Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “One of the greatest quartets of our time,” the Pro Arte Quartet will perform Saturday, May 26, at the new Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor in a concert presented by Midsummer’s Music Ltd. This event marks the first of six concerts Midsummer’s Music will host this summer in the exceptional space on Church St.
The evening’s repertoire features Joseph Haydn’s Quartet Op. 20, No. 3 in G Minor, and Franz Schubert’s Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887.
The Pro Arte Quartet is believed to be the world’s oldest continuously performing string quartet and the first quartet anywhere to enjoy a university ensemble-in-residence status. First formed in 1911-1912, The Quatuor Pro Arte of Brussels was performing at the Wisconsin Union Theatre on the UW campus on May 10, 1940, when Belgium was overrun and occupied by Nazi forces, turning three of its original four musicians into war orphans. By October of that year, the group had officially become the UW Pro Arte Quartet, making it the school’s first artist ensemble-in-residence.
Current musicians in the Pro Arte Quartet are violinists Suzanne Beia and David Perry, violist Sally Chisholm and cellist Parry Karp.
According to Midsummer’s Music President and co-founder Jim Berkenstock, “The Pro Arte musicians are masterful, energetic performers who exemplify both warmth and precision through their impressive skills. Listeners can become thoroughly engrossed in the ensemble’s beautiful, intense and passionate music.”
The Pro Arte Quartet concert begins at 7:00 pm. Adult tickets are $29, students $10, and children 12 are under free. A reception for the audience to meet and mingle with the musicians follows the program.
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