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Jupiter String Quartet Presented by Cleveland Chamber Music Society

Performing Music by Charles Ives, Florence Price, Steve Taylor, George Walker, and Johannes Brahms

Photo of Jupiter Quartet by Sarah Gardner available in high resolution at 
www.jensenartists.com/jupiter-string-quartet

Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 7:30pm
Plymouth Church | 2860 Coventry Road | Shaker Heights, OH

Tickets and Information at www.clevelandchambermusic.org/shop/jupiter-quartet-60350

“The Jupiter String Quartet, an ensemble of eloquent intensity, has matured into one of the mainstays of the American chamber - music scene.” – The New Yorker

www.jupiterquartet.com

Shaker Heights, OH – The Jupiter String Quartet, described by The New Yorker as brimming with “technical finesse and rare expressive maturity,” is presented by Cleveland Chamber Music Society on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 7:30pm. The group will perform a diverse concert program that includes: String Quartet No. 1: Chorale: Andante con moto by Charles Ives, Excerpts from Five Folksongs in Counterpoint by Florence Price, Chaconne/Labyrinth by Stephen Andrew Taylor, Lyric for Strings by George Walker, and String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.

Written in 1898, Charles Ives’ String Quartet No. 1 –– also known by the subtitles “From the Salvation Army" and "A Revival Service”  –– is one of the composer’s first major works, and features many references to popular hymns and songs of the era, often juxtaposed in a state of joyful chaos. Another creative rendering of popular songs, Florence Price’s Five Folksongs in Counterpoint was written around 1951 but only recently rediscovered. Price presents this collection of African-American spirituals and folk songs in an imaginative and clever counterpuntal fashion. The result is a complex and beautiful texture, full of shifting harmonies and colors.

Finished in 2021, Steven Andrew Taylor’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chaconne/Labyrinth, was written for the Jupiter String Quartet. Taylor and the quartet are colleagues at the University of Illinois School of Music, and the commission was sponsored by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. Taylor describes the concept of the work this way:

“‘Chaconne’ is an old-fashioned word for a repeating chord progression, like the 12-bar blues…The chords keep returning, only to point in new directions. This is how [I] felt over [2020]: stuck in a loop, but at the same time lost in a maze, desperately seeking the way out. At the center of this maze, like the Minotaur of Greek myth, lies a depiction of the coronavirus that has so profoundly changed our world. After this encounter—marked by strange, percussive sounds—the quartet traces their way, like following Ariadne’s thread, back through the labyrinth.”

George Walker’s sublime “Lyric” is a moving tribute to his grandmother, and was first published as part of his String Quartet No.1. Johannes Brahms pursues a similar emotional richness in his String Quartet in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2, combining beautiful lyricism with his trademark rhythmic energy, and encouraging the quartet to its fullest heights of expression.

The Jupiter String Quartet is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). Now enjoying their 20^th year together, this tight-knit ensemble is firmly established as an important voice in the world of chamber music.

The quartet has performed in some of the world’s finest halls, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Austria’s Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul’s Sejong Chamber Hall. Their major music festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, Music at Menlo, the Seoul Spring Festival, and many others. In addition to their performing career, they have been artists-in-residence at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana since 2012, where they maintain private studios and direct the chamber music program.

Their chamber music honors and awards include the grand prizes in the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; the Young Concert Artists International auditions in New York City; the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America; an Avery Fisher Career Grant; and a grant from the Fromm Foundation. From 2007-2010, they were in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Two. 

The quartet's latest album is a collaboration with the Jasper String Quartet (Marquis Classics, 2021), produced by Grammy-winner Judith Sherman. This collaborative album features the world premiere recording of Dan Visconti’s Eternal Breath, Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat, Op. 20, and Osvaldo Golijov’s Last Round. The quartet’s discography also includes numerous recordings on labels including Azica Records and Deutsche Grammophon. 

The quartet chose its name because Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at the time of its formation and the astrological symbol for Jupiter resembles the number four. For more information, visit www.jupiterquartet.com.

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: The Cleveland Chamber Music Society is a non-profit organization that has been presenting annually for seventy-three years, a series of chamber music concerts for Cleveland audiences. The organization began modestly in 1949 when three friends at Western Reserve University persuaded the renowned Budapest String Quartet to give one concert in Cleveland. The Cleveland Chamber Music Society was incorporated in 1950 and has evolved into one of today’s most esteemed presenting organizations. Each year, our series of 7-9 concerts features artists of stellar quality providing musical enrichment for the community.