Symphony Space Features La Catrina Quartet, 5/12

La Catrina Quartet will make its only New York appearances of the season on Symphony Space's Sonidos Series. The acclaimed Mexican-American quartet will be presented in a full-length concert on Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. The group will also appear as part of the "Wall to Wall Sonidos" marathon on Saturday, May 14, 2011.
 
The May 12 concert will feature the world premiere of Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra's new work, Cuarteto para cuerdas No. 2, commissioned by Symphony Space for La Catrina Quartet. Also on the program will be works by Mexico's foremost contemporary composers, Javier Álvarez and Joaquín Gutierrez-Heras, as well as by Manuel Ponce, Ginastera and Piazzolla. The Sierra work will be repeated during the May 14 evening segment of the "Wall to Wall Sonidos" marathon.
 
(Members of the press are invited to attend a pre-concert open rehearsal at 6:00 p.m. for the May 12 concert, which will feature the quartet working with Roberto Sierra, composer of the Cuarteto para cuerdas No. 2.)
 
"I met the members of La Catrina Quartet when they were in residence in Hickory, NC, and performed my percussion concerto with the Symphony there in 2008," Symphony Space Artistic Director Laura Kaminsky recalls. "Impressed by the musical vitality of the group as well as their passionate commitment to new and pan-Latino music, I was looking for the right fit for them for Symphony Space. When we embarked on the Sonidos initiative, they were among the first artists I contacted. Putting them together with renowned composer Roberto Sierra, from whom Symphony Space has commissioned a new quartet for La Catrina, is one of the centerpieces of our daylong marathon, Wall to Wall Sonidos, on May 14th. We at Symphony Space are thrilled to be welcoming La Catrina Quartet to New York this spring."
 
The Quartet states: "All four of us, as members of La Catrina Quartet, are thrilled to be performing at Symphony Space. We always consider it a great privilege to act as ambassadors for the Latin American music in which we specialize. In addition to performing the great works of the standard repertory, we are always delighted to be able to share the colorful, lively and moving works by Latin American composers such as Javier Álvarez (Mexico), Alberto Ginastera (Argentina), and Roberto Sierra (Puerto Rico), whose new string quartet we will be premiering. We hope that the audiences for these concerts will be caught up in our enthusiasm about this repertoire."
 
Tickets for the May 12 recital are $29; $34 day of show; $25 for members; $15, under age 30; available by calling (212) 864-5400 or online: http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/6482-cuarteto-la-catrina

Photo Credit: Robert Kaiser