American String Quartet to Perform in Cooperstown, 4/24

The music of Beethoven and Ravel will fill the Otesaga Hotel ballroom on Sunday, April 24 at 4 pm. The American String Quartet, internationally recognized as one of the world's finest, will perform these masterworks, and, with Linda Chesis, a piece for flute and string quartet by French composer Albert Roussel. This is the first concert of the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival's 18th season. Ms. Chesis, the Festival's artistic director and founder, has performed with the American String Quartet numerous times, including two times in Cooperstown. The Quartet is comprised of Peter Winograd and Laurie Carney, violins; Daniel Avshalomov, viola; Wolfram Koessel, cello.

The concert program is Beethoven Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1 "Razumovsky," the Ravel String Quartet in F major, and Albert Roussel, Elpénor, for flute and string quartet, Op. 59.

"Each of Beethoven's quartets is like a sculpture, which one holds up and appreciates from a new angle, in new lighting, and with a new appreciation every time. Of course the music is the same as when he wrote it, but what we make of it, how we understand it, and what satisfaction we find there remains new," explains Mr. Avshalomov.

"The pleasures of the Roussel are twofold: another chance for the ASQ to make music with our dear friend Linda, and the discovery for all of us of a new work (albeit one composed in 1937) which promises to delight," he added.

And the Ravel? Mr. Avshalomov says, "The Ravel Quartet is the musical embodiment of suave. It is by turns sensual, atmospheric, touching, and vigorous. And it is perfectly made: you could not add or subtract one measure hoping to improve it."

Critics and colleagues hold the American String Quartet in high esteem and many of today's leading artists and composers seek out the Quartet for collaborations, including Emanuel Ax, the Tokyo and Julliard String Quartets, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. The American String Quartet is in residence as the Manhattan School of Music, where Ms. Chesis is chair of the woodwind department and professor of flute. Formed in 1974 when its original members were students at The Juilliard School, the American String Quartet was launched by winning both the Coleman Competition and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in the same year.

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival's 18th season continues on June 19th at the Otesaga with a performance of Schubert's Trout Quintet and chamber music by Gaubert, Mahler, and Schulhoff featuring Linda Chesis, flute; Misha Kopelman, violin; Anat Almani, viola; Jerry Grossman, cello; Jeremy McCoy, bass; and Elizaveta Kopelman, piano. The Festival continues with four concerts in August, one in September and one in October.

"We found that our audiences appreciate the extended season, with concerts in the summer, but also in the spring and fall," explains Ms. Chesis.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students. Purchase online, cooperstownmusicfest.org; by phone through Brown Paper Tickets, 800/838-3006, or at the door.

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