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e-newsletter | Winter 2005 |
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SEASON OPENS SUCCESSFULLY Artaria opened its 19th concert season in October with performances in La Crosse, Saint Paul, and Eau Claire. All three concerts were made especially exciting as we introduced our new colleague, cellist Anna Clift, to the audiences. On the program were quartets by Mozart, Shostakovich and Dvorak that were challenging and rewarding, and we received many compliments on our well-blended sound and comfortable demeanor on stage. We took the show on the road (or is that the Shows on the road?) on October 8th with a return to our La Crosse audience. They enjoy being the first to hear our programs each season and gave us a thumbs-up (and a standing ovation) on this one. On October 9th, our series at Sundin Hall opened with much anticipation and was well-received. The "opening act" of young artists from the Artaria Chamber Music School performed the final movement of Beethoven's G Major Quartet beautifully -- from memory no less-- and we look forward to inviting another group, or two, to our upcoming Sundin Hall concert on January 14th. Kudos to Meredith Vaughan, Jennifer Bevington, Carly Blazing and Nathaniel Swanson. The host presenter in Eau Claire, Beverly Soll, was very pleased at the audience reaction to our October 10th performance and we have posted her letter so that you can read what she said about the concert. Artaria returned to Eau Claire on November 15th to perform with pianist Chu Fang Huang in Schumann's poetic Quintet for Piano and Strings. Written in his "chamber music" year of 1842, it is a perennial audience favorite. Chu-Fang was a thrilling performer and we were delighted to meet her and work with her. She went on to perform her official New York debut at AliceTully Hall the next night, followed by a concert on Sanibel Island, Florida, and a performance at the Kennedy Center, all in one week (whew!). At 23 she is charming and effusive, and since winning the Cleveland International Piano Competiton, exceptionally well poised. Guest artists always keep our group fresh, so we look forward to our collaborations in January with Charles Gray on the 8th in La Crosse, and Roberto Diaz on the 14th at Sundin Hall in St. Paul. Both concerts feature Mozart's remarkable G-minor Viola Quintet. See our website for details. www.artariaquartet.com
ARTARIA Upcoming Performances: January 12 - Schubert Club Courtroom Concert at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul. 11:30am. Works by Prokofiev, Schumann and Mozart. FREE January 14 - Artaria @ Sundin Hall Concert Hamline University. 1531 Hewitt Avenue in St. Paul, MN. 7:30 pm. Guest Artist Roberto Diaz. Works by Prokofiev, Schumann and Mozart. $15 and $5 for students (Hamline students are free). Tickets and information available by calling the box office 651-523-2459 (Visa/Mastercard). Pre-concert at 7:00pm by Quartets from Artaria Chamber Music School. January 20 - Winterstrings 2006. ASQ concert at Eagle Bluff in Lanesboro, MN. 7:30pm. Prokofiev and Schumann. Free. Sponsored by Southeast Minnesota Arts Council. January 22 - St. Olaf College. ASQ concert in Urness Hall. 4:00pm. Mozart, Prokofiev, and Schumann. $10 and $5. Tickets in advance and at the door.
Clift Notes
We are enjoying getting to know our new cellist Anna Clift, and thought it would be interesting to ask her a few questions to allow her an opportunity to introduce herself to the Artaria community. Anna, where are you from originally? I was born in Kisumu, Kenya in East Africa. My parents are from the south of England, Cornwall. What do you do to relax? First of all, I don't ever relax. Actually, the truth is, I like to read. Novels, biographies, just about anything. What is your life motto? Lots of schmalz!! -- I got that from Menahem Pressler. No, really I just try to live every day to the fullest, and love to be with people. Who are your heroes? The unsung heroes of life: ordinary people, who do extraordinary things. What's your favorite movie? "Soppy" ones like French Kiss, or any movie with Kevin Kline. Where do you like to shop? T.J. Maxx. Kowalski's! Do you have a favorite beauty or style tip you'd care to share? Drink plenty of water, eat collard greens, and get lots of sleep. I don't know... be happy maybe! What would you tell someone who wants to be a professional musician? Practice alot and make sure you can do other things than just playing your instrument. Become a well-rounded individual. Name your favorite place in the Twin Cities. Anywhere where my friends are! Do you have a favorite place to eat? Bakery on Grand -- it's like going to France. What else should we know about you? Well, I live in Northfield with my 12-year old daughter Rosie, our two cats, Teddy and Teacup, and our two hamsters, Kiwi and Mocha Chip. I am blessed with amazing supportive friends, and I get to play in this wonderful string quartet! Oh!...and I love teaching, cello, chamber music...anything!
