Szymanowski Quartet to Return to Segerstrom Center with Joseph Kalichstein in January 2015

Segerstrom Center's Chamber Music Series continues on Saturday, January 31, 2015 with the acclaimed Szymanowski Quartet. For its third appearance, the Warsaw-based ensemble will perform traditional, popular and rare works by Polish composers Marcin Leopolita, Wac?aw of Szamotu?y, Krzysztof Penderecki and Graz?yna Bacewicz. Pianist Joseph Kalichstein makes his Center debut performing Chopin's Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 and Dvor?a?k's Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 8. There will be a free Preview Talk by musicologist and author Herbert Glass at 7:15 p.m. in Samueli Theater.

The New York Times declares, "It is hard not to fall in love with the Szymanowski Quartet." The ensemble includes Agata Szymczewska, violin; Grzegorz Kotow, violin; Vladimir Mykitka, viola and Marcin Sieniawski, cello. During this performance, the Szymanowski will continue the exploration of works by Graz?yna Bacewicz that it began during its last visit to the Center. Bacewicz achieved rare international fame as a female Eastern European composer. "String Quartet No. 4 by Graz?yna Bacewicz is one of the most popular and often-performed string quartets in Poland," says violinist Kotow.

Tickets for Szymanowski Quartet and Joseph Kalichstein start at $29 and are now 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 the Colburn Foundation for its support of the Chamber Music Series with special underwriting for this engagement from Sam B. Ersan. 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.

Founded in Warsaw in 1995, the Szymanowski Quartet has developed into one of the most exceptional international string quartets of its generation. Its sophisticated programs present a perfect balance between intellect and passion, characteristics with which the Szymanowski Quartet captivates audiences at prestigious festivals and concert halls in Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia and South America.

The Quartet's extraordinarily high standard has been confirmed by numerous awards and distinctions. They took first prizes at the Premio Vittorio Gui Competition in Florence and the In Memoriam Dimitri Shostakovich in Hanover. They were prizewinners at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. From 2001 to 2003, the Szymanowski Quartet participated in the New Generation Artists Scheme of BBC Radio 3 in London. In 2005, they were honored with the Szymanowski Award of the Karol Szymanowski Foundation in Warsaw, the only time ever given to a string quartet. In 2007, they were awarded the Medal of Honor by the Polish government for their service to Polish culture.

In spring 2009, the Quartet launched the record label CAvi-music, which focuses on their namesake, composer Karol Szymanowski, in the context of three music capitals: Paris, Vienna and Moscow. Recent recordings include the Shostakovich and Weinberg quintets for Ha?nssler Classic and music of Zelenski and Zarebski released on Hyperion in December 2012. They were the cover feature for the February/March 2012 issue of Ensemble Magazine.

The Szymanowski Quartet studied at the Hochschule fu?r Musik und Theater in Hanover with their teacher and mentor Hatto Beyerle. They continued to refine their performances working with Isaac Stern, Walter Levin and the following quartets: Amadeus, Emerson, Juilliard and Guarneri. They have been Quartet in Residence Musikhochschule Hanover since 2000.

Joseph Kalichstein is acclaimed for the heartfelt intensity and technical mastery of his playing. He enthralls audiences all over the globe, winning equal praise as orchestral soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. As an Australian critic exclaimed, "To hear Kalichstein play is to fall in love with music all over again!"

Kalichstein's diverse repertoire ranges from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms to 20th century works by Bartok, Prokofiev and others. He has collaborated with such celebrated conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, James Conlon, Christoph von Dohna?nyi, Charles Dutoit, Lawrence Foster, Zubin Mehta, Andre Previn, Leonard Slatkin, Edo de Waart, David Zinman and the late George Szell and Erich Leinsdorf. He has performed with the world's greatest orchestras, from the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras to the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Symphony, from the NHK and New York Philharmonic to the Cleveland Orchestra. Kalichstein has also been a frequent guest pianist with the world's most beloved string quartets, including the Guarneri and Emerson Quartets, with whom he played the Shostakovich Piano Quintet in their Shostakovich Cycles in London and Washington.

Born in Tel Aviv, Kalichstein came to the United States in 1962. His principal teachers were Joshua Shor in Israel and Edward Steuermann and Ilona Kabos at The Juilliard School. Prior to winning the 1969 Leventritt Award, he had won the Young Concert Artists Auditions, and, as a result, he gave a heralded New York

recital debut followed by an invitation from Leonard Bernstein to perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with the New York Philharmonic in a nationally televised concert on CBS.

Kalichstein is a founding member of the famed Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. The Trio continues to play in major music capitals as well as on all the great university concert series. Its most recent recording project is a CD devoted to works that the eminent American composer Ellen Zwilich had written for the Trio, just released on the Azica label. Bridge records has recently released their critically acclaimed 2-CD Schubert Cycle.

Photo by Irene Zandel

To post a comment, you must register and login.