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  The Borealis String Quartet of Vancouver, British Columbia, is one of six “international” string quartets performing this year’s Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle.

By SUE WUETCHER

Published: September 16, 2010

The Borealis String Quartet will open the 2010-11 Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle, the Department of Music’s annual presentation of the complete string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven, with a concert at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus.

The quartet, comprised of Patricia Shih and Yuel Yawney (violins), Nikita Pogrebnoy (viola) and Shih-Lin Chen (cello), will present Beethoven’s Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 127; Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No 1; and Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3.

This year’s Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle is particularly notable, as each quartet hails from a distinct international city. In addition to the Borealis String Quartet of Vancouver, British Columbia, also performing in the six-concert cycle will be the Talich Quartet of Prague, Ysaye Quartet of Paris, Leipzig String Quartet of Leipzig, Vogler Quartet of Berlin and the Henschel Quartet of Munich.

Advance tickets for the Borealis concert, as well as the other concerts in the cycle,  are $12 for general admission; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni and senior citizens; and $5 for students. Tickets at the door are $20, $15 and $8.

One of the most dynamic and exciting ensembles of its generation, the Borealis String Quartet has received international critical acclaim for its fiery performances, passionate style and refined musical interpretation. Founded in Vancouver in 2000, the Borealis has rapidly established a stellar reputation, touring extensively in North America and performing to enthusiastic sold-out audiences in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Montreal and Ottawa. 

The Borealis’ performance is one of several concerts offered by the Department of Music during September.

Guitarist Magnus Andersson, cellist Rohan de Saram and bassoonist Pascal Gallois will offer an all-contemporary concert program featuring works by Iannis Xenakis and Luciano Berio, among others, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 in Lippes Concert Hall. The concert is the second in the 2010-11 series presented by the Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music.

Advance tickets are $12 for general admission; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni and senior citizens; and $5 for students. Tickets at the door are $20, $15 and $8.

The performers also will present a composer workshop at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 22 in Baird Recital Hall, 250 Baird Hall, North Campus. The session is free and open to the public.

Two UB ensembles—the Slee Sinfonietta and the Genkin Philharmonic—will share the stage in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts for a joint concert at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21.

The Slee Sinfonietta will perform work by Edgard Varése, Anton von Webern, Igor Stravinsky and Trevor Björklund, a composer and trombonist who received his PhD in music composition from UB and still lives and teaches in Buffalo.

After intermission, the Genkin Philharmonic will take the stage and perform work by Frank Zappa, Don Van Vliet, Anton von Webern and Zomby Woof.

Advance tickets are $12 for general admission; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni and senior citizens; and $5 for students. Tickets at the door are $20, $15 and $8.

The Slee Sinfonietta is the professional chamber orchestra in residence at UB and the flagship ensemble of the Center for 21st Century Music. The Sinfonietta’s concerts feature challenging new works by contemporary composers, as well as lesser-known works from the chamber orchestra repertoire.

The orchestra was founded in 1997 by composer and UB faculty member David Felder, and is comprised of UB faculty artists, visiting artists, regional professionals and advanced performance students.

Led by Jon Nelson, associate professor of music, the Genkin Philharmonic features some of the finest student performers in the Department of Music, as well as UB faculty members, and performs unique and complex arrangements of cover tunes, creations of original works and electronic arrangements of classical works.

Tickets to all Department of Music concerts are available at the Slee Hall box office, at the Center for the Arts box office and at all Ticketmaster outlets, including Ticketmaster.com.