Your are Invited to the Alumni Jubilee Concert

A Free Performance, Celebrating UMSL's 50th Anniversary!

Friday, October 18, 8:00 pm

Touhill Performing Arts Center
Free to the public 

Come join the Arianna String Quartet for an evening of music.  The ASQ will lead alumni and current UMSL students in a conductorless chamber orchestra, featuring the gorgeous Andante Cantabile from Tchaikovsky's D Major Quartet, Op. 11, and theFinale from the Dvorak "American" Quartet.

Program also includes:

BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major
BRAHMS Sextet in B-flat, Op. 18
MENDELSSOHN Octet in E-flat, Op. 20

For more information, visit Touhill Performing Arts Center. 

Fanfare Magazine, September-October, 2013: Review of JANÁČEK String Quartets

JANÁCEK String Quartets.  

No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata"; No. 2, "lntimate Letters".

Arianna String Quartet CENTAUR 3198 (44:12)

Although Leo Tolstoy said that "...if a work of art needs to be explained it has already failed in its purpose," he felt compelled to write an explanation of his brutal, psychologically complex, and uncharacteristic novella The Kreutzer Sonata. The explanation itself is also rather complex, and when one adds to this the complexity of Janáček’s opposition to Tolstoy's views, and the vagueness of the musical program, it is best to lay plot and sequence aside, and address the purely musical content of the String Quartet No. 1. The same can be said for the loosely programmatic "Intimate Letters." The "...pure emotion, sincerity, truth, [and] ardent love" that the composer tells us is at the heart of the matter should suffice.  Both quartets are works of great dramatic breadth, placing formidable technical, poetic, and human demands on the musicians.

These performances of the Arianna String Quartet demonstrate how technical excellence, in alliance with imagination and the human heart, can come to create something truly transcendent. The players, virtually faultless in their musicianship, provide a powerful vision, and a sense of humanity more far reaching than the hard and glossy reading of the Emerson Quartet, in spite of their virtuosity, or the Smetana Quartet in spite of their florid tone.

                 

Raymond Beegle

Fanfare September/October 2013

Our recording, Janáček String Quartets, features Leoš Janáček's riveting, emotionally-charged works  "The Kreutzer Sonata" and "Intimate Letters".  These two quartets, on the Centaur label, are available on Amazon.com and iTunes. 

Die Burger (The Citizen) Review

Our summer concert tour in South Africa included Cape Town Concert Series;  Endler Hall Series; St. Andrews Concert Series; and University of the Western Cape.   Please enjoy the Cape Town review translated from Afrikans.

 The Citizen, August 18, 2013

CAPE TOWN -The Arianna String Quartet from the USA expertly performed three magnificent works for the Cape Town Concert Series on Saturday. The well-balanced program began with Mozart’s Quartet K.387, followed by Shostakovich Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73, and ended with Schubert's Quartet in D minor (Death and the Maiden).

The four players names were not in the printed program, and the violist introduced herself and her colleagues to the audience eloquently. As was the case with their previous visit in May 2011, the quartet's playing was characterized by flawless ensemble and excellent balance.

The sound of the 4 instruments blended beautifully, although there were passages where one instrument or another came to the fore with more important melodic material. These moments gave each individual the opportunity to demonstrate their technical proficiency and beautiful sound control.

The highlight of the evening was the Schubert Death and the Maiden quartet. This profound work in which death is such an important element is always an emotional experience that one is not likely to forget in a hurry, particularly if it is performed in as outstanding a manner as the Arianna String Quartet did on Saturday night.

Join us for - First Mondays with the ASQ

The Arianna String Quartet is thrilled to announce their new Grand Center series, First Mondays with the ASQ, at UMSL’s fabulous new state-of-the-art, KWMU studio building at Grand Center. Expanding on the success of their engaging pre-concert talks at the Touhill, the ASQ presents six evenings of performance and discussion that will focus on the art of string quartet playing. This unique concert series offers audience members a rare behind the scenes look into the craft of performance, and an opportunity for direct discussion and interaction with the Arianna Quartet as they examine the dynamic process of interpretation and performance. 

