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The famed Juilliard String Quartet, Joel Smirnoff and Ronald Copes, violins; Samuel Rhodes, viola; and Joel Krosnick, cello, will perform the world premiere of Elliott Carter’s new Quintet for Clarinet and Strings with Charles Neidich, clarinetist, Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 8 p.m., at The Juilliard School’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater. The work is dedicated to the Juilliard Quartet and Mr. Neidich. This event, part of Juilliard’s 2007-08 Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series, celebrates Carter’s centenary. Mr. Carter will be present at the event.

The evening will follow the unusual format of an open rehearsal, panel discussion moderated by Juilliard Dean Ara Guzelimian, and two performances of the complete work, separated by an intermission. The Quartet feels that repeated listening is beneficial in understanding a new work, particularly in the case of a complex piece such as this new quintet. This will, in effect, be a “guided tour” through the new work, and the process of composing and performing it. Members of the Quartet commented that “this is the same process that the Schuppanzigh Quartet would have gone through with Beethoven.”

Tickets are free, available beginning April 15 at the Juilliard Box Office, located at 60 Lincoln Center Plaza. Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 11 AM – 6 PM. The Juilliard Box Office is accessible by elevator, escalator, or stairs located on W. 65th Street near Amsterdam Avenue. For further information, call the Juilliard Box Office at (212) 769-7406 or visit the Web site at www.juilliard.edu.

The members of the Quartet expressed their joy in performing the music of a living composer, and the necessity of being flexible in one’s interpretation. “We must have just the right sound,” Joel Krosnick explained. “What the composer says changes the way you think, even when the printed notes are clear. One cannot be ‘stuck’ with what is on the page.”

The Juilliard String Quartet has been devoted to the music of Elliott Carter for half a century, beginning with performances of his String Quartet No. 2 in 1958. The Quartet recorded the first four of Carter’s quartets under his direction.

Elliott Carter said of the JSQ’s performances of his quartets, “These quartets received the Pulitzer Prize on two occasions, all due to the efforts of the Juilliard Quartet and their beautiful performances of my music.”

About the new work, Mr. Carter commented, “The Clarinet Quintet was written with the wonderful performers and the warm friendship of the Juilliard Quartet and the outstanding clarinetist Charles Neidich in mind. In it, the clarinet follows its own musical character in contrast to that of the quartet. There are five interlocking movements with no pauses. Having written a Clarinet Concerto and five string quartets, work on this was particularly attractive. The piece was finished October 7, 2007 in New York City.”

The Juilliard Quartet stated “The magnificence of Mr. Carter’s visions, as expressed in his great chamber works, is combined with his modest demeanor and an intense desire to help us in every possible way.  He is a towering figure in the music of this time, and a very gentle and sincere man.”

Charles Neidich discussed the origin of the new work. “It was at a dinner last spring when Elliott Carter told me that he would be interested in writing a quintet for string quartet and clarinet for me. For a long time, I was hoping for a work from Carter that clarinetists could add to the great quintets of Mozart and Beethoven. The piece was eventually commissioned by The Juilliard School.

“With the project officially sanctioned, we had only to wait for Carter to compose the work, which he did with his usual passion and fervent speed. Within a few months, I found a copy of the manuscript in my mailbox. As with everything that Carter writes, it is very different from any other quintet in the clarinet repertoire, and, like much of Carter, it is a union of opposites. It begins with the clarinet moving at a furious pace and the strings virtually still, and ends with the strings playing very virtuosic music while the clarinet plays an incredibly long, beautiful slow line. I am looking forward to this premiere as one of the most exciting and meaningful performances of my life.”

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Concert Announcement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.