INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED ATTACCA QUARTET TO PERFORM 2019 BEETHOVEN STRING CYCLE AT UB

The University at Buffalo Department of Music, in gratitude of the generosity of the late Frederick and Alice Slee, is proud to present the Attacca Quartet in concert on Friday, February 15 at 7:30pm, Sunday, February 17 at 3:00pm, Friday, March 8 at 7:30pm, Sunday, March 10 at 3:00pm, Friday, April 26 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, April 28 at 3:00pm.   All concerts are to be held in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall.

UB is almost certainly the only place in the country, or the world, that presents the Beethoven string quartet cycle annually. UB’s presentation is also unique in that ensembles appearing in the series cannot dictate the order in which they present the individual quartets: The Slees’ bequest stipulates the order in which the quartets are to be performed.   This season marks the 63rd consecutive presentation of the Slee Beethoven String Quartet Cycle.

“We’re living in a golden age of string quartets…It’s hard to disagree when you hear

the vibrant young players in New York’s Attacca Quartet.”

— NPR

PROGRAMS

Friday, February 15th:

Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127

Quartet in F Major, Op.18, No. 1

—

Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3

Sunday, February 17th:

Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 74 (“The Harp”)

Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2

—

Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131

Friday, March 8th:

Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3

“Grosse Fuge,” Op. 133

—

Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1

Sunday, March 10th:

Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 (“Serioso”)

Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6

—

Quartet in A minor, Op. 132

Friday, April 26th:

Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5

—

Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130

Sunday, April 28th:

Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4

Quartet in F Major, Op. 135

—

Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2

TICKETS

UB Music Department concert tickets will be available through a variety of outlets this year.  The least expensive and easiest way to purchase tickets is online at www.ticketfly.com.  For those wishing to obtain tickets in another manner, there are options according to the following pricing structure:

General Public

$15 plus $2 fee online at www.ticketfly.com

$15 plus $4 fee by phone at 877-987-6487 (Ticketfly)

$19 in person at UB’s Center for the Arts (Tue-Fri, 12pm-6pm)

$22 in person at the door (one hour before concert time)

Seniors/UB fac, staff, alumni/non-UB students

$10 plus $2 fee online at www.ticketfly.com

$10 plus $4 fee by phone at 877-987-6487 (Ticketfly)

$14 in person at UB’s Center for the Arts (Tue-Fri, 12pm-6pm)

$17 in person at the door (one hour before concert time)

All UB students with a valid ID will receive one complimentary ticket to all UB Music Department events.

ABOUT THE ATTACCA QUARTET

Amy Schroeder – Violin

Keiko Tokunaga – Violin

Nathan Schram – Viola

Andrew Yee – Cello

Praised by The Strad for encompassing ​“maturity beyond its members’ years,” the internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet is one of the most dynamic ensembles of their generation. As stated by The Washington Post ​“Mastery like this is scarce enough in quartets that have played together for decades.”

Touring extensively in the United States, recent and upcoming highlights include Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts, Wolf Trap, Carolina Performing Arts, Chamber Music Detroit, and a residency at the National Sawdust, Brooklyn. This season, they also make their debut appearing in the New York Philharmonic’s newly announced Nightcap series and will perform a series of Beethoven String Quartet cycles both at the historic University at Buffalo’s Slee Beethoven Quartet Cycle series, and at the New York and Trinity Lutheran Church, Manhattan, where they have a longstanding partnership.

The Attacca Quartet’s most recent album release included string quartet works of Michael Ippolito. These works were performed as part of the group’s residency at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, including three concerts of works by living composers. The group’s next recording project will feature string quartet works of Caroline Shaw.

The Attacca Quartet recently completed a recording project of Haydn’s masterwork “The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross,” arranged by Andrew Yee and the Attacca Quartet. In his review for Gramophone, Donald Rosenberg wrote, “The Attacca Quartet explore the work’s range of expressive moods with utmost sensitivity to nuance and interplay …. They triumph in every respect, and are captured in such vivid sound that no telling Haydn detail is allowed to go unheard.” Thewholenote.com wrote, “It’s easily the most satisfying string version of the work that I’ve heard.”

In 2013, the quartet released the complete works for string quartet by John Adams on Azica Records. It was praised by Steve Smith of The New York Times as a “vivacious, compelling set,” describing the Attacca Quartet’s playing as “exuberant, funky, and … exactingly nuanced.” The Boston Globe also praised the release, stating, “Few [recent recordings] are as consequential as ‘Fellow Traveler,’ … superb performances.” The album was the recipient of the 2013 National Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award. The quartet has been honored with both the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association and the Lotos Prize in the Arts from the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation.

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