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Portland
Concert Series 2008 - 2009
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| October 5, 2008: "Capriccio" .....Mendelssohn; "String Quartet No. 2" – Ernest Bloch; "Piano Quintet in F sharp minor", Op. 67 - Amy Beach; Guest Artist: Virginia Eskin, Piano.
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| December 7, 2008: “String Quartet No. 2" .....Borodin; "String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76, No. 5"..... Haydn; "Piano Quintet No. 1" ..... Bloch. Guest Artist: Paul Posnak, Piano.
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| February 22, 2009: “String Quartet in D Major, Op. 64, No. 5" ..... Haydn; "Quintet for Saxophone and String Quartet (2008)" ..... Gil Shohat; "String Quartet in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1" ..... Feliz Mendelssohn. Guest Artist: Kenneth Radnovsky, Saxophone.
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April 19, 2009: “String sextet in G Major, Op. 36" ..... Johannes Brahms; "Octet in E flat Major. Op. 20" ..... Felix Mendelssohn.
Guest artists: The Borromeo String QuartetNicholas Kitchen: Violin
Mai Motobuchi: ViolaKristopher Tong: Violin
Yeesun Kim: Cello.
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All concerts are at 2pm., Woodford's Congregational Church; Woodford Street; Portland, Maine. General admission $ 20; Seniors $ 18; 21 and under: free. Subsidized tickets available. Info: (207) 761-1522 |
| UPCOMING |
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STRING QUARTET WORKSHOP at Newagen Inn - September 7 - 10: Southport Island, ME.
The Portland String Quartet opens its gala 40th concert season with a performance at the Boothbay Opera House Tuesday, September 9th at 7:30 p.m. The program, Beethoven’s heroic Quartet in C Major, Op.59, No.3, and Ernest Bloch’s Quartet No.2, in many ways represent cornerstones of the PSQ’s stellar career with founding personnel. The Quartet championed the “other works” of Bloch - his five string quartets and two piano quintets - at a time when they had largely been passed over by more “contemporary” language in musical composition. Bloch’s music, however, is an essential element of this transition in our cultural history. It’s intimate connection to the music of Beethoven makes this program especially compelling.
Op.59, No.3, (1806), the last of the set of quartets dedicated to the Russian Count Rasoumowsky, demonstrates Beethoven’s triumph over life’s physical, emotional and spiritual struggles. This work achieves a special peace in the slow movement and the closing grand fugue expresses the ultimate in human exaltation.
Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) wrote his Quartet No.2 in l947, the year it also received the New York Critics Circle Award for Chamber Music. As a powerful work of growing intensity, it demonstrates the composer’s admiration and knowledge of the craft he inherited from giants such as Bach and Beethoven. The 5-note motive which begins the second movement becomes transfigured through the balance of the work, culminating in a monumental Fugue and Epilogue. Bloch’s great genius expands, through the language of the 20th century, both the structures of the Baroque and Classical eras and the personal expressive power released by Beethoven.
“Music is a storm that carries one away, unites all men in a unit of solidarity,
shakes them to the bottom of their soul, waking them to the greatest
problems of their common destiny.” - Ernest Bloch
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| Concert - September 20, 3:00 PM: Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME; Studzinsky Auditorium |
| Concert - October 5th: PSQ Portland Series opening concert, see above |
| Concert - October 27: October 27; Harvard University; Harvard Judaica Center Auditorium. Program will feature the world premiere of Quintet for Saxophone and String quartet by Israeli composer Gil Shohat written for the Portland String Quartet and saxophonist Kenneth Radnovsky. |
| Concert - October 16; Miami, FL |
| AFTERNOON MASTERCLASSES - Nov. 14: University of Miami (FL) |
| CONCERT - Nov. 16; Saint Martha - Yamaha Concert Series;
9301 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL |
| PSQ Lecture series - November 3, 10, 24; 7 - 9 PM; Brunswick Public Library; Brunswick, ME |
| Concert - December 7, PSQ Portland Series, see above. |
| Concert - December 14, 3PM; Piper Shores, Cape Elizabeth, ME |
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The 2008 PSQ Workshop (July 20 - August 3) will be held at Saint Joseph's College in Standish, Maine. The public is welcome to attend not only the concerts but also the free master class. All concerts and master classes are held in the Viola George Auditorium of Alfond Hall.
Concert tickets must be purchased at the door. |
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Chamber Music by the Sea with the Portland String Quartet
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quartet workshop series for adult amateur string players.
For
information please e-mail chambermusicbythesea@yahoo.com.
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The Maine Festival of American Music: Its Roots and Traditions |
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Wednesday,
June 25 - Saturday, June 28, 2008, New Gloucester, Maine
For more detailed information, click here
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Future Portland String Quartet Concert Cruise |
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PSQ Waterways of the Czars River Cruise 2009
For information contact Hurley Travel Experts
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