MUSIC

Houston Friends of Music presents the Borromeo String Quartet, Tuesday, January 19, 2010, in Stude Concert Hall on the Rice University campus.

Since their explosive debut in 1989, the critically acclaimed Borromeo String Quartet have become one of the most sought after strings quartets in the world, performing over 100 concerts of classical and contemporary literature across three continents each season. The Borromeo Quartet’s long-standing and celebrated residency at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has been called “one of the defining experiences of civilization in Boston” [Boston Globe] as well as their concert series at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York.

The quartet is regularly invited to perform in distinguished chamber music series across the United States and abroad and has participated in Festivals in Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and in Korea. North American Festivals include Ravinia, Tanglewood, Caramoor, Santa Fe, Rockport, Cape Cod, and Vancouver chamber music festivals, among others. First violinist Nicholas Kitchen recently completed a six-year tenure as Artistic Director of the Cape Cod Chamber Music.

In April 2007 the Borromeo Quartet was the recipient of prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and in 2006 the Aaron Copland House honored the Borromeo's commitment to contemporary music by creating the Borromeo Quartet Award, an annual initiative that will premiere the work of important young composers to audiences internationally.

Educational Outreach is a major focus for the quartet, and they have participated in a number of programs for the past 10 years working with public school children, as well as developmentally disabled children and young adults. The Borromeo currently serves as an advisor to Community MusicWorks of Providence, Rhode Island, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of inner city youths and families through classical music.

The Chicago Tribune calls the Borromeo “a remarkable accomplished string quartet, not simply for its high technical polish and refined tone, but more importantly for the searching musical insights it brings.” The San Diego Reader lauds their performances as “a musical experience of luminous beauty,” and the Boston Globe writes “The Borromeo String Quartet is simply the best there is on the planet.”

Don’t miss the opportunity to see this incredible quartet in a fabulous concert hall.

Nicholas Kitchen, Violin
Kristopher Tong, Violin
Mai Motobuchi, Viola
Yesun Kim, Cello

Selected program includes:

Bartok: Quartet No. 2, Op. 17
Webern: Langsamer Satz
Schumann: Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 41

Houston Friends of Music is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.

Photo of Borromeo String Quartet –credit: Vantage Artists. (l to r) Kristopher Tong, violin; Nicholas Kitchen, violin; Mai Motobuchi, viola; Yessun Kim, cello.