:26 PM] [comments from Cecily Ward about Bartók]
5. [12:30 PM] Bartók: String Quartet No. 4 (1928), 3rd Movement: Non troppo lento
6. [12:35 PM] [Tom Stone talks about commissioning the Hersant work]
7. [12:38 PM] Philippe Hersant: String Quartet No.4 “Der gestirnte Himmel” (Starry Sky) (2015), 1st Movement
8. [12:43 PM] [Philippe Hersant talks about his work]
9. [12:49 PM] [Q&A with the composer & performers]
10. [12:55 PM] Bartók: String Quartet No. 4 (1928), 4th Movement: Allegretto pizzicato
11. [12:58 PM] [closing comments from Jennifer Kloetzel]
    [show ends 12:59 PM]

• Ethan Filner: viola;
• Jennifer Kloetzel: cello;
• Tom Stone: violin;
• Cecily Ward: violin.
   
• Philippe Hersant: composer, speaker.

Decided I could fit in this preview/demo show at the last minute, and happy that I did! There were only a dozen or so folks in the audience when I walked in at about 5 til to claim a seat in the center of the third row, but another score or more trickled in over the next few minutes. Hard to know if that was a good turnout or not, but the performers all seemed to be in good spirits, and that counts a lot!

Opening with half of the second Rasumovsky Quartet was great; it's a shame that they didn't have time to fit in the other half, but ya gotta settle for less when you're dealing with the constraints of a lunch hour sampler show.

Each member of the group got a turn at the mic in between the short performances, talking either about the show coming up this weekend or the movement about to be performed, or both. It was interesting to hear both the performers and composer talk about their aims and goals for the response piece, and I'm really sorry that I only got to hear a single movement of the new work – I liked what I heard enough to think I should add some of his other compositions to my listening inbox.

The group closed off the event with the delicious pizzicato of the 4th movement of Bartók's 4th string quartet. Yay! More classical awesomeness!

And then it was off to the marina, dodging raindrops from the storm front that blew through after lunch. Another good experience!

Niels Swinkels posted a nice review of the full show that took place later this weekend at Marine's Memorial Hall.

Back to the previous event ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!