“Continental Harmony” UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall on March 8th
Entire Concert Devoted to Lyris Quartet in Honor of Jacaranda’s 10th Anniversary
UCLA’s Music Library Hosts “Continental Harmony”
a Free Concert at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall on March 8, 8:00 p.m.
SANTA MONICA, CA, Feb. 21, 2014 — Jacaranda’s next concert, on March 8 at 8:00 p.m., will be held at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall, which is waiving admission to honor Jacaranda’s 10th anniversary. Jacaranda’s inaugural season featured an adventurous young string quartet known as Denali, which played with the series until 2010. Denali was succeeded by Lyris as quartet in residence. This free “Continental Harmony” concert will be entirely devoted to the Lyris Quartet, playing 20th-century American string quartet repertoire spanning 80 years. For the occasion, Lyris will open with their debut performance of the String Quartet No. 2 by Charles Ives (1911-13), followed by a Jacaranda signature work from 1973, String Quartet No. 4, “Amazing Grace,” by Ben Johnston. String Quartet No. 5 by Philip Glass (1991), a Lyris specialty, will be followed with String Quartet No. 3 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Composed in Los Angeles at the end of WWII, Korngold’s Quartet No. 3 was performed by Denali in its final season, and will also be performed by Lyris for the first time. The quartet was premiered at UCLA Royce Hall in 1946. Fearing that his film music would be forgotten, Korngold recycled themes from “Devotion” (1943) about the Bronte Sisters, the war themed “Between Two Worlds” (1944), and the classic “The Sea Wolf” (1941) with Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino and John Garfield.
Jacaranda is devoting “Continental Harmony” to the string quartet, for the first time, in recognition of its importance to Jacaranda’s programming.
The UCLA Music Library will host this free concert, underwritten by the UCLA Music Library’s Christine and Hugo Davise Fund for Contemporary Music, at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall, 445 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
Reservations are strongly recommended. To RSVP and for more information, please visit www.JacarandaMusic.org or call (213) 483-0216.
About Jacaranda: Jacaranda, with the motto of “music at the edge,” is a series of intimate concert adventures into the realm of new and rarely heard classical music designed to awaken curiosity, passion and discovery in diverse audiences. Founded in 2003 by arts impresario Patrick Scott and conductor/organist Mark Alan Hilt, Jacaranda produces a series (eight concerts this season) that features current and rising stars in the world of classical music performance. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Jacaranda’s full 2013-14 season information is available at jacarandamusic.org. Most concerts are at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401.
About The Lyris Quartet: The Lyris Quartet, described as “radiant…excellent… and powerfully engaged” by Mark Swed of the LA Times, was founded in 2008. The founding of Lyris was the culmination of years of collaboration between its members in many different ensembles throughout the Los Angeles area. The individual members of the quartet have won top prizes at such competitions as the Tchaikovsky International Competition and Aspen Music Festival as well as collaborated with renowned artists Natalia Gutman, David Geringas, Martha Argerich, Alban Gerhardt, Boris Pergamenschikov, Guillame Sutre, Myung-Whun Chung, and Richard Stoltzman.
They have collaborated with composers Steve Reich, Krystof Penderecki, Oliver Knussen, Steven Mackey, John Adams, Paquito D’Rivera, Wadada Leo Smith, Gerard Schurmann, and Billy Childs.
Lyris has appeared throughout North America, Europe, and Asia in a diverse range of ensembles including Grammy-nominated groups Absolute Ensemble and Southwest Chamber Music, and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa as well as solo and chamber appearances in various festivals such as Ravinia, Brahms Festival in Madrid, Music Academy of the West, Banff Centre for the Arts, Czech SommerFest, and Oregon Festival of American Music among others.
In Los Angeles, Lyris has performed at the Bing Theater at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Broad Stage, Zipper Hall at The Colburn School, Royce Hall, and Disney Hall. They opened the Long Beach Opera’s production of Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen with a featured performance of the “Intimate Letters” quartet and performed the west coast premiere of David Lang’s “The Difficulty of Crossing a Field.” Other performances have included the South Bay Chamber Music Series, Los Angeles Music Guild, Annenberg Series, and Chamber Music Palisades. This year will mark their fourth season as the resident ensemble for the critically acclaimed series Jacaranda: Music at the Edge.
The Lyris Quartet also helps to curate the new music series “Hear Now” which helps to promote the music of Los Angeles composers. They have just completed their first album for Toccata Classics which will be released next month.
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