Ives Quartet to be in Residence at UB in April

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The critically acclaimed Ives Quartet will be in residence at the University at Buffalo April 20-22, performing two concerts -- including the sixth concert of the Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle -- as well as conducting a master class.

Other highlights of the Department of Music's concert schedule for April include performances by the Baird Trio on April 4 and the "Final Sonata" of Stephen Manes' popular presentation of the entire cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas on April 16.

The Ives Quartet will open its residency at UB by performing the sixth concert of the Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle at 8 p.m. April 20 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

The quartet will present Brahms' Clarinet Quintet with guest clarinetist and UB faculty member Jean Kopperud, as well as works by American composers Charles Ives and Quincy Porter during a concert to be held at 3 p.m. April 22, also in Lippes Concert Hall.

Tickets for both concerts are $12 for general admission; $9 for UB faculty, staff, alumni, senior citizens and WNED members; and $5 for students.

The ensemble also will conduct a master class with UB students at 1 p.m. April 21 in Baird Recital Hall, 250 Baird Hall, North Campus. The class will be free and open to the public.

Based in the San Francisco Bay area, the Ives Quartet has attracted audiences from around the globe, from Alice Tully Hall in New York City to St. John's Smith Square in London. Named after American composer Charles Ives to reflect the spirit of his individuality, the Ives Quartet has collaborated with numerous other guest artists, including clarinetist Dimitri Ashkenazy on the Brahms Clarinet Quintet.

In addition to performing live, the ensemble -- composed of Bettina Mussumeli, violin; Susan Freier, violin; Jodi Levitz, viola; and Stephen Harrison, cello -- has recorded on the Laurel Records, Music and the Arts, and the AIX Entertainment labels. The quartet's latest recording project, scheduled to be out this year on the Naxos label, includes Quincy Porter's first four string quartets.

One of the most innovative and versatile clarinetists today, Kopperud is known for her virtuoso performances, both in the concert hall and in music theater. A graduate of the Juilliard School and former pupil of Nadia Boulanger, Kopperud has toured internationally as a concert soloist and chamber musician. National acclaim for her performances of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Harlekin," a tour-de-force for the dancing clarinetist, led to her Avery Fisher Hall debut, presented by the New York Philharmonic.

Kopperud, who joined the UB faculty last fall as an associate professor of music, also is a member of the New York New Music Ensemble, the Chamber Players of the League of Composers/ISCM, Washington Square Chamber Players, Ensemble 21, Omega Ensemble and Heard, UB's faculty ensemble.

The Baird Trio, composed of UB faculty members Jonathan Golove, cello; Stephen Manes, piano; and Movses Pogossian, violin, will present a varied program of both contemporary and classical works at 8 p.m. April 4 in Lippes Concert Hall. Kopperud again will perform as guest clarinetist.

Tickets are $5 for the general public and free for UB students with ID.

The program will include "Kammersonate" by German composer Hans Werner Henze, Trio in Three Movements by Mauricio Kagel and the U.S. premiere of "Agnus Dei" for clarinet, violin, cello and piano by Tigran Mansuryan, featuring Kopperud as clarinet soloist.

Named in honor of the late Cameron Baird, founder of the UB music department, and his late wife, Jane Baird, a longtime benefactor of the department, the Baird Trio performs a wide range of repertoire, devoting particular attention to recent and rarely heard works.

Stephen Manes' third-ever presentation of the entire cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas will conclude with the "Final Sonata" at 8 p.m. April 16 in Lippes Concert Hall.

Manes has presented the cycle in eight concerts, approximately one per month, on selected Monday evenings beginning last September. Following the April 16 performance, the audience is invited to a reception in the lobby of Slee Hall, hosted by Kappa Kappa Psi, to honor Manes' accomplishment.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for students.

Manes, a former chair of the Department of Music, has appeared numerous times with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and has performed with the Pittsburgh, National, Detroit, Baltimore and Denver symphonies, and at the Boston Esplanade under such noted conductors as Michael Tilson Thomas, Neville Marriner, Arthur Fiedler, Christopher Keene, Semyon Bychkov and Maximiano Valdes. Manes has performed in most major U.S. cities, as well as in such European centers as London, West Berlin, Amsterdam, The Hague and Vienna. His affinity for chamber music has led to performances with the Cleveland, Tokyo, Kronos, Rowe and Cassatt string quartets, and to appearances at the Marlboro and Chautauqua music festivals.

A graduate of the Juilliard School, Manes has been a prize winner in the Leventritt, Kosciuszko and Michaels competitions.

Tickets for all Department of Music concerts can be obtained at the Slee Hall box office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the Center for the Arts box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and at all Ticketmaster outlets, including Ticketmaster.com.