Salon 2015-01-25 “Excelsa_Quartet”

January 25, 2015:Excelsa_Quartet-342

Excelsa Quartet!

ExcelsaQuartet@gmail.com
www.ExcelsaQuartet.com

“Fresh and youthful sounding… projected power and excitement.”
– The Washington Post

First Prize winners of “The Provincie Limburg Prijs” along with the “EMCY Artprize” at the Charles Hennen 26th International Chamber Music Competition for Strings in The Netherlands,

Excelsa Quartet is now the Graduate Fellowship String Quartet at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.
Excelsa Quartet was formed in January of 2009 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They continued their studies at the Konservatorium Dreilinden in Luzern, Switzerland, and in the Professional Quartet Training Program under the tutelage of the Alban Berg Quartet at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln in Germany. In 2011, Excelsa Quartet won the ‘Prix du Jury “Jeunes Musiciens” et du Public’ at the Illzach 17th International Chamber Music Competition in France.
As regular participants in the BrittenPears Young Artists Programme (Aldeburgh, UK) since 2009, the Quartet has worked with Isabel Charisius (Alban Berg Quartet), Ilan Gronich (Israel Quartet), Sebastian Hamann, the Pavel Haas Quartet, and Quatuor Mosaiques. They have also attended the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar in Stanford, CA (2014) and the McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal, QC (2014).
For the 2014/15 Season, Excelsa Quartet was granted a Fall residency at the St. Lawrence String Quartet’s “Emerging String Quartet Program” at Stanford University, giving them a unique opportunity to perform in various concert and community settings in Stanford, CA. Other season highlights in the Washington DC metro area include performances at the Arts Club of Washington, Kent Chamber Music, and “Common Tone” series at Busboys and Poets.
The Quartet has had the honor of working with members of the Guarneri Quartet, Left Bank Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, James Stern, André Roy, Roger Tapping (Juilliard Quartet), David Takeno, Lucy Chapman and world renowned conductor Benjamin Zander. They have also collaborated with the Miami String Quartet and with composers John Heiss and Wolfgang Rihm.
Excelsa Quartet takes its name from “Picea excelsa”, a distinct species of Northern European spruce trees used to make the top panel of fine string instruments. You may see more about the Quartet on their website: www.excelsaquartet.com

Program:

Alfred Schnittke: Quartet No. 3 (1983)
I. Andante
II. Agitato
III. Pesante
Franz Schubert: Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, “Death and the Maiden”
I. Allegro
II. Andanted con Moto
III. Scherzo Allegro Molto
IV. Presto