The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast presents the only Florida appearance of the historic Juilliard String Quartet, “… the most important American quartet in history”
Monday, December 2, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sarasota Opera House
SARASOTA, Fla. (August 16, 2019) — Founded in 1946, and hailed by the Boston Globe as “… the most important American quartet in history…” and the Washington Post as “decisive and uncompromising ….,” the Juilliard String Quartet’s only Florida appearance this season will be presented by The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast on Monday, December 2, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sarasota Opera House. Tickets range from $45-$15 and will go on sale at the Sarasota Opera House Box Office on Monday, September 16, 2019. A $10 Student/Teacher Rush ticket will be available the day of the event. Sponsorship packages are also available. Proceeds will benefit classical music arts education and outreach programs in public, private and special needs schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties, featuring alumni of The Perlman Music Program.
The Juilliard String Quartet draws on a deep and vital engagement to the classics, while embracing the mission of championing new works, a vibrant combination of the familiar and the daring. Each performance is a unique experience, bringing together the four members’ profound understanding, total commitment, and unceasing curiosity in sharing the wonders of the string quartet literature. In February 2011, the Juilliard String Quartet was the first classical music ensemble to be honored by The Recording Academy’s National Board of Trustees with its Lifetime Achievement Award, which acknowledges lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium. On the Academy’s website, seven-time Grammy Award winner and pianist Emanuel Ax, who studied at Juilliard, writes: “The members have changed over the years, but somehow the pioneering spirit that animated the group from the beginning seems to remain. The quartet has inspired and nurtured so many of the great ensembles of the present era, and has been the vehicle for an amazing number of works by the leading composers of the day.”
Current members include Areta Zhulla, violin; Ronald Copes, violin; Roger Tapping, viola; and Astrid Schween, cello. Three are faculty with The Perlman Music Program’s (PMP) summer music school on Shelter Island, NY, and its newest member, Areta Zhulla, is a PMP alumna. Repertoire will include two string quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1, his first, and considered the greatest work of his six Opus 18 quartets; and String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131, one of Beethoven’s final quartets and among the composer’s last completed works. Also performed will be 6 Moments musicaux, for String Quartet, Op. 44 by 93-year-old award-winning Hungarian pianist and composer, György Kurtág. Repertoire is subject to change.
Juilliard String Quartet Concert and Ticket Information:
- Monday, December 2, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
- Sarasota Opera House, 61 N Pineapple Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236
- Tickets: $45 – $15 on sale September 16, 2019 – Call 941-328-1300
- $10 Student/Teacher Rush ticket available at the Box Office the day of the event
Repertoire (subject to change)
- Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1
- György Kurtág: 6 Moments musicaux, for String Quartet, Op.44
- Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131
Perlman Suncoast’s presentation of the Juilliard String Quartet is sponsored in part by the Kessler Foundation, Sarasota County Tourism Development Tax Revenues, Florida Department of State – Division of Cultural Affairs, Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen, and in partnership with University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.
About The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast
The Perlman Music Program Suncoast (Perlman Suncoast) cultivates audiences of all ages through classical music performances and education outreach programs, including hosting the PMP Sarasota Winter Residency and presenting PMP Alumni: Around Town and PMP Alumni: In Schools performances. Through its relationship with The Perlman Music Program (PMP), founded by Toby Perlman, and with a world-renown faculty, including internationally-acclaimed violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, Perlman Suncoast offers the public the unique opportunity to witness the talent and spirit of extraordinarily gifted and promising young string students and accomplished graduates.
The 17-day PMP Sarasota Winter Residency provides valuable mentoring and performance opportunities for approximately 35 young international string musicians, ages 12-20+, and offers 20+ free and low-cost musical events on the campus of USF Sarasota-Manatee. The 2019-2020 PMP Sarasota Winter Residency will take place December 19, 2019 – January 4, 2020. The Celebration Concert, held on January 4, 2020 at the Sarasota Opera House, is the culmination of the Winter Residency, featuring the PMP Chorus, led by Chorus Master Patrick Romano and the PMP Orchestra, conducted under the baton of Itzhak Perlman.
