ASPECT Foundation for Music and Arts Announces 2018-2019 Season Concerts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katy Salomon | Morahan Arts and Media
katy@morahanartsandmedia.com | 863.660.2214

ASPECT FOUNDATION FOR MUSIC AND ARTS ANNOUNCES 2018-2019 SEASON

Featuring Concerts with Illustrated Talks by the Zemlinsky String Quartet, Ariel String Quartet, violinist Philippe Quint and Friends, the Sitkovetsky Duo, pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn, and the Four Nations Ensemble
 

New York, NY (July 19, 2018) — The ASPECT Foundation for Music & Arts today announces its third New York City season of illuminating performances featuring many of the most prominent performers and musical scholars of today. Paired with stimulating illustrated cultural discussions, ASPECT Foundation’s 2018-2019 concerts include performances by the Zemlinsky String Quartet, Ariel String Quartet, violinist Philippe Quint and cellist Zlatomir Fung, the Sitkovetsky Duo, pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn, and the Four Nations Ensemble.

On Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 7:30pm at Bohemian National Hall, ASPECT Foundation for Music & Arts’ season opens with Zemlinsky, Janácek, Dvorák and Their Muses, an exploration of the culture and music of Czech romantics with the acclaimed Zemlinsky String Quartet. The program will feature the quartet’s namesake Alexander Zemlinsky’s String Quartet No. 1, Janácek’s String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters,” and Dvorák’s Love Songs, Op. 83. Founded in 1994, the Zemlinsky Quartet, “a perfect union of intimate interaction between four musicians” (Seen and Heard International), is continuing the Czech string quartet tradition in style, performing a wide-ranging repertoire on stages around the world. Musicologist Nicholas Chong curates an illustrated talk during the concert and interview with the musicians.

The season continues on Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 7:30pm with Beethoven: Intimate Letters at the Italian Academy at Columbia University. The program features the virtuosic Ariel String Quartet in Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 6 and String Quartet, Op. 131. Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, the Ariel Quartet exemplifies the fact that “when the minutiae of quartet playing are thoughtfully considered and perfectly executed, the sum of a quartet is indeed greater than its parts” (The Strad).

Mozart, Schumann, and the tales of Hoffmann on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 7:30pm at Bohemian National Hall is a program conceived by violinist Philippe Quint that includes Mozart’s String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516 and Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44. Quint is joined for these works by violinist Grace Park, violist Matthew Lipman, violist Kyle Armbrust, cellist Zlatomir Fung, and pianist Vsevolod Dvorkin. Passionate about reimagining traditional works, rediscovering neglected repertoire, and commissioning new music, Grammy-nominated Philippe Quint is in constant demand with leading orchestras, conductors and chamber music collaborators. Journalist Damian Fowler returns to ASPECT to lead an illustrated talk about the program.

On Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at 7:30pm, ASPECT presents the thrilling Sitkovetsky Piano Duo in When Brahms Met Tchaikovsky… at Bohemian National Hall. The lauded duo’s program includes works by Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and Grieg. Possessing “an appealing mixture of musical individuality of sound and style… brought together with collective artistic purpose” (Sydney Morning Herald), the Sitkovetsky Duo is one of today’s most exceptional ensembles. Musicologist Nicholas Chong will return as the guest lecturer.

The ASPECT Foundation season continues with Archduke Rudolf: Beethoven’s Pupil and Patron on Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at 7:30pm at Bohemian National Hall. Russian-American pianist and conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn is joined by violinist Korbinian Altenberger and cellist Na-Young Baek for a program of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No.10 in G major, Op.96 and his Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97 “Archduke.” Solzhenitsyn, “an artist of fearsome intensity” (Philadelphia Inquirer), is renowned worldwide as both pianist and conductor. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.

On Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 7:30pm, ASPECT closes its season with Music Of The 18th Century Grand Tour at Bohemian National Hall. The concert features New York’s Four Nations Ensemble with soprano Pascale Beaudin in works by Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Corelli, and Quentin. A leading presence on the early music scene in New York and across the US, the Four Nations Ensemble brings together leading exponents of period instrument and vocal performance. Its unique and intriguing programs make the ensemble one of the more innovative groups performing today.

Program Information
Zemlinsky, Janácek, Dvorák and Their Muses
Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at 7:30pm
Bohemian National Hall | 321 E 73rd St. | New York, NY
Tickets: $45 includes wine and refreshments

Performers:
Zemlinsky String Quartet
Nicholas Chong, musicologist

Program:
Zemlinsky - String Quartet No. 1
Janácek - String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters”
Dvorák - Love Songs, Op. 83

Beethoven: Intimate Letters
Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 7:30pm
The Italian Academy | 1161 Amsterdam Avenue | NYC
Tickets: $45 includes wine and refreshments

Performers:
Ariel String Quartet

Program:
Beethoven - String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 6
Beethoven - String Quartet, Op. 131

Mozart, Schumann, and the Tales of Hoffmann
Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 7:30pm
Bohemian National Hall | 321 E 73rd St. | New York, NY
Tickets: $45 includes wine and refreshments

Performers:
Philippe Quint, violin
Grace Park, violin
Zlatomir Fung, cello
Matthew Lipman, viola
Kyle Armbrust, viola
Vsevolod Dvorkin, piano
Damian Fowler, journalist

Program:
Mozart - String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516
Schumann - Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44

When Brahms Met Tchaikovsky...
Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at 7:30pm
Bohemian National Hall | 321 E 73rd St. | New York, NY
Tickets: $45 includes wine and refreshments

Performers:
Sitkovetsky Duo
Nicholas Chong, musicologist

Program:
Tchaikovsky - Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42
Grieg - Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 45
Brahms - Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100

Archduke Rudolf: Beethoven’s Pupil and Patron
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at 7:30pm
Bohemian National Hall | 321 E 73rd St. | New York, NY
Tickets: $45 includes wine and refreshments

Performers:
Ignat Solzhenitsyn, piano
Korbinian Altenberger, violin
Na-Young Baek, cello

Program:
Beethoven - Violin Sonata No.10 in G major, Op.96
Beethoven - Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97 “Archduke”

Music of the 18th Century Grand Tour
Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 7:30pm
Bohemian National Hall | 321 E 73rd St. | New York, NY
Tickets: $45 includes wine and refreshments

Performers:
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Four Nations Ensemble

Program:
Antonio Vivaldi
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Arcangelo Corelli
Jean-Baptiste Quentin 

About ASPECT Foundation for Music and Arts
ASPECT Foundation for Music and Arts was founded by Irina Knaster in London in 2011 and relocated to New York City in 2016. ASPECT presents a new concert format – one that transforms the traditional recital into an intimate, engaging, and thought-provoking blend of performance, speech, and image.

The Foundation’s chamber-music events feature some of today’s leading musicians and music experts. For each concert, they set the works on the program in context with presentations supported by visuals. These “illustrated talks” reveal fascinating details about the composer, the music, and the cultural history of the period in question.  

By putting heart and soul into every concert, ASPECT aims both to support and promote artists, and to welcome audiences old and new to explore new aspects of a classical repertoire of endless riches. It’s more than a concert. To find out more, please visit www.aspectfoundation.net.

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