Ticket Pricing: 

In Advance, $10.00

At the door, $15.00 

Purchase tickets through St. Louis Public Radio.

Schedule

September 2 7:30 pm	Story and Music: Inspired Expression
October 7 7:30 pm	Elements of Classicism
November 4 7:30 pm	Rhythmic Innovation
March 3 7:30 pm	Instrumental Lyricism: The Singing Quartet
April 7 7:30 pm	Aesthetics of Romanticism
May 5 7:30 pm	Signature Style: A Composer's World

Fanfare Magazine Review and Feature Article

The July/Aug 2013 issue of Fanfare Magazine includes an interview with us and a a review of our JANÁČEK String Quartets: No. 1, Kreutzer Sonata”; No. 2, “Intimate Letters” Arianna Str Qrt CENTAUR 3198 (44:12)   

Here is an excerpt from the interview by Jerry Dubins, "All Hail Arianna - An American Quartet Comes of Age."

Jerry: Most string quartet ensembles that have been together for some time develop a distinctive sound. Do you strive to create a unique Arianna Quartet sound, and if so, can you describe it and explain how you go about achieving it?

John: I used to try quite consciously to have a unique sound and interpretation with all the pieces I played, but really as long as you are sincere in your approach to the music there’s no way you can sound like anyone else. Since a string quartet is four times more individual than any individual can be, that magnifies exponentially the uniqueness of every quartet. In our group each of us has our own individual window into the music based on our personality, aesthetic sensibilities, and sometimes even on the role our instruments play in the drama of that moment, each of which is crucially important and equally valid. What we try to achieve musically is a vital sound where each instrument is involved emotionally in the drama of each moment, and where each person’s musical contribution is clear to the audience and to each other. To that end we need to spend a lot of time on technical as well as musical priorities to make sure we understand, appreciate, and create the acoustic situation that best suits the drama and how to create it with our instruments. We have developed a lot of short cuts based on recurring situations that help us save time in rehearsal and also help us to be effective in teaching other groups.

Julia: Allow me to disagree with you on this topic. I would not necessarily say that most string quartets that are around for some time develop a distinctive sound. Perhaps the old Juilliard Quartet or the Budapest Quartet did, but those are few and far in between, just like there are only a few soloists who had a distinctive sound: Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh, William, Primrose, Gregory Piatigorsky. I don’t think that distinctive sound is necessarily something one can or should set a goal to achieve. If and when it happens it happens naturally without trying to make it happen. It’s sort of like when two people live together for a long time they begin to look alike. I don’t believe they are working on trying to look alike, it simply happens as a result of a certain amount of chemistry and habitual behavior (displayed) towards one another. This same idea applies to a string quartet. I don’t think we (anyone) should have a goal to strive to create a unique sound; I think it happens (it will) naturally when all the ideas and emotional concepts come alive in the playing.

Joanna: I’m not sure I would describe it that way. We don’t necessarily set out to create a distinct sound, but we’re always searching for depth and variety of expression and sound, clarity, and flexibility. We want the person with the melody, or with the primary line, to be able to play beautifully, with the kind of sound he or she is looking for, and with the other voices always expressive, adding to the energy, drama, and emotion of the music. We like having organization in the putting together of a piece, and even when putting together our sounds, but it is ultimately to enable freedom between us, between the notes, within a phrase or between phrases.

