The Jerusalem Quartet has garnered acclaim for its recordings of the quartets of Shostakovich, so the group could hardly come to Tucson without a sample of that composer’s work. It’s his Sixth Quartet, a relatively tranquil and straightforward composition compared to his better-known, harrowing Eighth Quartet. It pairs nicely with Beethoven’s very early G-Major quartet, full of charm and grace, not at all the sort of musical roar for which Beethoven would later be known. The second in Johannes Brahms’ series of quartets begins with rather wistful elements, and alternates lyricism and drama along the way to a dancing finale.

Beethoven, Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2

Shostakovich, Quartet No. 6 in D Major, Op. 83

Brahms, Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2

The Jerusalem Quartet continue to be both regular and popular visitors to major venues throughout the world. With a growing reputation in North America where they have played in venues throughout New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Washington, they embark on an 11-concert tour this season. They also return to the UK to perform at the Wigmore Hall, London and at the Bath Festival; other European dates include appearances at major concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Herkulessaal in Munich. The Jerusalem Quartet also continue their residency at the Centro Cultural Miguel Delibes in Valladolid, Spain.

The Jerusalem Quartet have an exclusive recording contract with Harmonia Mundi and their discs have been awarded with numerous prizes. Their latest recording of Haydn’s String Quartets won the chamber category of the 2010 BBC Music Magazine Awards and the Diapason d’Or Arte. Their recording of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden Quartet received an ECHO Classic Award in 2009 and was Editor’s Choice in the July 2008 edition of Gramophone Magazine.

Debussy, Piano Trio in G Major

Bernstein, Piano Trio

Brahms, Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8

“A sigh went skating on nocturnal ice”
It has long been known that the poetry of Christian Morgenstern is filled with music. However, it was not until the 90th anniversary of the poet's death, before a chamber music ensemble decided to name themselves after him.

The three musicians of the Morgenstern Trio (in its original formation until Summer 2009 with Catherine Klipfel, Piano, Nina Reddig, Violin, Emanuel Wehse, Violoncello, since then with Stefan Hempel, Violin, joined forces in 2005 at the Folkwang Academy in Essen.

In 2007, after only two years of intensive collaboration, the trio was awarded several important prizes: first prize at the International Joseph Haydn Competition in Vienna, second prize at the Fifth Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, second prize and the audience prize at the prestigious ARD Competition in Munich. The previous year they had already won a sought after scholarship at the German Music Competition. Most recently, the trio was named ensemble in residence for 2008 and 2009 at the Folkwang Academy in Essen.

The ensemble's debut CD of works by Beethoven and Brahms was released in 2008. The Morgenstern Trio has received important musical insights from Vladimir Mendelssohn, Menahem Pressler, Vesselin Parashkerov and Dirk Mommertz.

Haydn, String Quartet, Op. 64 No. 5 "The Lark"

Bartók, String Quartet No. 2

Beethoven, String Quartet No. 14, Op.131

Recognized as one of the world's great ensembles, the Takács Quartet plays with a unique blend of drama, warmth and humor, combining four distinct musical personalities to bring fresh insights to the string quartet repertoire. Commenting on their latest Schubert recording for Hyperion, Gramophone magazine noted; "The Takács have the ability to make you believe that there’s no other possible way the music should go, and the strength to overturn preconceptions that comes only with the greatest performers."

Based in Boulder at the University of Colorado, the Takács Quartet performs ninety concerts a year worldwide, throughout Europe as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. The 2010-2011 season includes a Bartok Cycle in Sydney, and a three-concert series focusing on Schubert in New York City (92nd Street Y), and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The series will feature the New York premiere of a new work composed for the Quartet by Daniel Kellogg, based on the slow movement theme of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" Quartet.

The Quartet's award-winning recordings include the complete Beethoven Cycle on the Decca label. In 2005 the Late Beethoven Quartets won Disc of the Year and Chamber Award from BBC Music Magazine, a Gramophone Award and a Japanese Record Academy Award. Their recordings of the early and middle Beethoven quartets collected a Grammy, another Gramophone Award, a Chamber Music of America Award and two further awards from the Japanese Recording Academy. Of their performances and recordings of the Late Quartets, the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote “The Takács might play this repertoire better than any quartet of the past or present.”

At the University of Colorado, the Takács Quartet has helped to develop a string program with a special emphasis on chamber music, where students work in a nurturing environment designed to help them develop their artistry. The Quartet's commitment to teaching is enhanced by summer residencies at the Aspen Festival and at the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara. The Takács is a Visiting Quartet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

The Takács Quartet was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest by Gabor Takács-Nagy, Károly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and András Fejér, while all four were students. It first received international attention in 1977, winning First Prize and the Critics’ Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. The Quartet also won the Gold Medal at the 1978 Portsmouth and Bordeaux Competitions and First Prizes at the Budapest International String Quartet Competition in 1978 and the Bratislava Competition in 1981. The Quartet made its North American debut tour in 1982. Violinist Edward Dusinberre joined the Quartet in 1993 and violist Roger Tapping in 1995. Violist Geraldine Walther replaced Mr. Tapping in 2005. In 2001 the Takács Quartet was awarded the Order of Merit of the Knight’s Cross of the Republic of Hungary.

