Cypress Quartet
Cypress String Quartet announces January 2010 Bay Area Concerts
January 10, 2010
Sunday, January 10 at 7pm
with the San José Chamber Orchestra
Le Petit Trianon | 72 N. 5th, San Jose CA
$10-45 at www.sjcotickets.org or 408.295.4416
Wednesday, January 20 at 6:30pm
San Francisco Performances: "Salons at the Rex"
Hotel Rex | 562 Sutter St., San Francisco CA
$20 at http://performances.org/performances/0910/CypressQuartet.html or 415.398.6449
Sunday, January 31 at 3pm
Montalvo Arts Center's Villa Chamber Music Series
15400 Montalvo Rd., Saratoga, CA
$20-30 at http://montalvoarts.org/events/cypress_jan31/ or 408.961.5858
Coming Up! Feb. 26: Call & Response 2010 featuring the world premiere of a new work by composer Elena Ruehr at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
For more information and complete tour schedule: www.cypressquartet.com
San Francisco, CA – The Cypress String Quartet (Cecily Ward, violin; Tom Stone, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello) will perform three greater Bay Area concerts in January, and will present their 11th Annual Call & Response concert on February 26 at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Known for their elegant performances, the Cypress Quartet's sound has been called "beautifully proportioned and powerful" by The Washington Post, and the ensemble has been singled out by Chamber Music Magazine as "a Generation X ensemble to watch."
On Sunday, January 10 at 7pm, the Cypress will give the world premiere of Paso del Fuego, a new work by Pablo Furman commissioned especially for the Quartet and the San José Chamber Orchestra. The concert, led by Barbara Day Turner, takes place at Le Petit Trianon (72 N. 5th, San José, CA). The Cypress will also perform Beethoven's String Quartet in F Major, Op.135, and the orchestra will give the world premiere of Trinitas II by Anica Galindo. Paso del Fuego, for string quartet and orchestra, takes inspiration from the austere Eastern European choral tradition, ebullient South American folk song styles, and dances of the northern Argentina.
On Wednesday, January 20 at 6:30pm, the Cypress will perform an intimate concert presented by San Francisco Performances as part of its "Salons at the Rex" series. The program will include music by Debussy, Schulhoff and Jennifer Higdon, and guests will be able to relax in the Hotel Rex's (562 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA) opulent and elegant interior.
On Sunday, January 31 at 3pm, the Cypress returns to the Montalvo Arts Center's Villa Chamber Music Series (15400 Montalvo Rd., Saratoga, CA) for a Salon Series performance and discussion of Dvorak's Quartet in G Major, Op. 106. The Cypress's Salon Series uses a unique concert format that demystifies classical music. Rather than a traditional concert consisting of three works with an intermission, the Salon Series features one work per concert that is discussed in depth and then performed. Violinist Tom Stone explains, "We contextualize the featured piece through musical examples and dialogue, and then we perform the piece in its entirety. We hope the audience develops an intimate relationship with the selected piece, as well as with us through the insight into the creative process that we share."
A highlight of the Cypress's concert season is the Quartet's 11th Annual Call & Response concert on Friday, February 26 at 8pm at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. The ensemble's Call & Response commissioning and outreach program creates a dialogue between the old masters and living composers, performing known and loved repertoire in a fresh context and introducing ground-breaking new works to the chamber music genre. Over just a decade, the Cypress String Quartet has commissioned and premiered more than 25 new works, four of which are now included on Chamber Music America's list of 101 Great American Ensemble Works. In 2010, the Cypress commissions Boston-area composer Elena Ruehr to write a new work in response to Ann Patchett's novel, Bel Canto. The concert will also include Mozart's String Quartet in D Major, K.575 and Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, "Death and the Maiden." It coincides with the Quartet's commercial release of the world premiere recordings of Elena Ruehr's String Quartets Nos. 1, 3, and 4 (commissioned by the Cypress Quartet in 2005).
Additional Bay Area concerts this season will include performances at Four Seasons Arts, Oakland (February 13); Gualala Arts (February 14); Chamber Music Monterey Bay, Carmel (April 17); and Mill Valley Chamber Music Society (April 18). (For complete program information, please see the end of this press release.)
In August 2009, the Cypress released a recording of Beethoven's Late Quartets Op. 131 and 135 to critical acclaim. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, "the Cypress players converse with such rare sincerity as to make long-familiar music sound utterly fresh." Audiophile Audition raved, "We can hear the plangent, rocking sequences that will provide much of the Lento assai's main theme. The inevitable Beethoven obsessions come forth in the Vivace, whose obstinate and furious whirling eddies convey a raucous, almost uncouth power. . . The Cypress appears to revel in the singular disposition of Beethoven's harmonies, the psychic mid-wifery, as each progression yields to the inevitable revelation of melody that ushers forth from the violin part over a throbbing or groaning bass." The recording is the first of a three volume set. Volumes two and three will be released in 2010 and 2011. (Review copies of Vol. 1 are available upon request.)
About the Cypress Quartet: The Cypress String Quartet formed in 1996 in San Francisco and during its first rehearsals together created a now-signature sound through intense readings of J.S. Bach's Chorales. Built up from the bottom register of the quartet and layered like a pyramid, the resulting sound is clear and transparent, allowing the texture of the music to be discerned immediately.
The Cypress String Quartet's unusual approach to their career is informed by their fierce dedication to the ensemble. Violinists Cecily Ward and Tom Stone were studying in San Francisco when they held auditions for violists and cellists. Jennifer Kloetzel and Ethan Filner were chosen, relocated to San Francisco to play with the group, and the foursome made a commitment to each other to only perform as a quartet (meaning that they would not take on teaching or freelance jobs as orchestral members or with other chamber ensembles). They realized early on that they needed to create their own performance opportunities and organized as a non-profit – the Cypress Performing Arts Association – rather than signing with a management agency. Eventually, they hired a small administrative staff.
This independent spirit is evident in their music as well. Cecily Ward explains, "We found our common ground in the music. Because we had not all gone to school together and had no common past or anyone shepherding us along, we were forced to find out who we are as an ensemble on our own – both in how we made a career and in how we create our sound."
Now, on top of a busy schedule of over 90 concerts each year at venues across the US and internationally, including major concert halls and series such as the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Stanford Lively Arts, Krannert Center and Ravinia Festival, the Cypress String Quartet is a vibrant member of the San Francisco arts community and is dedicated to reflecting and enriching the city's cultural landscape. During the 2008-2009 season, in addition to several Bay Area performances including a debut on the Cal Performances series in Berkeley, the Cypress returned to the Montalvo Arts Center for a series of concerts exploring the Late quartets of Beethoven and the inspirational influence of visual arts on composers from Debussy to George Tsontakis.
The Cypress Quartet members trained individually at institutions including The Juilliard School, Interlochen Arts Academy, Cleveland Institute of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal College of Music. They play exceptional instruments, including violins by Antonio Stradivarius (1681) and Carlos Bergonzi (1733), a viola by Vittorio Bellarosa (1947), and a cello by Hieronymus Amati II (1701). The Cypress Quartet takes its name from the set of twelve love songs for string quartet, The Cypresses, by Antonin Dvořák. For more information and the Cypress Quartet's most up to date concert schedule, visit www.cypressquartet.com.
###
