The Penderecki String Quartet, approaching the third decade of an extraordinary career, has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation. These four musicians from Canada, Poland, and the USA bring their varied yet collective experience to create performances that entertain, educate, and allow the listener to explore. Their recent schedule has included concerts in New York (Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Los Angeles (REDCAT at Disney Hall), St. Petersburg, Paris, Prague, Berlin, Rome, Belgrade, Zagreb, Atlanta, as well as appearances at international festivals in Poland, Lithuania, Italy, Venezuela, Brazil, and China. The PSQ champions music of our time, performing a wide range of repertoire from Haydn to Zappa as well as premiering over 100 new works to date. Described by Fanfare Magazine as “an ensemble of formidable power and keen musical sensitivity”, the PSQ’s diverse discography includes the chamber music of Brahms and Shostakovich (Eclectra and Marquis labels) and their recently released Bartok cycle. They enter their 25th year as Quartet-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

The Penderecki String Quartet

“ Remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep.” Toronto, Globe & Mail

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Penderecki String QuartetPrograms 2016-17

Program A:Canada 150/PSQ 30 with Leslie Fagan, soprano

W.A. Mozart, String Quartet in C Major, “Dissonance”, K.465Kelly-Marie Murphy, New Work based on text from Margaret Atwood’s “The Journals of Susanna Moodie” (Journals II, 1840-1871) , for string quartet and soprano (2017)Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op.11, (1871)Krzysztof Penderecki, String Quartet No.2 (1968)

The Penderecki String Quartet celebrates its 30th anniversary and Canada’s Sesquicentennial with a new premiere by Canada’s pre-eminent composer Kelly-Marie Murphy. Murphy here sets text from Atwood’s well-known 1970 poems inspired by the journals of Susanna Moodie. Moodie emigrated from Scotland to Cobourg, Ontario in 1832. Moodie’s journals paint a vivid picture of early life in Canada and the emotional difficulties that many new émigrés faced. Moodie’s personal dislocation – from the old country of England which provides her perspective for seeing the new country, from the trappings of civilization, from neighbours and even family – dominates her character. She attempts to distance herself from her neighbours, even from her husband, only to discover her need for human beings as a garrison against the wilderness. She tries to explain her fascination with the Canadian landscape, yet she ends fearing her own destruction by that same landscape. She embodies what Atwood regards as the distinctly Canadian condition of living with a “violent duality”. Also on the program are masterworks by Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Penderecki that were a part of the Penderecki String Quartet’s very first concert in Canada in 1987. Tchaikovsky’s seminal First String Quartet was written in 1871, during the early days of Canada’s Confederation!

Program B:PSQ Up-Close – Celebrating their 30th season.

Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet in C minor, Op.18, No.4Krzysztof Penderecki, String Quartet No.3, “Leaves of an Unwritten Diary” (2008)Robert Schumann, String Quartet Op. 41, No. 3 in A Major

This intimate and passionate program unveils deep personal reflection and longing from three master composers cherished by the Penderecki Quartet.

Program C:PSQ & Friends

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, String Quartet No. 1 in E flat Major, Op.12Brian Current, “Faster Still” for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet (2004)Ernest Chausson, Concerto in D Major for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, Op. 21

The PSQ is joined by Vancouver-based violin/piano duo David Gillham and Chiharu Iinuma in this dynamic program of chamber works for six friends! Toronto composer Brian Current’s “Faster Still” ignites with virtuosity and thrills, while Chausson’s concerto paints lush harmonies couched in a dramatic late 19th century French style. Mendelssohn’s genius is revealed in this concert as well with his sparkling Op.12 written at the age of 19.

Richard Paul Concert Artists401 Richmond St. W. Suite 220 Toronto, Ontario M5V 3A8warren@greatconcerts.com tel: 416.595.9555 • fax: 1.866.298.1033

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