Preeminent Italian String Quartet Performs Music by Shostakovich, Golijov and Schubert
February 29 - March 8
College Station, TX
Boise, ID
Albuquerque, NM
New York, NY
“It’s a rare blend: breadth of sound and capriciousness combined with perfect tuning and ensemble has the players sounding absolutely of one voice… Nothing less than life-affirming.”
--Gramophone
"...splendid balance, abundant colour and a relaxed mastery of all the musical elements.”
--The Strad
Quartetto di Cremona, Italy’s preeminent string quartet, return to the United States for a four-city tour in February and March. The Quartet earned the prestigious Franco Buitoni Award in 2019 and, with tours in Europe, Asia and the Americas, have carved out a highly acclaimed, international career among the world’s best string quartets.
Quartetto di Cremona carry on the legacy of the great Quartetto Italiano (1945-1980), one of the most esteemed quartets of the 20th century; members of Quartetto di Cremona began their string studies with violist Piero Farulli of the Italiano. Cremona's violist, Simone Gramaglia, says, "The Quartetto Italiano has been a milestone for all the young Italian players who sought to dedicate their lives to the art of string quartet. We have always been seen as the heir to the Quartetto Italiano, which is a great honor for us. I don’t think it's because we've ever tried to play like them or to imitate their style - we haven't. But we all grasped the Italian legacy these four players left us, and it remains indelibly in our hearts, souls and minds, as individuals and as a quartet."
Following an electrifying Carnegie Hall debut in October 2023, the quartet returns to the US this winter with a program of works by Shostakovich, Golijov and Schubert. Gramaglia says of the program, “Shostakovich wrote his eighth quartet in memory of the victims of fascism and war; Golijov brings us the beauty of peace and transcendence alongside the drama of fight, violence and hate; and Schubert tells us about youth and the unexpected. So it’s a program about life and death, joy and tragedy and the message that, despite all, there is always time for hope.”
As the finale of this tour, Quartetto di Cremona appears in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Winter Festival, Quartet Panorama, dedicated to four young string quartets--the Calidore, Schumann, Cremona and Escher Quartets--whose artistry is lighting the way for the next generation.
Quartetto di Cremona plans to release their recording of Bach’s The Art of the Fugue later this year.
US WINTER TOUR – FEBRUARY - MARCH 2024
SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
GOLIJOV Tenebrae
SCHUBERT String Quartet in D minor, D. 810 "Death and the Maiden"
Feb 29, 2024 / College Station, TX / Friends of Chamber Music (Program TBA)
Mar 1, 2024 / Boise, ID / Boise Chamber Music Series
Mar 3, 2024 / Albuquerque, NM / Chamber Music Albuquerque
Mar 8, 2024 / New York City / Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center