>> On Thursday Dec 8th The Ngam and the DesLauries Quartets will perform for the residents of Episcopal Homes at 1840 University Avenue (which is affiliated with St. John the Evangelist). This outreach is very important and we want to thank the young players in advance for their service to the community. The Blazing Quartet performed in church at St. John's in late October and we want to acknowledge their service to the ACMS program as well. >> The ACMS Winter Concert will be held at Episcopal Church of St John the Evangelist (60 Kent Street at Portland in St. Paul) on December 18 at 6pm. All of the young artist quartets will perform that evening. This event is Free and open to the public so bring your friends and family. There will be a reception afterwards to congratulate the performers.
The Third Annual ACMS SWITCHEROO takes place December 27th from 7pm to 11pm at the Episcopal Church of St John the Evangelist. For those of you enrolled in the Artaria Chamber Music School and still in town on that day, stop by for a chamber music reading party that you will thoroughly enjoy. If you have friends that want to jam with us, just let us know (via email) and we will make sure to have enough pizza and pop!
Guest Artist Profile: Roberto Diaz
Come here him play with Artaria on January 14th at Sundin Music Hall. You can also observe him teaching as he will be giving two masterclasses at Sundin Music Hall -- Friday at 4:00pm and Saturday at 2:00pm.
Winterstrings applications are arriving now and we are beginning to form quartets for adult chamber musicians. If you think you would like to be a part of this year's program, go ahead and send in an application form. We promise you won't regret it. It looks like the theme will center on the inimitable Mozart.
The final round of the Premiere Saint Paul String Quartet Competition will be held in Sundin Hall at Hamline University on April 30, 2006. The Competition is open to high school string quartets from anywhere in the U.S. with cash prizes totaling over $2000. The contest begins promptly at 1:00pm. Come to the event and help select the audience prize. The website contains all the rules and requirements, as well as contact information and the application form. Just a reminder that the entry deadline is March 1st.
The Stringwood 2006 summer chamber music program will take place from June 18th to June 28th. Go to the the website to view program details and application information.
Guest Column by Doug Lay, luthier Strings don’t last forever. In fact, it’s rare for one to last more than a year. Some last only a few months, depending on their materials and construction, and the amount of use to which they are subjected. Sometimes they break, but often they just wear out; over time strings can lose resonance and sound thuddy when plucked, or they might suffer a diminution of power or lose the simple ability to ring clear and true at a constant pitch. When any of these symptoms appear, it’s time for a string change. If the symptoms are more prominent in one or two strings, but all the strings are the same age, it’s usually better to change them all, to insure a uniform quality of sound throughout the instrument’s range. When it’s time to change strings, I recommend that only one string be removed at a time. After replacing it, the next one can be removed and replaced, until all are done. Applying a little pencil lead to the grooves in the bridge and nut will help the strings slide more easily during tuning, thereby preventing damage to the strings. How the strings are wound onto their pegs can also influence their health and performance. Generally, if the hole in the peg lies near the middle of the pegbox, I insert the string so that about a half inch of its end protrudes from the opposite side of the peg. Then I turn the peg so that one or two coils are laid on the smaller-diameter side of the peg. I then bring the string across these coils, to lock them in place and prevent the string from slipping out of the hole, and finish winding up the slack with coils that successively approach the head--larger diameter--end of the peg. Be sure that all the coils are snug around the peg as you wind them on, for loose coils can take a long time to draw tight on their own, and during that time they can give the false impression that the string is still stretching or that the pegs are slipping—for days or weeks after the string was changed! It’s actually pretty easy to change strings, and when done properly, playing will be easier and more fun!
Mr. Doug Lay Doug Lay can be contacted at Claire Givens violin shop in downtown Minneapolis Tuesday through Saturday. The shop number is 612-375-0708
Feedback We try to place interesting articles in this newsletter for you to think about, so please let me know if there are topics you want to see discussed, questions answered, and the like. ~ RS
Thank you for your present interest and past support of the Artaria String Quartet. If you would rather not receive our newsletter, send an e-mail to music@artariaquartet.com and type "no newsletter please " in the Subject line. |
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Season Opener 
What can I say about Roberto Diaz, principal violist of the Philadelphia orchestra and director designate of the Curtis Institute? Should I mention we used to play chamber music together with his equally gifted brother Andres (cellist) until the wee hours of the night with about fifteen other crazy young string players? Or that we used to drive around too fast in his Datsun Z-car afterwards? Or perhaps I should mention his incredible solos in Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis when we were both teenagers (read 'younger') and he was already ridiculousy good on the viola? Maybe you would be more interested to know that he got his start in the viola section of the Minnesota Orchestra, then the Boston Symphony, then Principal viola of the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich, and currently big viola in Philly? 
