The Juilliard String Quartet, a chamber group that University School of Music Associate Dean Robert Hurwitz calls “one of the two or three finest string quartets in the world,” will appear at Beall Hall tonight at 8 p.m. as part of the school’s Chamber Music Series.
Cellist Joel Krosnick, violist Samuel Rhodes, and violinists Joel Smirnoff and Ronald Copes currently represent the quartet, which has gone through several lineups since it originally debuted in 1948. Throughout the group’s history, it has won four Grammy Awards, released more than 100 albums with Sony Classical and toured in Europe, Asia, and North and South America.
School of Music spokesman Scott Barkhurst said the world-famous Juilliard String Quartet is outstanding regardless of the music on the program.
“Their music is some of the finest chamber music ever written,” he said. “They play everything. They are eclectic and talented no matter what they are playing. Chamber music is like a conversation, and they have an intuition with each other. That’s what makes them excellent.”
Chamber Music Series Director Janet Stewart said the series — currently in its 36th season — is the only chamber music program in Lane County, and therefore it draws audiences from Roseburg and Florence. She said chamber music can be defined as a musical ensemble free from a conductor, with three to 16 members each playing a different musical part.
“Since there is no conductor, chamber groups have the ability to perform as a unit,” she said. “They build a rapport and intimacy with the audience and that’s why people like it. It is usually contemplative, highly skilled music.”
The Chamber Music Series runs from October to March this academic year, with one performance per month except in December. In March, the New Century Saxophone Quartet will appear, which Stewart said will bring a unique instrument to the genre of chamber music.
Both Stewart and Barkhurst said Beall Hall is exceptional for chamber music. Barkhurst said the quartet’s cellist Krosnick had complimented the venue in the past.
“Ten years ago, (Krosnick) said Beall Hall is one of the finest chamber halls in America,” Barkhurst said. “Beall Hall is acoustically superb and architecturally beautiful, but it was amazing that he could say that after playing all over the world.”
Hurwitz will give a pre-concert lecture in which he will go through the program’s music, explain its structure and form, and then play recorded excerpts. The quartet will present works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Anton von Webern.
Hurwitz added that he encourages students to attend the show because the quartet is more famous than they might think.
“If Madonna were performing on campus, everyone would know who she is,” he said. “If you are looking in the classical realm, this group is as famous as that. Experiencing a world-class classical group is pretty awesome.”
Tickets to the Juilliard String Quartet will only be available in advance, at either the EMU Ticket Office or the Hult Center, located at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street. Ticket prices range from $15 to $32, depending on seating location.