The internationally renowned, award-winning Ying Quartet will give two performances of their upcoming Eastman-Ranlet Series concert featuring a new work by Brooklyn-based composer Kenji Bunch. The original concert date of Sunday, Dec. 2, will be for series subscribers and is being supplemented by another presentation for the general public at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6. Both programs are in Hatch Recital Hall at the Eastman School of Music and also include quartets by Beethoven and Bartók.
Seasoned veterans to performing Beethoven’s quartets, the Yings have participated in several festivals devoted to the works, including Buffalo’s annual Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle as well as the Seattle Symphony’s performance of the complete quartets. The Ying Quartet’s recent performance of Bartok’s String Quartet No. 3 at the Bowdoin International Music Festival was celebrated for its “aplomb and passion” (Portland Press Herald). This concert’s new work by Bunch is commissioned as part of the Yings’ LifeMusic commissioning project, asking American composers to write music that is inspired by some dimension of the American experience.
Bunch has been hailed by the New York Times as “A Composer to Watch” and cited by Alex Ross in his seminal book The Rest Is Noise. Bunch’s symphonic music has been performed by more than 40 orchestras, and his genre-defying chamber works have been performed in premier venues on six continents. His music is regularly broadcast on national radio, including NPR, BBC, and NHK, and has been recorded on labels including Sony/BMG, EMI Classics, Koch, Kleos Classics, RCA, Naxos, Pony Canyon, GENUIN, Capstone, MSR Classics, Innova, ARS, and Crystal.
The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world, combining brilliantly communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today’s world. Its album 4 + Four, recorded with the Turtle Island String Quartet, received a 2006 Grammy Award for best classical crossover album. The ensemble’s tours across the United States and abroad regularly take place in many of the world’s most important concert halls, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House.
Tickets for the Ying Quartet’s performance are $10 to $20 (reduced tickets with UR ID) and can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St.; by phone (585) 454-2100; or online at esm.rochester.edu/concerts.
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Sunday, December 2
Eastman-Ranlet Series: Ying Quartet. This performance for series subscribers only. Ayano Ninomiya, violin; Janet Ying, violin; Philip Ying, viola; David Ying, cello. Bartók: Quartet no. 3; Bunch: new work; Beethoven: Quartet in A minor.
3 PM
Hatch Recital Hall, 433 East Main St.
Tickets: Subscribers Only. Additional performance for public scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 6.
Thursday, December 6 – ADDED PERFORMANCE FOR PUBLIC
Eastman-Ranlet Series: Ying Quartet. Ayano Ninomiya, violin; Janet Ying, violin; Philip Ying, viola; David Ying, cello. Bartók: Quartet no. 3; Bunch: new work; Beethoven: Quartet in A minor.
8 PM
Hatch Recital Hall, 433 East Main St.
Tickets: $10 to $20, available at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St., by phone, 585-454-2100; or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets/ .