Juilliard String Quartet To Play (Le) Poisson Rouge 1/12/12

The Juilliard String Quartet, widely known as the quintessential American string quartet, will visit Greenwich Village on Thursday, January 12, 2012, to make its first appearance at (Le) Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, Manhattan), one of New York City's major downtown venues for a wide range of musical genres.

The JSQ's typically adventurous program pairs works by composers who lived two centuries apart but who, each in his own way, expanded the language of string quartet writing: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Elliott Carter (b. 1908). The presence of these two composers on the same program is an example of the Juilliard String Quartet's commitment to its mission: to "play new works as if they were established masterpieces, and established masterpieces as if they were new."

The Juilliard String Quartet
Thursday, January 12, 2012

(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street | New York, NY

Doors Open - 6:30 p.m.
Show Time - 7:30 p.m.
Minimum Age - All Ages

Repertoire
Haydn: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 54, No. 1 (1788)
Carter: String Quartet No. 5 (1995)

Tickets, $20, can be purchased online at
http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/2724,
by phone at 212/505-FISH (3474), or at the door if still available.

This is a general admission event. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-seated basis. There is a two-item minimum per person at all tables. Standing room is also available. Early arrival is recommended.

For its first appearance at (Le) Poisson Rouge, the Juilliard String Quartet has chosen works composed more than 200 years apart but linked by the rich tradition of the string quartet genre. "We would like to present two works at the extremes of the time spectrum," states violist Samuel Rhodes, speaking for the Quartet.

"Joseph Haydn, from the 18th century, might be considered the father of the string quartet. He was the first person of major stature who wrote extensively for that combination of instruments, establishing its ideal for the future. He used the quartet as a forum in which to develop the methods of meaningful dialogue between the instruments through imaginative and innovative formal techniques and tremendous variety in character, ranging from humorous to the sublime.

"As different as Elliott Carter may sound," Rhodes continues, "his musical goals are similar. He uses 20th century techniques and harmonic style in his own way to develop clear character differences between the various instruments of the quartet.

"By bringing together the music of Haydn and Carter, we hope our audience at (Le) Poisson Rouge will experience the range, variety and wonder of the genre we love so much."

The Juilliard String Quartet

Since its inception in 1946, the Juilliard String Quartet has embodied the credo stated by its founders - the great American composer William Schuman, then president of The Juilliard School, and the Quartet's original first violinist, Robert Mann - to "play new works as if they were established masterpieces, and established masterpieces as if they were new."

The ensemble was founded to perform contemporary works as well as the great classical repertory, and to teach at Juilliard. These have been, and remain, the cornerstones of the JSQ mission. The hallmarks of its distinctive sound - clarity of structure, beauty of sound, purity of line and an extraordinary unanimity of purpose - have been applied to virtually every era and genre in the literature, from Beethoven, Schubert and Bartók to Carter, Davidovsky, Babbitt and Wernick.

The Juilliard String Quartet continues its vibrant tradition of music-making and education in the 2011/12 season, with Joseph Lin as its new first violinist and colleague on the faculty of The Juilliard School. The other members of the Juilliard String Quartet are: Ronald Copes, second violinist; Samuel Rhodes, violist; and Joel Krosnick, cellist.

The Quartet will appear worldwide in prestigious venues, including in New York City and Philadelphia, at the Ravinia Festival, at Stanford University, and abroad in Berlin, Munich, London, Tokyo, Osaka and Macau, China. This international schedule is in keeping with recent seasons in which the Quartet performed at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the International Beethoven Festival in Bonn, the Palacio Real in Madrid, the Cité de la musique in Paris, the Miyazaki Festival in Japan, the Moscow International Performing Arts Centre, London's Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Musica Viva Chamber Music Festival in Australia, and the Israel Festival in Jerusalem. In the United States, they have appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Tanglewood Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Boston's Jordan Hall, Los Angeles's Disney Hall and San Francisco's Herbst Theatre.

During the course of its history, the JSQ has performed some 500 works, including the premieres of more than 60 pieces by American composers, with works by the country's finest jazz musicians among them. The JSQ was the first ensemble to play all six Bartók quartets in the United States. The quartets of Schoenberg were rescued from obscurity by the ensemble's performances.

With more than 100 releases to its credit, the JSQ is one of the most widely recorded string quartets of our time. The JSQ's recordings of the complete Bartók quartets, the late Beethoven quartets, the complete Schoenberg quartets, and Debussy and Ravel quartets have all received Grammy® Awards. Inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences in 1986 for its first recording of the complete Bartók quartets, the Juilliard String Quartet was awarded the Deutsche Schallplattenkritik Prize in 1993 for Lifetime Achievement in the recording industry. In 2011, the Juilliard String Quartet became the first classical music ensemble to be honored by The Recording Academy® with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

www.juilliardstringquartet.org

(Le) Poisson Rouge (information from LPR's website)

(Le) Poisson Rouge is a multimedia art cabaret founded by musicians on the site of the historic Village Gate. Dedicated to the fusion of popular and art cultures in music, film, theater, dance, and fine art, the venue's mission is to revive the symbiotic relationship between art and revelry; to establish a creative asylum for both artists and audiences.

LPR prides itself in offering the highest quality eclectic programming, impeccable acoustics, and bold design. The state-of-the-art performance space, engineered by the legendary John Storyk/WSDG, offers full flexibility in multiple configurations: seated, standing, in-the-round, and numerous alternative arrangements. The adjoining lounge is open during the day as a café, and at night as a secondary bar and event space. A work of art itself, the physical facilities are the embodiment of the experimental philosophy that drives the venue.

LPR is a trusted source for exposure to visionary work, people of character, and a consistently dynamic environment. Guests are invited to immerse themselves in a nightlife of true substance and vitality - to bring open minds and drinking shoes.