New York-Based Lark Quartet Takes Final Bow At The End Of 2018/19 Season

The New York-based Lark Quartet takes its final bow at the end of the 2018/19 season, marking a 34 year contribution to the chamber music scene in America. The all-female quartet is acknowledged for its distinguished contribution to the string chamber music repertoire, commissioning over 30 new works from some of America's most celebrated composers. Most notable of the early Lark commissions were Aaron Jay Kernis' two string quartets: Quartet no. 1 Musica celestas and Quartet no. 2 Musical instrumentalis, the latter of which received the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.

The Lark Quartet served as Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 2004-08 and has recorded numerous albums on multiple labels including DECCA/Argo, Arabesque, Bridge, ERI, Endeavor and Koch. They won Russian's International Shostakovich Chamber Music Competition Gold Medal in 1991, the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1990 and were laureates of the Banff International Chamber Music Competition in 1986.

The Lark Quartet, celebrated their 30th anniversary by commissioning four new works by American composers Kenji Bunch, John Harbison, Andrew Waggoner and Anna Weesner. Kenji Bunch's Megalopolis had its world premiere during the Lark Quartet's 2017/18 season at the University of Iowa (who also co-commissioned the work), while Andrew Waggoner's string octet and John Harbison's String Quartet No. 6 were premiered at a special celebration at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall to conclude their anniversary year. Anna Weesner's clarinet quintet will be premiered on September 17, 2018, with clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois with the Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City in Utah. They will record these works for commercial release in 2019.

In addition to the September 17 concert in Utah, the Lark Quartet will present 3 house concerts in New York City on November 8, 2018, February 7 and April 4, 2019. They will also perform 3 concerts at the Sands Points Preserve Conservancy on February 2, April 6 and July 13, 2019. Visit larkquartet.com for full details.

To post a comment, you must register and login.