St. Lawrence String Quartet to Play the Wallis, 1/15

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announces the first classical music concert of its inaugural 2013 - 2014 season in the Bram Goldsmith Theater on Wednesday, January 15, 2014, at 8:00 p.m. with the acclaimed St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) performing a program of Haydn, Korngold and Beethoven. Geoff Nuttall, violin, Mark Fewer, violin, Lesley Robertson, viola, and Christopher Costanza, cello, comprise the quartet.

Program features Haydn's "String Quartet in C-Major, Op. 76, No. 3" ("Emperor"), "String Quartet #3 in D Major, Op. 34," by Korngold and Beethoven's "String Quartet in C-Major, Op. 59, No. 3." Haydn wrote his "Op. 76" string quartets in the late 1790s in Vienna and the third utilized a melody from an earlier composition for the Emperor hence its nickname. Korngold's "String Quartet #3" had its premiere at UCLA in 1949, so is suitable for this inaugural performance. Beethoven's work was published in 1808 and was commissioned by the Russian ambassador to Vienna at the time.

Established in 1989, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has developed an undisputed reputation as a truly world-class chamber ensemble. The quartet performs more than 120 concerts annually worldwide and calls Stanford University its home, where the group is Ensemble in Residence. St. Lawrence String Quartet continues to build its reputation for imaginative and spontaneous music making, through an energetic commitment to the great, established quartet literature as well as championing new works by such composers as John Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, Eziquiel Viñao, and Jonathan Berger. Alex Ross in The New Yorker, said, "the St. Lawrence are remarkable not simply for the quality of their music making, exalted as it is, but for the joy they take in the act of connection."

Tickets ($49-89) are available at www.thewallis.org or by calling 310-746-4000 or in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center Box Office located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

More about St. Lawrence String Quartet

Whether playing Haydn or premiering a new work, the SLSQ has a rare ability to bring audiences to rapt attention. They reveal surprising nuances in familiar repertoire and illuminate the works of some of today's most celebrated composers, often all in the course of one evening. John Adams was inspired to write works expressly for the quartet after hearing them in concert. His "String Quartet," written for the SLSQ, was premiered by the quartet in January 2009.

In spring 2011, the quartet premiered a new work by Osvaldo Golijov, also composed for them. This forthcoming work (co-commissioned by Stanford Lively Arts and Carnegie Hall) is expected to build on the success of their previous collaboration, which culminated in the twice-Grammy-nominated SLSQ recording of the composer's Yiddishbbuk (EMI) in 2002.

SLSQ maintains a busy touring schedule. The 2010/11 season included two trips to Europe with concerts in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Finland and Estonia. In North America, SLSQ returns to Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, New York and Philadelphia in addition to concerts in North Carolina, Georgia, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Florida, Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma. During the summer season SLSQ continued its long association with the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC and Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the quartet's founding in Canada, SLSQ in 2009 commissioned five Canadian composers and performed their work across the country. They also have active working relationships with numerous other composers, including R. Murray Schafer, Christos Hatzis, Ezequiel Viñao, Jonathan Berger, Ka Nin Chan, Roberto Sierra, and Mark Applebaum.

Since 1998 the SLSQ has held the position of Ensemble in Residence at Stanford University. This residency includes working with music students as well as extensive collaborations with other faculty and departments using music to explore a myriad of topics. Recent collaborations have involved the School of Medicine, School of Education, and the Law School. In addition to their appointment at Stanford, the SLSQ are visiting artists at the University of Toronto. The foursome's passion for opening up musical arenas to players and listeners alike is evident in their annual summer chamber music seminar at Stanford and their many forays into the depths of musical meaning with preeminent music educator Robert Kapilow.

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