Kurt: After having talked with many audience members over the years, I have come to understand that we have a unique approach to sound. I often hear from folks at concerts that what is unique to the Arianna Quartet is our clarity of expression and balance and blend of sound. There is a process to this; we tune and blend each phrase with the needs of the acoustics of the music in mind. The color of sound is influenced by which instrument is playing the various notes in a given chord. For example, a chord with the third of the chord in the cello, rather than in the viola, is much more unstable; the same chord, in a different inversion, with the third in the viola (and root in the bass), is much more stable, and has a completely different kind of expressive potential. Awareness of this kind of shift is essential to the interpretive process for the Arianna Quartet. We hear sound as chemistry, where we have stable elements (perfect intervals), unstable elements (dissonance), and notes that function as catalysts for change (sevenths and suspensions, for example). Our process for sound is all about looking for the next expressive opportunity in the score, and balancing that moment for the best possible expressive outcome. This method of rehearsing means that each member of the quartet is equally responsible for every other part. Our theory of sound and balance in the quartet is that we hear our other three colleagues all the time, and endeavor to control the balance through constant nuanced alteration to quantity and quality of our individual sounds. We don’t ever want any instrument in the quartet to struggle to sound beautiful, and we want the collective blend of sound to serve the power of the chords, the needs of the phrase, and the drama of the music

Read the full feature article and review on Fanfare’s website:  (interview and review)

Minnesota Public Radio

A recording from our performance at Madeline Island's Chamber Music for Strings Camp  recently aired on Minnesota Public Radio.    Below is a nice commentary from MPR's Steve Staruch.

The Arianna Quartet's intense Mendelssohn interpretation

by Steve Staruch, Minnesota Public Radio

July 11, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Arianna String Quartet has been a part of the Madeline Island Music Camp for several seasons.

The members say they most enjoy working with young artists in an intense way. Intensity is the word that best describes the Arianna Quartet's performance of the Mendelssohn String Quartet in f minor from last month at Madeline Island.

Listen for the audience cheering at the end -- and don't be surprised if you find yourself whooping it up too after this amazing performance!

Hear Regional Spotlight every Thursday in the 3 p.m. hour on Classical MPR stations across Minnesota.

Janáček String Quartets

Our recent recording, Janáček String Quartets, features Leoš Janáček's riveting, emotionally-charged works  "The Kreutzer Sonata" and "Intimate Letters".  These two quartets, on the Centaur label, are now available on Amazon.com and iTunes. 

Stephen Smoliar, classical music reviewer for Examiner.com, recently reviewed this CD.

"Last September Centaur Records released a recording of the two string quartets of Leoš Janáček, recorded in the Lee Theater of the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis by the Arianna String Quartet: violinists John McGrosso and David Gillham, violist Joanna Mendoza, and cellist Kurt Baldwin. This release is now available for download from ClassicsOnline, and it is a significant addition to the repertoire of recorded Janáček. Indeed, the quartets themselves are important not only for those interested in Janáček but also for anyone interested in the evolution of string quartet style.

One way to approach these quartets is through the context of the first string quartet in E minor of Janáček’s Czech predecessor, Bedřich Smetana. In that quartet Smetana moved beyond the dramatic expressiveness of the Romantic movement to a more deliberate effort to capture narrative itself. Smetana called his quartet “From My Life;” but it was far more than an autobiographical reflection. Rather, it was an attempt to narrate the impact of the onset of deafness on his life story; and to this day it remains one of the most harrowing compositions in the chamber music literature.

From this narrative point of view, it is thus worth noting that Janáček did not undertake the composition of a string quartet until he had completed two of his major operas, Jenůfa (1904) andKáťa Kabanová (1921), both named for their heroines, both of whom contend with intense sexual repression. In this context it is not surprising that the inspiration for Janáček’s first string quartet, composed in 1923, should be a novella by Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata. In this case the protagonist is male, and his is the narrating voice of the text. The plot bundles the intensity of sexual abstinence, jealously, and, ultimately, murder, all disclosed through the voice of the murderer.

This makes Janáček’s quartet an ambitious undertaking. It also poses a challenge to performers. The quartet must embody this one (clearly mentally unstable) narrating voice through the integration of their four parts. I have heard this work performed in recital several times; and the intensity of its impact makes it a logical successor to “From My Life.” The Arianna String Quartet has now established themselves as being up to evoking every ounce of that intensity through their performance on this recent recording.

