September 26, 2007

Calder Quartet to blend traditional, avant-garde for Purdue show

Purdue Convocations is presenting the performance as a Discovery Concert, a showcase of up-and-coming talent. The event also is part of a three-part Convocations series called "Listening to Ludwig: Beethoven Masterworks Revealed."

String Quartet No. 15, op. 132 – a work in which Beethoven struggles with sickness, seeks help and gives thanks to God – has influenced many composers. Five years after Beethoven's death, Felix Mendelssohn captured the drama of Beethoven's work in his String Quartet in A Minor, op. 13. Almost 200 years after that, Thomas Adès was influenced by the compositional style of Beethoven's "Holly Thanksgiving" from op. 132 in "O Albion" from "Arcadiana."

The Calder Quartet will begin with "Reflections on 132" with Mendelssohn and Adès, and will conclude with Beethoven's monumental work.

"This quartet is aptly named after the great American visual artist Alexander Calder," said Purdue Convocations' director Todd Wetzel. "Taking a cue from its namesake, the group boldly searches for new ways to stretch the capabilities, combinations and definition of a string quartet. They are known for pushing the boundaries of chamber music with a keen acumen for combining the best of the traditional and the avant-garde."

The ensemble - Andrew Bulbrook, Eric Byers, Benjamin Jacobson and Jonathan Moerschel - spent the 2006-07 season as the Juilliard School's Graduate Resident Quartet, one of the school's highest distinctions. Other highlights of the season included a return to Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The group also continued its relationship with the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where they participated in the Colburn Chamber Artists Series of concerts and outreach events, and the Carlsbad Music Festival, an alternative classical music festival in Carlsbad, Calif., that the group co-founded with composer Matt McBane.

Recent milestones for the group include graduating from the Colburn School after serving for two years as the school's graduate quartet in residence and participating in La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest 2005. The group has debuted with the Washington Performing Arts Society's Kreeger String Series at the Kennedy Center and the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

The Purdue performance will include a pre-show discussion in which members of the quartet will introduce the theme of their program, "Reflections on 132." The talk will begin at 7 p.m. in Loeb Playhouse and is free for ticket holders.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Source: Kerry Schutt Nason, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, (765) 494-5045, knason@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Publication-quality photos of the Calder Quartet are available at https://www.purdue.edu/convos/calderimages.shtml

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