2010 Pulitzer Prize Winner Jennifer Higdon’s Exaltation of Larks and the World Premiere of 2004 Pulitzer Prize Winner Paul Moravec’s Piano Quintet
Posted by s21concerts in Concert AnnouncementLARK PORTRAITS IN 4×5
LARK Quartet and Jeremy Denk, piano
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Featuring 2010 Pulitzer Prize Winner Jennifer Higdon’s Exaltation of Larks and the
World Premiere of 2004 Pulitzer Prize Winner Paul Moravec’s Piano Quintet
Jennifer Higdon – Exaltation of Larks
Paul Moravec – Piano Quintet *WORLD PREMIERE*
Felix Mendelssohn – Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81
Robert Schumann – Piano Quintet in E flat Major, Op. 44
“A polished and warmly communicative ensemble [that delivers] a performance
of grace, proportion and burnished brilliance.” (The Washington Post)
Updated April 14, 2010, New York—Merkin Concert Hall’s Contemporary Contexts series continues with the LARK Quartet and pianist Jeremy Denk, who will team up to perform works by two Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary composers along with works by Mendelssohn and Schumann. The program includes the world premiere of 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec’s Piano Quintet as well as Exaltation of Larks by Jennifer Higdon, whose 2010 Pulitzer Prize for her Violin Concerto this week follows a Grammy Award for her Percussion Concerto in February. Mr. Moravec will be present at the concert on April 22.
Lark Quartet
The New York-based LARK Quartet continues to delight audiences with its energy, passionate commitment and imaginative artistry. All soloists in their own right, the current foursome—Deborah Buck and Harumi Rhodes, violin; Kathryn Lockwood, viola and Caroline Stinson, cello—have come together to form a “polished and warmly communicative ensemble,” that delivers “a performance of grace, proportion and burnished brilliance,” according to Tim Page of the Washington Post. Performing with a unique blend of excitement, individuality, technique and an unusually sonorous quartet sound, the LARK has won the acclaim of critics and audiences alike. The LARK has always been very active in commissioning and premiering new music. Many of these works have become mainstays of the chamber music repertoire and include pieces by Aaron Jay Kernis, Jennifer Higdon, Paul Moravec and William Bolcom. The recipient of numerous international awards including the Naumburg and Shostakovich prizes, the LARK has performed at many of the world’s great cultural centers including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York and the Kennedy Center and Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The extensive LARK discography features a wide range of repertoire, and can be found on the Arabesque, New World, Point, Argora, Decca/Argo ERI and Endeavor labels.
Jeremy Denk
The New York Times has described pianist Jeremy Denk’s playing as “bracing, effortlessly virtuosic and utterly joyous.” He frequently performs with violinist Joshua Bell and is a 2008 recipient of both the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Mr. Denk has garnered considerable critical acclaim for his engagements with leading orchestras and presenters nationwide. He has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and many others. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Denk has collaborated with the Borromeo, Brentano, Mirò, St. Lawrence, Shanghai and Vermeer string quartets. He has participated in many world premieres, including works by Leon Kirchner, Ned Rorem, Jake Heggie, Kevin Puts, Mark O’Connor and Edgar Meyer.
Merkin Hall’s Contemporary Contexts & New Sounds Live series
Merkin’s Contemporary Contexts series concludes on Thursday, May 27 with the SIGNAL ensemble, who will perform the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s Stabat Mater and the American premiere of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s The Corridor. The New Sounds Live series hosted by WNYC’s John Schaefer concludes on Thursday, May 20 with Elizabeth and the Catapult, Ed Pastorini and Gabriel Kahane.
Listings Information:
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center Presents
Lark Portraits in 4×5
LARK Quartet & Jeremy Denk, piano
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $25, $30 premium seating
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)
Tickets at 212 501 3330 or www.kaufman-center.org
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