Music in NYC: Bartok, Shostakovich by Ariel Quartet at Aspect Chamber Music Series

Haunted Minds program of music by Bartok and Shostakovich on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at 7:30 pm at the Italian Academy of Columbia University; performed by the Ariel Quartet with the illuminated talk by musicologist Nicholas Chong

Bela Bartok; Dmitry Shostakovich; the Ariel Quartet, photo credit Marco Borggreve

Aspect Chamber Music Series continues its season with Haunted Minds program. Music by Shostakovich and Bartok will be performed by Ariel Quartet with the illuminated talk by musicologist Nicholas Chong. Chong will dive deep into the circumstances and traumatic experiences that made lasting impressions on the composers. While quite different at their core, those experiences influenced not only composers’ day to day life but also led to an inward search for inspiration.

Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 included in the program is interpreted as a requiem written Shostakovich to himself. In the atmosphere of distrust and political scapegoating orchestrated by Stalin’s regime, Shostakovich came under criticism for the complexity of his compositions and its incomprehensibility by the laypeople of Soviet Union. Rightfully fearing for his life and liberty, Shostakovich wrote String Quartet No. 8 as a musical response to personal crises. It is full of references to his prior works and his musical monogram. The music by both composers reveals a lot about how the confrontation with darkness can ultimately lead back to the light.

Recipient of numerous international awards, the Ariel Quartet is well known to audiences around the globe for the depth of musical interpretation and its passionate performances. The concert on November 14, 2019 will surely be no exception offering a delightful evening for music lovers.

Program Information

Bartók – String Quartet No. 1
Shostakovich – String Quartet No. 8

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Beyond NYC: Jason Vieaux, Guitar with Julien Labro, Bandoneon and Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Caramoor at Katonah, NY

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Piazzolla on July 16, 2017

Jason Vieaux, photo by Tyler Boye; image source jasonvieaux.com

With a program of chamber music heavily influenced by the genius of Vivaldi, this concert on July Sunday afternoon is promising to be a meditation on the past with classical guitar, bandoneon, violin and a chamber orchestra serenading the summer.

Jason Vieaux, a winner of 2015 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo, is returning to Caramoor with Julien Labro on bandoneon and Krista Benin Fenney on violin. Vieaux’s impeccable technique and musicality “makes the guitar sing” in the words of Tom Huizenga, NPR host. From the beginning of Vieaux’s engagement with the NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series when he was young-artist-in-residence, his mastery have flourished adding on a diverse sound palette of West-African rhythms, Argentinian tangos and classical preludes. On his return to the Tiny Desk Concert studio as a renown international musician seven years later, his music had transformed the studio into “a quiet, jasmine-scented garden in Andalusia” as described by Huizenga.

Julien Labro photo by Anna Webber / image source julienlabro.com

Julien Labro is a well-known accordionist whose music blends folk and classical melodies into an eclectic and rich mix. In the course of his career Labro’s main influence was the music of an Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla. According to Labro’s autobiography, Piazzolla was the reason for Labro to pick up a bandoneon. Sharing this affection, Vieaux and Labro had already recorded 7 albums on the music by Piazzolla with the most recent one Infusion by Azica produced in 2016.

The combination of top quality music performance and spectacular Caramoor gardens and grounds makes it an ideal place for a summer night out. At Caramoor the visitors can enjoy architecture, history, art, horticulture and music all in one place. Arrive early to have a chance to explore them all.

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Tag: chamber music