Simone Dinnerstein & Chiara Quartet Perform at the Brooklyn Library, 3/10 & 12

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein and the Chiara String Quartet reunite in two Brooklyn concerts - Sunday, March 10 at 4pm at Brooklyn Public Library's Dweck Center (10 Grand Army Plaza), presented by Classical Interludes; and Tuesday, March 12 at 7pm at P.S. 321 (180 7th Avenue), presented by Dinnerstein's Neighborhood Classics. Both programs include Ravel's String Quartet in F Major, which the Chiara will perform from memory, and Dvo?ák's Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81. Also included on the March 10 program is Dutilleux's Ainsi la Nuit.

Dedicated to her community, in 2009 Simone Dinnerstein founded Neighborhood Classics, a concert series open to the public hosted by New York City public schools. The series features musicians Ms. Dinnerstein has met throughout her career, and raises funds for the schools. The musicians performing donate their time and talent to the program. Neighborhood Classics began at PS 321, the Brooklyn public elementary school that her son attended and where her husband teaches fourth grade. Artists who have performed on the series include Richard Stoltzman, Maya Beiser, Pablo Ziegler, Paul O'Dette and many more. In addition, Ms. Dinnerstein has staged two all-school happenings at PS 321 - a Bach Invasion and a Renaissance Revolution - which immersed the school in music, with dozens of musicians performing in all of the school's classrooms throughout the day.

Dinnerstein is a searching and inventive artist who is motivated by a desire to find the musical core of every work she approaches. The Independent praises the "majestic originality of her vision" and NPR reports, "She compels the listener to follow her in a journey of discovery filled with unscheduled detours...She's actively listening to every note she plays, and the result is a wonderfully expressive interpretation." The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which she raised the funds to record. Released in 2007 on Telarc, it ranked No. 1 on the US Billboard Classical Chart in its first week of sales and was named to many "Best of 2007" lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker.

Renowned for bringing fresh excitement to traditional string quartet repertoire as well as for creating insightful interpretations of new music, the Chiara String Quartet (Rebecca Fischer and Hyeyung Julie Yoon, violins; Jonah Sirota, viola; Gregory Beaver, cello) captivates its audiences throughout the country. The Chiara has established itself as among America's most respected ensembles, lauded for its "highly virtuosic, edge-of-the-seat playing" (The Boston Globe). In 2012-2013 the Chiara celebrates thirteen seasons of playing together. They are currently Harvard University's Blodgett Artists-in-Residence.