Haydn, Quartet in F major, Op. 77 No. 2

Bartók, Quartet No. 6

Schubert, Quintet in C Major, D.956

The Jupiter String Quartet, formed in 2001, is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Megan Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (older sister of Meg), and cellist Denise Djokic. Meg and Liz grew up playing string quartets with their two brothers, Ben and J. Rehearsals were often quite raucous, but they grew to love chamber music during weekly coachings with Oliver Edel, a wonderful cellist and teacher who taught generations of students in the Washington, D.C., area. Nelson also comes from a musical family--both of his parents are pianists (his father also conducts) and his twin sisters, Alicia and Andrea, play clarinet and cello. Nelson, and Meg met at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and when they were searching for a violist Meg suggested they might consider her sister Liz, who was at nearby Oberlin College. The quartet finished up their schooling together at the New England Conservatory of Music, where they were in the Professional String Quartet Training Program. They currently reside in Boston, Massachusetts.

The quartet chose its name because Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at the time of its formation, and the astrological symbol for Jupiter resembles the number four. There are also musical references (for example, Holst’s The Planets, in which Jupiter is “the bringer of jollity”) that emphasize the connotations of happiness and strength associated with the Roman god Jupiter. The quartet owes much of its musical philosophy to the influences of the original Cleveland Quartet and the current Takacs Quartet, in which all four members form a dynamic and democratic union. The Jupiters spent many of their formative years under the instruction of these eminent chamber musicians, and continue to adhere to many of their central principles today. While enjoying the opportunity to work with living composers, they still feel a strong and fundamental connection to the core string quartet literature, particularly the wonderful set of sixteen quartets by Beethoven and the six quartets of Bela Bartok. In addition to its formal concert schedule, the Jupiter String Quartet places a strong emphasis on developing relationships with future classical music audiences through outreach work in the school systems and other educational performances. They believe that chamber music, because of the intensity of its interplay and communication, is one of the most effective ways of spreading an enthusiasm for “classical” music to new audiences.

The Jupiters have been fortunate to receive several recent chamber music honors, including first prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition, grand prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competion, membership in Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two, and Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, which “honors and promotes a rising young string quartet whose artistry demonstrates that it is in the process of establishing a major career.” The quartet also won the 2005 Young Concert Artists International auditions and now holds YCA’s Helen F. Whitaker Chamber Music Chair. Most recently, they were honored to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Beethoven, Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 11

Zwilich, Quintet for Piano Trio, viola and bass (AFCM commisson premiere)

Schubert, Trout Quintet

After nearly thirty-five years of success the world over, including many award-winning recordings and newly commissioned works, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio continues to dazzle audiences and critics alike with their performances. Since making their debut at the White House for President Carter’s Inauguration in January 1977, pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson have set the standard for performance of the piano trio literature. As one of the only chamber ensembles with all its original members, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio balances the careers of three internationally-acclaimed soloists while making annual appearances at many of the world’s major concert halls, commissioning spectacular new works, and maintaining an active recording agenda.

The Trio is honored that the Chamber Music Society of Detroit has created the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award (KLRITA), an initiative with a two-fold purpose: to salute the Trio’s contribution to chamber music worldwide and to encourage and enhance the careers of promising young piano trios. The KLRITA, in which 20 presenters (including AFCM) nationwide participate, is awarded to a new ensemble every two years. The first ensemble was the exciting young American group, the Claremont Trio, the second award was presented to the Trio con Brio Copenhagen of Denmark, the third to the ATOS Trio of Germany and the current award to Morgenstern Trio of Germany.

Mendelssohn, String Quartet Op. 44/1

Emmanuel Sejourne, Concerto for Marimba and Strings

Debussy, String Quartet

Ney Rosauro, Concerto for Marimba and Strings

The Mandelring Quartet's phenomenal homogeneity in sound, intonation and phrasing has become its distinguishing characteristic. The four individualists are as one in their shared determination always to seek out the innermost core of the music and remain open to the musical truth. By grasping the spiritual dimension, exploring the emotional extremes and working on the detail, these musicians probe far beneath the surface of each work, thus revealing the multiplicity of meanings inherent in each. Their approach to the music is always both emotional and personal. All this combines to make the Mandelring Quartet one of the most high-profile ensembles on the international chamber music scene.

Winning a number of prestigious international competitions – Munich (ARD), Evian and Reggio Emilia (Premio Paolo Borciani) – has brought the Mandelring Quartet before the world's great concert venues. In addition to numerous performances in Germany, the Mandelring Quartet's concert tours have taken them throughout Europe – Amsterdam, Brus­sels, London, Madrid, Paris and Vienna – North America – New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Vancouver – Japan – Osaka and Tokyo – Central and South America, the Middle East and Asia.

Numerous CD recordings, which have won the German Record Critics’ Prize on several occasions and been nominated for the Midem Classical Award, bear witness to the quartet’s exceptional quality and the breadth of its repertoire. Their recently released recording of the string quartets of Shostakovich, for example, has received several awards and been hailed by the specialist press as one of the outstanding complete recordings of our time.

The HAMBACHERMusikFEST, the quartet’s own festival, provides a meeting-point each year for lovers of chamber music from all over the world. Starting 2010, the Mandelring Quartet sets new musical accents with its own cycle of concerts in the Kammermusiksaal of the Berlin Philharmonic.