ROCHESTER, NY – The internationally acclaimed Tokyo String Quartet, which has performed on most of the world’s stages and has received seven Grammy nominations, will perform in concert at 3 p.m., Sunday, February 4, in the Hochstein Performance Hall at the Hochstein Music School (50 N. Plymouth Ave.). The concert, featuring the works of Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven, is part of the Eastman-Ranlet Series sponsored by the Eastman School of Music. (The School moved this special performance to Hochstein to accommodate a larger audience.)
Performing more than 100 concerts a year across the United States, Europe, South America, and the Far East, the Tokyo Quartet is recognized for a remarkable cohesiveness that melds passionate playing with a rich, expressive tone. Combining a vast repertoire ranging from Haydn to Webern with a unique ability to communicate with its audiences, the quartet presents performances that are at once fresh and definitive. "If the Tokyo String Quartet isn’t the world’s greatest chamber music ensemble," claims The Washington Post, "it’s hard to imagine which group is."
The concert at Hochstein will feature two new members of the quartet – violinist Mikhail Kopelman and cellist Clive Greensmith – as well as founding member Kazuhide Isomura, viola, and Kikuei Ikeda, violin, who joined the ensemble in 1974. They perform on the "Paganini Quartet" – a group of Stradivarius instruments named for legendary virtuoso Nicolo Paganini, who acquired and played them during the 19th century.
The quartet has made more than 30 recordings since its formation in 1969, including the complete quartets of Beethoven, Schubert, and Bartók. Their recordings of Brahms, Debussy, Dvorák, Haydn, Mozart, Ravel, and Schubert have earned such honors as the Grand Prix du Disque as well as "Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year" awards from Stereo Review and Gramophone magazines. They also have been featured on numerous television programs including CBS Sunday Morning, PBS’s Great Performances, and Sesame Street.
Reserved tickets for the concert are $20, $13, and $7.50, and are available at Ticket Express, 100 East Avenue, or by calling 222-5000. Any unsold tickets will be available at the concert hall box office one hour before the concert.
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Note to editors: A complete bio and photographs of the Tokyo String Quartet are available.