Guarneri and Johannes join to perform
octets by Mendelssohn, Pulitzer winner

The Guarneri String Quartet, described by National Public Radio as “among the most revered and enduring ensembles of its kind in the world,” and the Johannes String Quartet, an ensemble of top-notch orchestral musicians who also pursue their love of chamber music, come together at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 12, to perform a Music Accord-commissioned octet, by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer and pianist William Bolcom, that debuts at The University of Michigan just three days before coming to Penn State.

The Schwab Auditorium concert also features the renowned Mendelssohn Octet in E-flat Major for Strings, Op. 20. The ensembles are scheduled to separately perform two new compositions. Guarneri plays Passing Through, a work by American composer, conductor, and clarinetist Derek Bermel. Johannes performs Homunculus by Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Since it formed in 1964, the Guarneri String Quartet has performed on five continents. The Guarneri musicians—violinists Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley, violist Michael Tree, and cellist Peter Wiley—have announced they will retire the ensemble at the end of the 2008–2009 touring season.

"The musicianship, experience, and sophisticated intent of this group continue to grow,” observes a Boston Globe critic, “and to hear the rhythmic vitality in the inner voices of Dalley and Tree is always a treat.”

"While the quartet may look reserved onstage, eschewing the histrionics that have become part of the schtick of many younger performers, their playing is anything but,” writes a reviewer for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. “The Guarneri is composed of musicians, not entertainers, and all you have to do to understand them is listen."

The Johannes String Quartet debuted in 1998 at the Chamber Music Society of Philadelphia, which continues to present the ensemble each season. Violinist Soovin Kim was the first American in twenty-four years to win the Paganini Violin Competition. Violinist Jessica Lee garnered first place in the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition. Choong-Jin Chang became principal violist of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2006. Peter Stumpf has been the principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2002.

Musical America named Bolcom, who was born in Seattle, 2007 Composer of the Year. A composer of cabaret and ragtime songs, concertos, sonatas, operas, symphonies, and more, Bolcom earned four Grammy Awards for his setting of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Bolcom, a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and a longtime professor at The University of Michigan, frequently performs with mezzo-soprano Joan Morris, his wife and musical partner.

New York native Bermel is known for including elements of world music, jazz, and funk into traditional classical music settings.

Salonen, who was born in Helsinki, is music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His compositions, which include a range of styles and genres, are characterized by their atmospheric and emotive intensity.

The Music Accord, which includes the Center for the Performing Arts as one of its members, is a national chamber music commissioning consortium made up of prestigious presenting organizations.

Artistic Viewpoints, an informal discussion featuring a visiting artist, is offered in Schwab Auditorium one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders.