Tokyo String Quartet and pianist Joan Panetti perform Sept. 22 at Schwab
September 20, 2005
The Tokyo String Quartet, an ensemble that has captivated listeners since 1969, and pianist Joan Panetti join talents in a performance of In a Dark Time, the Eye Begins to See at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, in Schwab Auditorium on the Penn State University Park campus. The quintet for piano and strings, composed by Panetti, was inspired by a poem by former Penn State professor Theodore Roethke.
The concert, which opens the Center for the Performing Arts 2005-2006 season, also features the Tokyo performing Mozart‚s Quartet in C Major, K 465, Dissonance, and Brahms‚ Quartet in C Minor, Op. 51, No. 1.
Tickets are $25 for an adult; $10 for a University Park student; and $19 for a person 18 and younger. For tickets and information, visit www.cpa.psu.edu or phone 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at Eisenhower Auditorium, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; Penn State Tickets Downtown, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; HUB-Robeson Center Information Desk, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays; and Bryce Jordan Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The quartet, which last performed at Schwab in 1998, has garnered rave reviews with the addition of Canadian first violinist Martin Beaver.
"Beaver seems well matched to the Tokyo aesthetic and he plays with the same acute sensitivity to intonation, ensemble and detail," writes a Boston Globe critic. "There is no quartet more refined and elegant than this one."
In addition to Beaver, who debuted with the Tokyo in 2002, the quartet includes violist Kazuhide Isomura, the lone remaining founder of the group; second violinist Kikuei Ikeda, part of the ensemble for 31 years; and Clive Greensmith, the former principal cellist of London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who joined in 1999.
The quartet, which has released more than 30 recordings on five premium labels, performs on renowned Stradivarius instruments played in the 19th century by virtuoso Niccolò Paganini.
For almost three decades, the members of the Tokyo have been on the faculty of the Yale School of Music as quartet-in-residence. Panetti has also taught at Yale since 1979.
Panetti has toured often throughout the United States and Europe as a soloist and guest of chamber ensembles. Her recent compositions include a trio of fantasies-for violin and piano, oboe and piano, and cello and piano-plus songs for mezzo-soprano and piano. She directed the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and the Yale Summer School of Music and Art from 1981 to 2003.
Lea Asbell-Swanger and Terry Swanger sponsor the performance. WPSU is the media partner. Artistic Viewpoints, sponsored by the Center for the Performing Arts Community Advisory Council, provides insight from a visiting artist or local expert and is offered free to interested ticket holders one hour before the performance. The Music Accord, a consortium of major presenters including the Center for the Performing Arts, commissioned the Panetti composition.
Contact: Laura Sullivan
(814) 863-6379