If that were not enough, however, they couple the “Kreutzer Sonata” quartet with Janáček’s second quartet. In many ways this follows up on his first quartet by assimilating the rhetoric of “From My Life” with equally intense anguish. While the first quartet is the narrating of a repressed fictional character, the second quartet, entitled “Intimate Letters,” has Janáček himself as narrator, recounting an exchange of over 700 letters he had with a married woman 38 years younger than he was. Many regard those letters as documents of a “spiritual friendship;” but, given how much of Janáček’s music deals with the agonies of repression, one has to question just how “spiritual” the relationship was in his own mind.

The Arianna performance is certainly not afraid to pursue the interpretation that these letters only barely cloak repressed desire in its starkest form. It is not surprising that this music was not performed until after Janáček died. As the old cliché goes, this was a score that was too hot for the composer to handle. It was one thing for experience a public performance of his interpretation of the agonies of a Tolstoy character and quite another for those agonies to be his own!

This is not the first recording to juxtapose these string quartets. As interest in Janáček’s music continues to grow, it is unlikely to be the last. Nevertheless, these particular performances have taken the trouble to capture the narrative essence of the music as part of its underlying logic and rhetoric, making this recording a valuable addition to any serious listener’s library."

Arianna and Tavern of Fine Arts

Recently Arianna presented Beethoven's Razumovsky Quartets at the Tavern of Fine Arts, a local neighborhood wine bar and cafe.  I had the opportunity to speak with Joanna Mendoza  and Julia Sakharova about their experiences.

Questions - Joanna Mendoza

Tell us what it's like playing Razumovsky in an intimate space.

It's kind if ironic, we've played these enormous pieces at the Tavern - pieces intended for the concert hall. The range of the Razumovskys is so huge...symphonic and grand but also quiet and introspective at times. And extremely virtuosic for each instrument.

What do you like about playing at the Tavern of Fine Arts?

I  love playing at the Tavern because it feels like a living room. It's so intimate, people can relax, get a bite to eat, order a drink ...because it's a more intimate venue, there's a more immediate connection with the audience. I like the idea that one doesn't have to go to a concert hall to hear classical music. There's a lot going on in St Louis, a lot of choices for people to enjoy the arts of all genres especially during the weekends. I think those that go to the Tavern appreciate the occasional weeknight concert.

Questions - Julia Sakharova

Tell us about how you came to play at Tavern of Fine Arts.

My first experience playing at the Tavern of Fine Arts goes back to September of 2012. The Quartet was getting ready to play our first concert of the season which consisted of Haydn Quartet op. 33 "the Joke", Schostakovich Quartet #3 and a very cool modern piece written by our friend ,violist Kenji Bunch.  Even before that day, in September,  my boyfriend at the time and now fiancee Clay and I were looking for a place to live  and during one of our summer wanderings in the city we walked into the Tavern of Fine Arts.  We ordered something from the menu and struck up a conversation with Aaron Johnson, one of the owners. It turned out that he and I had a few friends in common! The music world is very small! Sitting, enjoying our conversation and sipping wine I thought to myself wouldn't it be great to someday play at this lovely venue? Little did I know that my first appearance with the Arianna Quartet in St. Louis would be at this very space.

What do you enjoy about playing at the Tavern?

Every time we give a concert there I am especially excited about an opportunity to meet new interesting people, engage in meaningful conversations, enjoy delicious food and of course above all to make wonderful music with my quartet and share it with the audience.

Femusc Performance

We would like to share with you a video of us from Femusc, 2013.




Osvaldo Lacerda - String Quartet N°1: I. Preludio e Fuga


Enjoy.

The Arianna String Quartet

Performance Scheduled for March 1, 2013

Please join us for an evening of Razumovsky Quartets!  


