Seven Landmark Concerts Announced For The Molinari Quartet's 25th Anniversary

The upcoming season of the Molinari Quartet will bear witness to the undeniable talent of this world-renowned Montreal-based ensemble, while showcasing important works rich in emotion and in musical intensity.

Throughout the past quarter of a century, the Molinari Quartet has produced 20 albums, played over 300 works including 123 Canadian pieces (75 from Quebec), 123 world premieres and 79 commissions. It has also organized 8 editions its successful Molinari Quartet International Composition Competition, receiving over a thousand unpublished pieces from 70 countries.

"If you would have told me 25 years ago that I would discover that many masterpieces, I would never have believed you," says Olga Ranzenhofer, founder and artistic director of the quartet. "The string quartet repertoire is so vast and captivating! It's a pleasure for me to be able to share my love for music with my colleagues and with the public."

Essential series

The Molinari Quartet will produce three series in Montreal this season: Twentieth and Beyond, Intimate Concerts and Dialogue on the Plateau.

Twentieth and Beyond will start on October 14th with the anniversary-concert The Molinari @ 25. It will feature major works such as Alfred Schnittke's Quartet No. 2, György Ligeti's Quartet No. 1, Six moments musicaux Op.44 by György Kurtág, as well as Krzysztof Penderecki's Quartet No.4, one of the Polish composer's final works.

On December 9th, Sound Exploration will emphasize the centenary of Iannis Xenakis' birth with the interpretation of Ergma, a powerful piece of the string quartet repertoire. The Molinari Quartet will also perform Hologramme Modal for string quartet and kamancheh a new piece by Iranian composer Showan Tavakol. On top of that, the highly-celebrated ensemble will play Oasis by the Azeri composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, before closing off this memorable concert with the 1927 innovating Quartet No.3 by the famous Hungarian composer Béla Bartók.

English music will play a leading role in the February 17th concert, as Benjamin Britten's imposing Quartet No.2 as well as Four Quarters, a towering piece by Thomas Adès, will be heard. Also, the 7th string quartet by Montreal composer Brian Cherney will be premiered.

Finally, faithful to its tradition of performing complete cycles of string quartet by one composer, the Molinari Quartet will dive into the fascinating universe of Italian composer Luciano Berio on May 19th.

Every performance of the Twentieth and Beyond series will take place at 7:30pm in the wonderful concert hall of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (4750, Henri-Julien Avenue). Tickets : 29,50$, 24,50$ and 12,50$.

Each concert will be preceded by the Dialogues on the Plateau series, a free workshop activity at the Maison de la culture Plateau-Mont-Royal (465, Mont-Royal East), the previous Sunday at 2pm. You will hear analysis, discussions and musical excerpts from the concert's featured works.

Intimate concerts

Furthermore, the series Intimate Concerts will offer three meetings. The first, Musique bleue (September 18th), will present works from Nicolas Gilbert, John Rea, Jacques Hétu, Brian Cherney and Krzysztof Penderecki. Odyssée sonore (November 27th), will explore unusual sounds of the string quartet with works from Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, George Crumb, Krzysztof Penderecki, Giacinto Scelsi and Showan Tavakol. Finally, on December 18th, the Molinari Quartet and its guest, the virtuoso oboist Vincent Boilard, will play quintets for oboe and string quartet by Brian Cherney, Stuart Grant and Elizabeth Raum.

These concerts will take place at the Guido-Molinari Foundation (3288, Sainte-Catherine Street East) in an intimate environment full of paintings. The audience is limited to 30 places. Reserve your place by call or email at qm@quatuormolinari.qc.ca or 514 527-5515. Tickets : 20$.

The 2022-23 season will be launched at the Guido-Molinari Foundation with a benefit event on September 20 at 6pm. On the menu: a diner cocktail, a concert, a draw and a silent auction. Tickets are 200$ with a tax receipt of 150$. Reservations: 514 527-5515 or qm@quatuormolinari.qc.ca.

For more details about the concert season and the most recent news, visit quatuormolinari.qc.ca and the Facebook page of the Molinari Quartet.

 

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