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Endellion String Quartet to perform Oct. 12 in Slee
October concert schedule also to feature faculty recitals, historically significant concert by Slee Sinfonietta
By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor
With playing described by the Daily Telegraph of London as setting the audience "ablaze," the Endellion String Quartet will perform the second concert of the 47th Annual Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle at 8 p.m. Oct. 12 in Slee Concert Hall, North Campus.
The Endellion String Quartet will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 12 in Slee.
PHOTO: Chris Frazer-Smith
The appearance of the British quartet—winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Best Chamber Ensemble—will be one of several noteworthy concerts to be presented by the Department of Music during October.
Also on tap for Slee Concert Hall will be faculty recitals by percussionist Anthony Miranda and the Carnegie Hall-bound flutist Cheryl Gobbetti Hoffman; a performance by the brass and percussion ensemble Metalofonico, and a concert by organist Kevin Bowyer.
In addition, the Slee Sinfonietta, UB's professional chamber orchestra conducted by Magnus Mårtensson, will perform the original version of Edgard Varèse's "Ecuatorial" for the first time since its 1934 premiere.
Formed in 1979, the Endellion String Quartet is renowned as one of the finest quartets in the world, a group that captivates concert goers with a remarkable rapport, "playing to each other with a sense almost of discovery, communicating to the audience on a level of unusual intimacy," according to the Guardian.
In Britain, the Endellion Quartet has appeared at nearly all the major series and festivals, and is regularly broadcast on BBC radio and television.
The quartet's Slee Hall program will feature Beethoven's "Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 74" ("The Harp"), "Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2," and "Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131."
Tickets for the Endellion Quartet are $12 for the general public; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens, and $5 for students.
In "Cheryl Gobbetti Hoffman and Friends," Hoffman on Tuesday will team with Miranda and saxophonist Susan Fancher to preview the program that Hoffman will present as part of MidAmerica Productions' Solo and Chamber Music Series on Oct. 6 in Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall.
Tuesday's performance at UB, to be held at 8 p.m. in Slee, will feature, among other pieces, "Duo for G Major, for flute and soprano saxophone" by Francois Couperin and "Hyxos for alto flute and percussion" by Giacinto Scelsi.
Miranda, coordinator of percussion at UB and director of the internationally renowned UB Percussion Ensemble, will revisit the Slee stage with a program, "The Music of Anthony Miranda," at 8 p.m. Oct. 26. The program will include the premier of two of Miranda's own compositions—"Shattered Glass #1" and "Shattered Glass #2," accompanied by UB dancers choreographed by Tressa Gorman-Crehan, a faculty member in the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Tickets for both Hoffman and Miranda are $5; UB students are admitted free when showing a valid ID.
Plenty of star power and historical significance will fuel the concert to be performed by the Slee Sinfonietta at 8 p.m. Oct. 15 in Slee. For the first time since 1934, Varèse's "Ecuatorial" will be performed with its intended instrumentation—two theremin cellos, baritone voice and orchestra.
Guest musicians will include English organist Kevin Bowyer and members of Metalofonico, a brass and percussion ensemble directed by UB faculty member Jon Nelson—both of whom will be presenting recitals later in the month—as well as renowned bass-baritone Nicholas Isherwood and the husband-and-wife team of Jonathan Golove and Mary Artmann, who will play the theremin cellos. These instruments—stringless, bowless cellos that were a variation of the basic theremin design—are replicas built locally by award-winning instrument builder and restorer Floyd Engels.
A pre-concert lecture will be given at 7 p.m. by Olivia Mattis, a Varèse scholar. A panel discussion will follow the concert, featuring Theremin biographer Albert Glinsky.
Tickets for the Slee Sinfonietta are $12 for the general public; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens, and $5 for students.
Following its appearance with the Slee Sinfonietta, Metalofonico will take the Slee stage with a program titled "A Concise History of Brass Bands in America," billed as the second concert of the Slee/Visiting Artist Series, at 8 p.m. Oct. 17. Bowyer will take command of the Fisk organ at 8 p.m. Oct. 19, presenting a mix of the modern and the classic.
Tickets for Metalofonico are $12 for the general public; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, WNED members with card and senior citizens, and $5 for students. Tickets for Bowyer's recital are $5.
Created at the 2001 June in Buffalo Music festival by Nelson and David Felder, professor of music, Metalofonico (JIBrassworks) is comprised of some of North America's finest brass musicians. The 20-piece ensemble of brass, percussion, saxophone and electric guitar performs landmark 20th century brass repertoire and newly commissioned works. The Oct. 17 program will include Felder's "Incendio" and Nelson's "Insomnio."
Bowyer has played throughout Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, and has become known for his contemporary and unusual repertoire. His program will feature Philip Glass's "Finale" from "Satyagraha," Charles Wuorinen's "Evolutio" and Milton Babbitt's "Manifold."
Tickets to Department of Music's Slee Hall concerts can be obtained at the Slee box office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the UB Center for the Arts box office from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at Ticketmaster outlets.