From a much-lauded international and local career, the Aviv String Quartet is coming to the Open University and opening the season’s Tzlilim concert series with a program of string quartets by Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.
The Tzlilim Concert Series brings exceptional musicians from Israel and abroad to the intimate concert hall at the Open University’s main campus in Ra’anana. Musicologist Anat Sharon, the coordinator of the series, provides commentary and explanations for each piece.
Founded in 1997, The Aviv String Quartet is one of Israel’s star ensembles. The members of the quartet are: Sergey Ostrovsky, Evgenia Epshtein, Timur Yakubov, and Aleksandr Khramouchin. They count among their mentors such musicians as the Alban Berg Quartet in Köln, Walter Levin of the LaSalle String Quartet, and Isaac Stern. Their performance schedule has taken them around the world, from Israel to the Americas and as far as China. When in Israel, they have a regular concert series at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and also perform at various music festivals around the country.
Shostakovich wrote his Quartet No. 8 (op. 110) in three days, in the summer of 1960. It had been a difficult year for the composer: he’d reluctantly joined the Communist Party under political pressure, and he’d begun to develop symptoms of polio. For a period of time he was depressed and possibly suicidal, and considered the work a memorial to himself, quoting from several of his earlier compositions. Quartet No. 8 is dedicated “To the victims of fascism and war”, in memory of the World War II bombing of Dresden.
Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 in D major (op. 11) was written and performed in 1871. It’s mostly famous for the second movement, Andante cantabile. As the story goes, Tchaikovsky was visiting his sister and heard a house-painter whistle a folk song, which became the inspiration for the movement. The composer himself attested that when the author Leo Tolstoy heard the piece, he burst into tears.
Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor (op. 13) is the composer’s first string quartet, written when he was only eighteen. Despite his age, he already had several compositions under his belt, including works for chamber ensembles and an (unsuccessful) opera. Mendelssohn was inspired by Beethoven’s final string quartets, which were met with disappointment by many listeners but fascinated the young composer. The resulting work shows both Mendelssohn’s own developing style and Beethoven’s essential influence.
The concert will be held on Thursday, October 24 20:30 at the Chais Auditorium on the Open University campus (1 University Road, Ra’anana). The commentary is given in Hebrew.
Tickets cost 80 NIS and can be ordered by phone at 1-700-700-169, or at the entrance to the auditorium on the evening of the concert. The brochure (in Hebrew) may be viewed here.
