STRING ENSEMBLES, PIANISTS HIGHLIGHT UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Published: Sunday, March 27, 2005

FEATURES - THE ARTS 06D

By Barbara Zuck

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Chamber Music Columbus, central Ohio's leading presenter of international chamber artists, will sponsor seven performances next season, including one by the renowned Guarneri String Quartet.

Three concerts will be devoted to the "artistry of the piano,'' said Ivan Mueller, past chairman of the board.

"These concerts will feature the piano in increasing degrees of independence, from piano quintet to piano-cello duo to solo piano recital,'' he said.

All but one performance will take place Downtown at 8 p.m. in the Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St.

The finale of the organization's 58th season, on May 20, 2006, will be at 7:30 p.m. on the Ohio Wesleyan University campus.

The schedule:

* Oct. 1, Vermeer Quartet, with Caroline Hong, piano: Founded at Vermont's Marlboro Music School in 1969, the Vermeer Quartet has been the quartet in residence for Performing Arts Chicago since 1984. The group will be joined by Hong, an associate professor at Ohio State University. Program: Haydn's Quartet in G Major, Op. 76, No. 1; Hindemith's Quartet No. 4, Op. 22; Brahms' Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34.

* Nov. 19, Belcea Quartet: This still-young British quartet was established at the Royal College of Music in 1994. It received the Chamber Music Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2001 and 2003. The quartet's first album for EMI won the 2001 Gramophone Award for best debut recording. Program: Mozart's Quartet in B-flat Major, K. 458 ("Hunt''); Britten's Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25; Schumann's Quartet in A Major, Op. 41, No. 3.

* Jan. 21, 2006, Concertante: Founded in 1995 by a group of Juilliard School graduates, the ensemble performs a wide array of repertoire, ranging from quintets by the masters to less-commonly performed nonets and other combinations of instruments. Concertante is the resident chamber-music ensemble of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, Pa. Program: Beethoven's Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20; Schubert's Octet in F Major, Op. 166, D. 803.

* Feb. 11, 2006, Guarneri String Quartet: Formed in 1964, the Guarneri has circled the globe countless times. This will be its first central Ohio appearance since 2000. Program: Mozart's Quartet in C Major, K. 465 ("Dissonance''); Stravinsky's Concertino; Turina's La Oracin del Torero, Op. 34; Schubert's Quartet in C Minor, D. 703 ("Quartettsatz''); Dvorak's Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 51.

* March 18, 2006, David Finckel and Wu Han, cello and piano: Finckel and Han serve as artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music@Menlo, a new chamber-music festival in California's Silicon Valley. Finckel is also cellist of the Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet. Program: a J.S. Bach sonata to be determined; Beethoven's Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69; Schumann's Adagio and Allegro in A-flat Major, Op. 70; Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano; Britten's Sonata in C Major, Op. 65.

* April 1, 2006, Richard Goode, piano: One of the leading interpreters of Beethoven and Mozart, Goode probes the inner reaches of works by all composers. His recent recording of Bach's Partitas was selected as "Record of the Month'' by Gramophone magazine. Among his many honors are first prize in the Clara Haskil Competition, the Avery Fisher Prize and a Grammy Award with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. He serves as co-artistic director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival. Program: to be determined.

* May 20, 2006, Cavani String Quartet, 7:30 p.m, Jemison Auditorium, Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware: The concert is co-sponsored by Chamber Music Connection to kick off its Spring Weekend Festival at Ohio Wesleyan, which includes student workshops. Founded in 1984, the Cavani won the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1989. It has been quartet in residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music since 1988.

For season ticket information, call 614-267-2267 or visit www.cmcolumbus.org. Single tickets will be on sale only at the Ohio Theatre box office (614-469-0939).

bzuck@dispatch.com