Date/Time: March 1, 2013 8:00 PM
Location: Lee Theater, Touhill Performing Arts Center
Audience: Open
Description: The Arianna will perform a long-awaited, extended evening of music rarely, if ever, performed live on one program. Beethoven’s three Op. 59 “Razumovsky Quartets” are known as three of the most monumental and pivotal works under one opus and showcase the master composer at the height of his compositional prowess. Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1; Beethoven: String Quartet in e minor, Op. 59 No. 2; Beethoven: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3. This is an E3! performance. Discounted SNAP student, faculty and staff tickets are available, but quantities are limited.
For Info: Ticket Office at 314-516-4949

Greetings from Brazil!

I am here with my quartet in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil.  This is my first time to travel to the Southern Hemisphere, and what a great way to experience summer time in the middle of a cold winter month in the States. Though heat is not so bad, most of the days humidity can interfere with a comfortable way of playing an instrument. The view from my hotel 6th floor room is incredible. Mountains all around! 

View from my hotel room

It is amazing how much this place resembles Zhelznovodsk, my family’s hometown in the North Caucus of Russia. The two cities are surrounded by tall, looming mountains and various greens. I hear a bird sing that I believe is a Chickadee. Tomorrow we’ll play a piece written for flute and string quartet. There is a section in the first movement in which flute and first violin respectively imitate this bird by playing exactly the same song. I cannot wait for the music to begin.

The Arianna String Quartet participates for the third year in a major International Music Festival, known as FEMUSC, which is held in Jaragua do Sul, in southern Brazil. The festival was founded by Alex Klein, a world class oboist and conductor and a former Principal Oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.   The festival involves over 800 students and nearly 100 faculty, representing 22 countries in Europe as well as in North and South America, and presents over 200 regional performances in a 14 day period.

The Arianna Quartet  is giving performances of seven different works in the course of the two-week festival, including three collaborative programs with internationally acclaimed artists, including current and former members of the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, and major orchestras in Rio and Sao Paulo, Brazil. These performances are attended by colleagues from major universities and orchestras from both North and South America.  Our repertoire ranges from oldies like Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Wagner to modern, new age compositions by South American composers.

Here we are post-concert with Alex Klein and Andres Cardenes

In addition to extensive performing, the quartet is offering daily coaching and masterclasses to five young and really promising string quartets. All five of the groups traveled from different countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and United States and their level of playing and commitment is quite high.  Here are the quartets’ names: Sorocaba, Antofagasta, Tayrona, Naui-Kira and Mifflin.

Personally, and I am quite sure the rest of the quartet feels the same way, that the favorite time of the day is coaching these quartets. Those students are so eager to learn, so hungry for knowledge and so ready to try new things. There is an exuberant joy to make music and unsurpassed desire to grasp the information which is given to them. It’s this kind of student-teacher relationship that makes teaching so rewarding and enjoyable.  It inspires me to come up with new ideas, to create new sounds and to look for that extra special something in our playing.

The two weeks are going by very fast and although we are quite tired by the end of our stay we almost wished there was another week of intense music making in Jaragua Do Sul.  The quartet is immensely grateful for all the wonderful work that is done at the festival and all the beautiful sounds that are created. This experience and memories inspire us to continue in full force with  yet another busy season which includes a performance of all the Razumovsky Quartets in one night. We look forward to being at FEMUSC for many years to come.

                                                                        Julia Sakharova  

An Evening of Music and Friends

Just before taking off to our beloved Festival of Music in Santa Catarina, Brazil, we invited friends and family to preview a selection of music in a home setting.  This proved to be a delightful evening for us and our friends.

Food prepared by Joanna included empanadas with three different types of fillings; chips and salsa; several cookies highlighting different regions of South America; and a powerful rum drink. In fact, as I write this my tastebuds are yearning for all the delicious foods.

To top it off we were able to share several selections of music. One most dear to us was Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout by Gabriela Lena Frank. This piece is truly like taking a walk through different regions of Peru. At times the music depicts the bustle of a city marketplace, folk dancing in the country, primitive ceremonies and sacred rituals. The extended techniques (using our instruments in non-traditional ways) to create unusual effects and unexpected sounds from different regions of Peru makes this piece so much fun to play.

Santa Catarina here we come.