April 24: Jupiter String Quartet Presented by New Millennium Concert Series Performing Music by Su Lian Tan, Antonin Dvořák, and W.A. Mozart
Photo of the Jupiter Quartet by Todd Rosenberg available in high resolution at www.jensenartists.com/artists-profiles/jupiter-string
The Jupiter String Quartet
Presented by New Millennium Concert Series
Performing Music by Su Lian Tan, Antonin Dvořák, and W.A. Mozart
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 7pm
California State University, Sacramento
Capistrano Hall | 6000 J Street | Sacramento, CA
Tickets and Information
“an ensemble of eloquent intensity, has matured into one of the mainstays of the American chamber-music scene.” – The New Yorker
Sacramento, CA – The Jupiter String Quartet –– the internationally acclaimed winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition who are known for their “compelling” performances (BBC Music Magazine) –– will be presented in concert by New Millennium Concert Series at CSUS Capistrano Hall (6000 J Street) on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 7pm.
Based in Urbana and giving concerts all over the country, the Jupiter String Quartet is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). Brought together by ties both familial and musical, the Jupiter Quartet has been performing together for 23 years. Exuding an energy that is at once friendly, knowledgeable, and adventurous, the Quartet celebrates every opportunity to bring their close-knit and lively style to audiences.Their connections to each other and the length of time they’ve shared the stage always shine through in their intuitive performances.
The Jupiter Quartet brings its well-honed musical chemistry to three works that span more than 225 years, highlighting a range of musical styles and unique personal experiences –– each of which directly influenced how the composers approached their respective musical ideas. The program includes: W.A. Mozart’s String Quartet No. 21 in D Major, K. 575 (1789); Antonin Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Op. 105 B. 193 (1895); and Su Lian Tan’s Life in Wayang (2002).
Mozart wrote several of his later string quartets for the King of Prussia, Frederick Wilhelm II, who was an accomplished cellist. This explains the particular prominence of the cello line, and the elevation of all four voices to greater equality in general. The joyful interplay of the K. 575 quartet is a perfect example of this more democratic structure. Next on the program will be Su Lian Tan’s vivid Life in Wayang, which evokes sounds of traditional South Asian shadow puppet theater. The music is filled with percussive effects that imitate the sounds of the traditional gamelan ensemble. Dvořák’s exuberant and expansive A-flat Major Quartet will finish the program, and its folksy style showcases his joy in returning, after a long visit to America, to his beloved homeland of Czechoslovakia.
The Jupiter Quartet says of bringing this musically diverse program to the community of California State University, Sacramento:
“We are pleased to bring these vivid and engaging works to the audience in Sacramento, and happy that we will get to share both more familiar works and fresher ones. These three works showcase a great variety of sounds and timbres that the string quartet can create, from the refined, operatic beauty of Mozart to the bright, percussive brilliance of the gamelan-like sounds in Life in Wayang.
More About Jupiter String Quartet: This tight-knit ensemble is firmly established as an important voice in the world of chamber music. Artists-in-residence at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana since 2012, the Jupiter Quartet maintain private studios and direct the University’s chamber music program.
The Jupiter Quartet has performed in some of the world’s finest halls, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Austria’s Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul’s Sejong Chamber Hall. Their major music festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, Music at Menlo, the Seoul Spring Festival, and many others. In addition to their performing career, they have been artists-in-residence at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign since 2012, where they maintain private studios and direct the chamber music program.
Their chamber music honors and awards include the grand prizes in the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; the Young Concert Artists International auditions in New York City; the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America; an Avery Fisher Career Grant; and a grant from the Fromm Foundation. From 2007-2010, they were in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Two.
For Calendar Editors:
Description: The Jupiter Quartet, described by The New Yorker as having “technical finesse and rare expressive maturity,” is presented by New Millennium Concert Series for a performance at CSUS Capistrano Hall. The ensemble will perform a program that is diverse in its musical styles and in the creative sources of the composers’ respective works. The music reflects a colorful collage of inspirational elements, unified by a thread of compositional sophistication. Performed works will include, W.A. Mozart’s String Quartet No. 21 in D Major, K. 575 (1789), Antonin Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Op. 105 B. 193 (1895), and Su Lian Tan’s Life in Wayang (2002).
Short description: The Jupiter Quartet, described as an ensemble of “technical finesse and rare expressive maturity” (The New Yorker), is presented by New Millennium Concert Series for a performance featuring the music of W.A. Mozart, Antonin Dvořák, and Su Lian Tan.
Concert details:
Who: Jupiter String Quartet Presented by New Millennium Concert Series
What: Music by W.A. Mozart, Antonin Dvořák, and Su Lian Tan.
When: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 7pm
Where: California State University, Sacramento, Capistrano Hall, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819
Tickets and information: www.csus.edu/college/arts-letters/music/spotlight/new-millennium.html