DAHA is engaged in an unprecedented multi-year project to present all of Antonín Dvořák’s chamber works. Join us when we offer our next exciting chapter in this ongoing cycle, organized by violinist Laura Jean Goldberg and featuring the Sullivan Quartet.
This year’s concert – part of the Year of Czech Music 2024 – explores Dvořák’s early and revealing String Quartet no.4 in E Minor; a further fascinating compositional facet in the String Quartet Movement in F Major; and selections from the exquisite, ever-romantic Cypresses.
Dvořák’s prolific output of chamber works exceeded forty duos, trios, string quartets, quintets and sextets. For a taste of earlier concerts in DAHA’s series, we invite you to visit our YouTube channel.
PROGRAM
String Quartet Movement in F Major
Selections from Cypresses
intermission
String Quartet no.4 in E Minor (circa 1870)
General admission: $30; seniors, students: $20. Tickets may be purchased online through Eventbrite, or at the door at the time of the event (cash only).
NOTES
String Quartet Movement in F Major
Written in 1881 to fulfill a commission from the celebrated Hellmesberger Quartet, Dvořák eventually set it aside, composing instead the great C major Quartet Opus 61. In the F Major Quartet Movement, Dvořák returns to Beethoven’s Classical form and mode of expression.
We must bear in mind that, for a nineteenth century composer seeking an international audience, following Beethoven’s example was an act of artistic assertiveness, the artist declaring himself to be worthy to be one of Beethoven’s followers and succesors.
Selections from the Cypresses
In Dvořák's exquisite Cypresses (Cypřiše of 1887), the composer made string quartet arrangements of some of his own early love songs for voice and piano, also titled Cypresses. These romantic pieces are based on poems of the same name by Gustav Pfleger-Moravsky.
String Quartet no.4 in E Minor
Dvořák composed and then discarded this Quartet, possibly due to the radical nature of this work. In the early 20th century the quartet parts, not the score, were discovered in the collection of Antonín Bennewitz, violinist and director of the Prague Conservatoire, an unimpeachable source.
In the boldly innovative Quartet in E minor, taking his cue from German Neo-Romantic composers such as Liszt and Wagner, Dvořák pushes the limits of traditional form and tonality. This work of circa 1870 anticipates many aspects of 20th century modernism including the refusal to establish a clearly defined key center, rhythmic instability, and the expression of deep psychological turmoil that spins towards an unreachable resolution.
The quartet was published in 1968 as part of the complete critical edition of Dvořák's works, and subsequently published by Barenreiter/Supraphon in their Urtext edition. It was recorded by the Prague Quartet in 1976 and received its first public performance in 1990, by the Martinů Quartet in Prague.
ABOUT
The SULLIVAN STRING QUARTET brings together Laura Jean Goldberg, violin I, guest violinist Anat Malkin, violin II, Liuh-Wen Ting, viola, and Robert La Rue, cello. Each member of the ensemble has a wide ranging and impressive career in the chamber music scene. The Sullivan Quartet has performed recitals at Bohemian National Hall, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, the Arion Chamber Music Series, Bargemusic in NYC, and at "Music at the Museum" in Bennington, VT. The quartet's inclusive multicultural approach gives a place of honor to repertoire by women composers, African American, Hispanic, and Asian composers, as well as the traditional string quartet repertoire. The Sullivan Quartet is named after trailblazing American architect Louis H. Sullivan, the founder of the "Chicago School" of architecture. Sullivan designed buildings with innovative steel frame construction that incorporated elements of Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts style ornamentation.
LAURA JEAN GOLDBERG, violin, is a seasoned chamber musician, solo artist and teacher. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she performed as soloist with the BSO and is a member of the Chamber Music Faculty at The Juilliard School in the pre-college division. As a founding member of the Cassatt Quartet, Goldberg was a prizewinner at Banff, Coleman, and Fischoff competitions, held residencies at Juilliard, Yale, Tanglewood, Caramoor, and performed internationally. She has worked with contemporary composers including Henri Dutilleux, David Diamond, George Crumb, and Julia Wolfe. Goldberg teaches at Belvoir Terrace, a summer camp empowering young women through the arts in Lenox MA, and is the founder of ArtsAhimsa Music for Peace, a concert organization and chamber music festival where amateur and professional musicians play together in a supportive community setting. She is a board member of the Dvořák American Heritage Association.
A versatile artist, violinist and violist ANAT MALKIN has performed as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician around the world. She embarked on her first international tour at the age of 10, and made her Carnegie Hall debut under the baton of Alexander Schneider at age sixteen. Some of the orchestras with whom she has soloed internationally include the Camerata Universidad Andrés Bello (Chile), Drammen Byorkester (Norway), Israel Chamber Orchestra, New York String Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmonica de Bogotá (Colombia), Orquesta Sinfonica de Salta (Argentina) and the Westchester Philharmonic. Performance broadcasts, interviews and articles about her have appeared in Asian, European, North and South American programs and press. An avid chamber musician and frequent guest artist, Ms. Malkin is presently a member of the New York based Piazzolla Trio. She is also a founding member of the prizewinning Malkin Duo. A graduate of the Juilliard School and the Maastricht Conservatorium, cum laude, Ms. Malkin serves on the violin and viola faculties of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division as well as several international summer music festivals.
A graduate of the Juilliard School with BA and MA degrees and currently a DMA candidate at Stony Brook University, violist LIUH-WEN TING enjoys a fulfilling career as both a performer and teacher. An avid chamber musician, Liuh-Wen was a member of the Meridian String Quartet and has collaborated with many notable artists and ensembles across diverse genres. A proponent of contemporary music, she made her solo debut at Merkin Hall in 2001 for the "Interpretation Series" with five commissioned compositions based on elements of the I Ching. Her performance of Morton Feldman's "Viola in My Life IV" with the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra was praised by Czech Music 2001 as “an extraordinary experience.” She has been featured in festivals such as the Prague Spring Music Festival, Ostrava Days, Warsaw Autumn Music Festival, and the Primavera en la Habana International Electro-Acoustic Music Festival in Cuba. She has premiered and recorded many chamber and solo works for labels including Naxos, Mode, Capstone, and Albany, among others. In New York, she performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the American Composers Orchestra, and the SEM Ensemble. She was on the Solfege faculty of the Juilliard Prep Division for many years and currently serves as a viola faculty member at the Mannes School Prep Division, as well as at Vassar College.
ROBERT LA RUE, cello, was First Prize Winner of the National Society of Arts and Letters Cello Competition, whose jury chairman was Mstislav Rostropovich. Formerly the cellist of the New England String Quartet, Robert is a current member of the Sullivan String Quartet, the Alcott Trio, and the cello ensemble VC3. He plays regularly with the Phoenix Chamber Players at Manhattan’s Center for Jewish History, and has also been a guest of the Locrian Chamber Players and the Alaria Ensemble. He has performed as soloist with the Banff Festival Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra and orchestras in Seattle, Phoenix and Denver. He has served as visiting faculty at Yale University’s Summer Music School and has taught cello at Rutgers University. He has recorded for Arsis Audio and North Branch Records, and is currently completing a disc of works for solo cello by members of the American Composers Alliance. A graduate of Curtis, New England Conservatory, and Juilliard, he also attended Indiana University. His teachers included include David Soyer, Bernard Greenhouse, Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.
This multi-year series is organized by DAHA music advisor and violinist Laura Jean Goldberg, with support of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.