Amphibian Concert Series Presents Momenta Quartet at HiArt Gallery, 1/28

The Momenta Quartet will perform as a part of the AMPHIBIAN concert series at the HiArt Gallery at Temple University on January 28th. The quartet will perform Dalit Warshaw's Elegy for String Quartet, Rosamunde by Schubert, and new works by Jonathan Gruver and Andrew Taylor.

AMPHIBIAN is a performance series that combines new chamber music with video art. Our second season will include the Momenta Quartet, the Cygnus Ensemble, and Temple University’s ‘Cybersounds,’ which offers electro-acoustic and visual music under the direction of Maurice Wright. In addition to these events, the endlessly inventive Mari Kimura will present an evening of her own interactive works for violin, electronics and video, plus an electro-acoustic classic: Mario Davidovsky’s lyrical 9th Synchronism for violin and pre-recorded electronic sound. Events take place at the HiArt Gallery (227 West 29th Street).

DALIT WARSHAW:

Frequently inspired by themes gleaned from history, literature and visual art, Ms. Warshaw has addressed artists and writers ranging from Balthus to Irene Nemirovsky in her works. Elegy on a Theme of Sappho originated as a vocal setting of Sappho’s “I have not had one word” (as translated by Mary Barnard). The poem portrays feelings of loss resulting from the departure of a loved one, and nostalgia for happier times. After setting the poem, the composer felt that the emotions conveyed within the music were more universal than the scenario presented in the text, and so decided to write an instrumental version of the piece.

An internationally acclaimed composer, pianist and thereminist, Ms. Warshaw’s works have been performed by over twenty-six orchestral ensembles, including the New York and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras (Zubin Mehta conducting), the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Y Chamber Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony, the Albany Symphony and the Grand Rapids Symphony.

THE MOMENTA QUARTET:

Described by Time Out New York as “an outstanding ensemble prone to innovation and exploration” and praised by Strad Magazine for its “understated confidence” and “burnished tone,” the Momenta Quartet has premiered over 50 works since 2004 and has collaborated with over 70 living composers. Based in New York City, Momenta has performed at some of New York’s alternative venues such as The Stone, Issue Project Room, Tonic, the Cornelia St. Café and Roulette, and has also been presented by more mainstream venues such as Bargemusic, Symphony Space, Americas Society, Asia Society and the Austrian Cultural Forum. In residence at Temple University for seven years, Momenta has also performed and lectured at Cornell, Columbia, Yeshiva and Hawaii Pacific Universities; Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore and Haverford Colleges; The Mannes School of Music and the Boston Conservatory; among others. The quartet has performed in England, Singapore and Indonesia and has received grants from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Meet the Composer, the Aaron Copland Fund, the Brooklyn Arts Council and the New York State Council on the Arts. www.momentaquartet.com

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