Miro Quartet: Ginastera
1. | Introduction | 00:00:50 |
2. | Ginastera: Quartet No. 1 for Strings, Op. 20 | 00:24:34 |
3. | Ginastera: Quartet No. 3 for Strings with Soprano, Op. 40 | 00:33:05 |
4. | Closing | 00:00:30 |
In this program, we travel to Argentina, a country rich in history, culture, geography, gastronomy, and folklore. Alberto Ginastera was one of the 20th century’s most important composers. Ginastera was classically trained yet drew on his homeland’s extraordinary elements for inspiration including in his three string quartets. From the first and second movements’ depictions of the fiery gauchos, displaying their prowess on horseback, to the slow movement’s depiction of a starry night, the first quartet is a tour of Ginastera’s beloved Pampas and their rich culture. For his third quartet, Ginastera drew inspiration from Arnold Schoenberg’s idea to incorporate a singer, as Schoenberg did in his second quartet from 1908. Premiered in 1974, the Ginastera quartet draws its inspiration from the work of three poets who address broad subjects such as love and war and constitutes one of the most effective and moving chamber works of our time.
PROGRAM
Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983) |
Quartet No. 1 for Strings, Op. 20 (1948) Miro Quartet (Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello) |
Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983) |
Quartet No. 3 for Strings with Soprano, Op. 40 (1973) Kiera Duffy, soprano; Miro Quartet (Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello) |
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Miró Quartet
The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets, having been labeled by the New Yorker as “furiously committed” and noted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer for its “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity.” For over 25 years the Quartet has performed throughout the world on the most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from critics and audiences alike. Based in Austin, Texas, and thriving on the area’s storied music scene, the Miró takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the longstanding tradition of chamber music.
In their 2023–24 season, the Miró Quartet embarks on a new performance and recording project with pianist Lara Downes. Here on Earth features musical depictions of planet earth, its evolution, and the lives of its inhabitants, with works spanning a century of cultural shift that begins with Darius Milhaud’s La Création du Monde, performed in a new arrangement for piano and string quartet. Upcoming performances include the premiere of a new version of Kevin Puts’s Credo with the Naples Philharmonic, as well as performances for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and Premiere Performances in Hong Kong.
Formed in 1995, the Miró Quartet was awarded first prize at several national and international competitions including the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition. Deeply committed to music education, members of the Quartet have given master classes at universities and conservatories throughout the world, and since 2003 the Miró has served as the quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas at Austin Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music. In 2005, the Quartet became the first ensemble ever to be awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant.
Having released many celebrated recordings, the Miró recently produced an Emmy Award–winning multimedia project titled Transcendence. A work with visual and audio elements available on live stream, CD, and Blu-Ray, Transcendence encompasses philanthropy and documentary filmmaking and is centered around a performance of Franz Schubert’s Quartet in G major on rare Stradivarius instruments. The Miró records independently and makes its music available on a global scale through Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube. The Miró Quartet took its name and its inspiration from the Spanish artist Joan Miró, whose Surrealist works—with subject matter drawn from the realm of memory, dreams, and imaginative fantasy—are some of the most groundbreaking, influential, and admired of the 20th century.