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| Following a preview performance in Philadelphia, Peter Wiley and the Aizuri Quartet appear in Columbia, Md. (January 24). The quartet then travels to Europe to perform in Dresden (February 7) and Paris (February 11) with performances that include Janáček’s Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”), Mozart’s Quartet in D major, and Beethoven’s Quartet No. 9 in C major. The Aizuris return state-side to perform Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 4 in E minor and Haydn’s Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 64, No.3 in addition to the Janáček quartet in Falmouth, Mass. (March 13). Peter Wiley rejoins the quartet for the final two performances of the tour in Boston (March 15) and New York (March 17). For more information visit www.curtis.edu/CurtisOnTour.
January 24: Columbia, Md. February 7: Dresden *Aizuri Quartet only February 11: Paris *Aizuri Quartet only March 13: Falmouth, Mass. *Aizuri Quartet only March 15: Boston March 17: New York Cellist Peter Wiley, a 1974 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, has played at leading festivals including the Marlboro Music Festival, for which he also tours and records. As a recitalist he has appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. A member of the Beaux Arts Trio from 1987 to 1998, Mr. Wiley succeeded his teacher, David Soyer, as cellist of the Guarneri String Quartet from 2001 to 2009. He is also a member of the piano quartet Opus One, with Curtis faculty members Ida Kavafian and Steven Tenenbom and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. Mr. Wiley entered Curtis at age thirteen. At twenty he was named principal cello of the Cincinnati Symphony, after one year with the Pittsburgh Symphony. He made his concerto debut at Carnegie Hall in 1986 with the New York String Orchestra conducted by Alexander Schneider. A past recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Wiley teaches at the University of Maryland and Bard College Conservatory of Music, and joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1996. The Aizuri Quartet is string quartet in residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. During the course of its residency, the quartet is appearing in venues throughout Philadelphia, including Curtis’s Field Concert Hall and World Café Live, among others. In addition to helping launch two new series in 2014-15, Soundscape:Curtis@Kimmel and a collaboration with the Barnes Foundation, the Aizuri Quartet is featured in the Curtis-Coursera online course, The World of the String Quartet; and joins with cellist Peter Wiley in Curtis On Tour performances in New York, Boston, Paris, and Dresden. The Aizuri Quartet’s members have studied at Curtis and the Juilliard School, and have participated in the Marlboro and Caramoor festivals as well as the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute, where they were quartet in residence in 2014. They have won top prizes in the Primrose International Viola Competition and Astral Artists National Auditions; and have collaborated with renowned artists Pamela Frank, Miriam Fried, Richard Goode, Kim Kashkashian, and Mitsuko Uchida, among others. They have appeared throughout North America and Europe with a diverse range of ensembles, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, IRIS Orchestra, A Far Cry, The Knights, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Symphony in C, Curtis On Tour, Musicians from Marlboro, Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, and counter) induction. Curtis is grateful to the following donors who provided generous funding to pilot the school’s string quartet program: Henry Arnhold, Nina Baroness von Maltzahn, Bob and Guna Mundheim, and Phil and Eli Taylor. An embodiment of the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, Curtis On Tour offers students real-world, professional touring experience alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In addition to performances, students frequently offer master classes, in-school demonstrations, and other community engagement activities. Since Curtis On Tour was established in 2008, students, faculty, and alumni have traveled to more than 50 destinations in Europe, Asia, and North and South America, with new venues added each year. One of the world’s finest and most selective conservatories, the Curtis Institute of Music offers a tuition-free, performance-inspired learning culture to 175 students from all corners of the world. Nurtured by a celebrated faculty, its extraordinary young musicians graduate to join 4,000 alumni who have long made music history. From Leonard Bernstein to Alan Gilbert, Samuel Barber to Jennifer Higdon, Anna Moffo to Eric Owens, Richard Goode to Jonathan Biss, Curtis alumni personify the school’s commitment to excellence—onstage and in their communities—inventing careers with impact. Recent graduates forging 21st-century careers include violinist Adrian Anantawan, a performer and teacher dedicated to helping young people with disabilities make music; Joseph Conyers, director and founder of Project 440 and assistant principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra; and Jennifer Koh, a violin soloist recognized for both her dazzling virtuosity and impassioned musical curiosity, dedicated to performing repertoire of all eras, from traditional to contemporary. A busy schedule of performances, including more than 200 a year in Philadelphia and around the world, is at the heart of Curtis’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach. Dedicated to a tradition of excellence and innovation since its founding in 1924, Curtis is looking toward its centenary in a flexible and forward-thinking way, evolving strategically to serve its time-honored mission. ### |
