Faure Quartett Makes Orange County Debut at Segerstrom Center Tonight

Segerstrom Center's Chamber Music Series continues tonight, November 11 at 8 p.m. with leading piano ensemble, Faure? Quartett. For its Center debut, the quartet will perform Mozart's Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 493, Martinu?'s Piano Quartet No. 1, H. 287 and music from its namesake, Gabriel Faure?'s Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15. The Quartett, which includes Dirk Mommertz, piano; Erika Geldsetzer, violin; Sascha Fro?mbling, viola and Konstantin Heidrich, cello, is known for its adventurous repertory that pushes the boundaries of chamber music programming by spanning centuries and musical genres. To help enrich the experience for audiences, a free Preview Talk with musicologist and author Herbert Glass will take place at 7:15 p.m. in Samueli Theater.

Tickets for Faure? Quartett start at $29 and will go on sale Sunday, October 18 at 10 a.m. PST. Tickets will be available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds special underwriting support from Sam B. Ersan and the Colburn Foundation for its support of the Chamber Music Series. Kia is the Official Automotive Partner of the Center and United Airlines is the Official Airline of the Center. Classical KUSC is the Media Partner of the Chamber Music Series.

Segerstrom Center's 2015 - 2016 Chamber Music Series continues with the Dilijan Chamber Players, Dover Quartet and St. Lawrence String Quartet.

The Faure? Quartett, has established itself as one of the world's leading piano quartets within just a few years, discovering new sound fields in chamber music and performing compositions outside the mainstream repertoire. The members are visionary in their approach and highly regarded for their experiments and discoveries, including performances with the NDR Big Band, collaborations with Rufus Wainwright or Sven Helbig, engagements in clubs including Berghain, Cocoon Club or "Le Poisson Rouge" in New York and appearances on television programs such as Rhapsody in School, where children gain appreciation and enthusiasm for chamber music.

The Quartett's album, Popsongs in 2009, created a great deal of buzz in the press and with their fans. In the following year, the ensemble was awarded the ECHO Classic for their album classic beyond borders, their second award following their recording of Brahms' piano quartets (Chamber Music recording of the year, 2008). Other prizes include the German Music Competition, the ensemble prize from Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, international competition and recording awards, Music Prize Duisburg and Brahms prize Schleswig Holstein.

The musicians of the Faure? Quartett are pioneers in many ways. They met in 1995 while studying in Karlsruhe for the 150th anniversary of Gabriel Faure?. In 2006, they signed a contract with Deutsche Grammophon, promoting them to the Champions League of the classic music business. They made highly regarded benchmark-recordings of works by Mozart, Brahms, Mendelssohn and pop songs from Peter Gabriel and Steely Dan.

Worldwide tours raise the Faure? Quartett's profile abroad, and international masterclasses are part of their work with students. During their tours, the musicians appear in the world's most important chamber music venues; including Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Berlin Philharmony, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires and Wigmore Hall London. All these mosaics form a unique profile for this defining chamber music ensemble. The members teach at the universities in Berlin and Essen. Moreover, they are artistic directors of Festspielfru?hling Ru?gen as well as Quartet in Residence at the University of Music Karlsruhe.

For more information about the Faure?e Quartett, visit www.faurequartett.de/en/the-quartet.en.