Three violinists and one cellist will play tonight at the sold-out performance of one of the world’s premier quartets, the Tokyo String Quartet.
Robert Hurwitz, associate dean of the music school, will introduce the evening’s repertoire in a preconcert talk, “Musical Insights,” at 7 p.m. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall.
The performance is part of the School of Music’s Chamber Music Series. The series draws the “highest profile line-up” of events sponsored by the school, said Scott Barkhurst, director of publicity of the music school.
The Tokyo quartet provides the perfect opportunity to experience chamber music for someone who has never heard it before, he said.
“If people would like to take a chance with chamber music, this is the best opportunity because the quality of the performers is first-rate,” he said.
What makes chamber music so unique is its intimacy, Barkhurst said. Most other musical performances, such as full-symphony orchestras, operas and ballets, have large groups of musicians, he said.
He added that chamber music is different from “the big, loud and flamboyant forms of entertainment people are used to.”
Chamber music began in people’s living rooms as early as the 16th century, and today it is “in danger of being lost,” he said.
The quartet plays classical music, but that doesn’t mean the music was written ages ago, Hurwitz said. The oldest piece to be played, Schubert’s Quartettsatz in C minor, was composed in 1823, while the most recent piece the group will play, Webern’s “Langsamer Satz,” was composed in 1903, he said. The group will also play Mozart’s Quartet in F major, and Brahms’ Quartet in B flat major, he said.
Janet Stewart, the director of the Chamber Music Series, said Eugene is lucky for the opportunity to hear a “world class” group perform.
The group formed in 1969 at the Julliard School of Music, she said. The original four members were profoundly influenced at the Toho School of Music in Tokyo.
Today, violinist Kazuhide Isomura is the only original member. Violinist Kikuei Ikeda joined in 1974, and the group’s newest members, violinist Mikhail Kopelman and cellist Clive Greensmith, joined in 1996 and 1999, respectively.
The quartet has played all over the world, in locations such as Vienna, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Cologne, Krakow, Barcelona, Madrid, Jerusalem, and throughout Italy. They have also been featured on “Sesame Street” and “PBS Sunday Morning.”
Although tonight’s performance is sold out, Barkhurst encourages people to call the Hult Center or the EMU ticket office in case tickets become available.
What distinguishes this quartet as one of the world’s best is the way the members’ instruments come together as if only one instrument is playing, Hurwitz said.
“They play as if they’re one person,” he said. “If you close your eyes, you hear one sound.”