Concerts feature works by contemporary composers Miguel Del Aguila and Grażyna Bacewicz, plus the great Antonín Dvořák.
Sister Bay, Wis. (May 20, 2024) – Hailed for “superb playing, palpable chemistry, spirit, and emotional connection,” Midsummer Music’s quartet in residence, the Griffon String Quartet, will perform three free community concerts featuring contemporary Uruguayan composer Miguel Del Aguila, Polish female composer Grażyna Bacewicz, and the great Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.
According to CD Hotlist, “Miguel del Aguila’s chamber music is that rarest of things: unmistakably modern music built around a core of fundamental grace.” His catalog of works includes opera, orchestral, choral, solo, and chamber works, as well as incidental music for theater and film. Humorous, ironic, and sometimes mocking of Latin dance, Presto II – beginning in the style of 1920’s jazz – has fun with the form and protocol of the classical string quartet tradition.
Bacewicz’ String Quartet No. 4 – written in 1951 – is neoclassical in style, with influences of Polish folk music combined, at times, with Spanish-style music. It won first prize at the Concours International pour Quatuor à Cordes in Liège, Belgium, and received a lot of press coverage, earning Bacewicz the Polish State Award of 2nd Degree.
The Griffon welcomes acclaimed pianist Rie Tanaka to join the ensemble for Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81, which, according to earsense.org, “… occupies a lofty place in the chamber music canon shared perhaps only by two other works for the same ensemble from Schumann and Brahms. All three works feature the mighty sounds of a string quartet paired with a grand piano, a sonic grandeur matched only by the magnificent scale and span of these mountainous masterworks, epic in their expressiveness.”
Along with Tanaka, Griffon String Quartet musicians for the performances are Roy Meyer and Alex Norris, violins, Clara Qiyun Zhao, guest viola, and Jesse Nummelin, cello.
The first concert is at 7:00pm on May 24 at the Art Garage in Green Bay. The second concert is at 7:00pm on May 25 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay. The third concert is at 3:00pm on May 26 at the Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. Free tickets are available through Midsummer Music’s website – midsummersmusic.com – or by calling 920-854-7088 during business hours.
One of the most vibrant and engaging quartets of its generation, the Griffon String Quartet was formed in the fall of 2018 as a collaboration led by Midsummer’s Music. GSQ enriches the lives of children and adults throughout northeast Wisconsin through concerts, workshops, and music education outreach. The extraordinary musicians, who have performed with orchestras and ensembles around the globe, are equally dedicated to music education and inspiring the next generation of music lovers. Each member of the Griffon String Quartet has advanced degrees and significant professional experience, both as educators and performers, and they have been recognized for “their youthful vigor, which is absolutely infectious!”
Midsummer’s Music was co-founded in 1990 by Jim and Jean Berkenstock, long-time Door County summer residents and principal orchestral players with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. What began as two concerts among friends has become one of the Midwest’s most anticipated chamber music series, bringing thousands of chamber music enthusiasts from around the globe to the magical Door County Peninsula.
For more information visit www.midsummersmusic.com.
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