“Classical Roots, Latin Soul” with the Dalí String Quartet
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC PRESENTS “CLASSICAL ROOTS, LATIN SOUL” – THE DALI STRING QUARTET ON SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 4 PM AT THE MAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, GREAT BARRINGTON, MASS.
Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Piazzolla and Morales-Matos’ Caribbean Dances Live Side by Side on the Program
Alongside Beethoven’s Quartet No. 1 Op. 18 and Mendelssohn’s Op. 80 Quartet, this program is infused with striking Latin repertoire: Sonia Morales-Matos’ Divertimento Caribeño No. 3 (dance suites of Caribbean merengue sandwiched around a Cuban bolero) and Astor Piazzolla’s Tango Ballet, a work that paints pictures through rhythms and melodies. The Dalí Quartet is Chamber Music America’s 2024 Ensemble of theYear and the 2019 recipient of the Atlanta Symphony’s esteemed Aspire Award for accomplished African American and Latino Musicians, among other awards. Beethoven’s first of his 16 string quartets contains thematic scaffolding and inspiration from Mozart and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 6 in F minor was written in homage to his sister Fanny, shortly after her death and just before his. With these selections, the program perfectly exemplifies the balance the Dali achieves in its classical roots and Latin soul identity.
Carrying dual “citizenship” in the chamber music realm, the Dali’s latest CD, with pianist Olga Kern, features the piano quintets of Brahms and Shostakovich. They have recorded works by: Efrain Amaya, Alberto Ginastera, Sonia Morales-Matos, Astor Piazzolla, Juan Bautista Plaza, and Gerardo Matos Rodriguez for Centaur Records. Dali violinist Ari Isaacman-Beck, trained traditionally, observes, “For me, my favorite (ongoing!) discovery is the breadth of repertoire of wide-ranging musical languages and profound quality by Latin American composers. From Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, Reynaldo Hahn, Alberto Ginastera, and Heitor Villa-Lobos to Sonia Morales, Eleanor Alberga, Gilbert Galindo, Tania León, Angélica Negrón, as well as so many others—it has been a total joy to become better acquainted with these older (and contemporary!) composers’ works. Through their music, I’ve learned more about Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn, and I’m continuing to learn about Bolero, Merengue, Mambo, Guajira, and a huge repertoire of folk influences that are particular to Latin America. We as human beings experience dance and music in the same area of the brain, and the interaction between rhythm, harmony, and motive is profoundly fascinating and moving to me; the particularities of those three elements, in their endless possible permutations, gives rise to a greater experience of cultural backgrounds other than my own.”
In its over three decades of offering the finest soloists and chamber ensembles and stretching the reach of chamber music to include accordion, rapper, pipa, percussion, marimba, tabla, in addition to traditional instruments, CEWM has presented the most distinguished string quartets on the music scene: the Alban Berg, Ariel, Borromeo, Escher, Avalon, Lark, Dover, Fine Arts, Harlem, Muir and Vermeer. CEWM is delighted to add the Dali to this stellar list.
“… beautifully prepared program … the Latin American program alternately glimmered and blazed.”-The Philadelphia Inquirer
Dalí String Quartet: Ari Isaacman-Beck, violin; Carlos Rubio, violin; Adriana Linares, viola; Jesus Morales, cello
TICKET INFORMATION
Single Tickets, $55 (Orchestra and Mezzanine), $30 (Balcony) and $15 for students, are available through the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center or by calling 413-528-0100.
“CEWM patrons have learned that sooner or later they’ll be blindsided by a performance so sublime it will defy explanation.”
— The Berkshire Edge
HOW TO REACH US
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Great Barrington, MA 01230
Web: cewm.org
e-mail: info@cewm.org
