MUSIC

Houston Friends of Chamber Music opens its 2010-2011 season with the Tokyo String Quartet, with Desmond Hoebig, Thursday, September 16, 2010.

The Tokyo String Quartet has captivated audiences and critics alike since it was founded in 1969. Regarded as one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world, the Tokyo has collaborated with a remarkable array of artists and composers, built a comprehensive catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings, and established a distinguished teacher record.

On this concert, they will be joined by Cellist, Desmond Hoebig. Hoebig is currently professor of cello at Rice University but has been with the Orford String Quartet and the Hoebig-Moroz Trio. He also served as principal cellist of the Cincinnati, Houston, and Cleveland Orchestras.

Officially formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music, the quartet traces its origins to the Toho School of Music in Tokyo, where the founding members were profoundly influenced by Professor Hideo Saito. Soon after its creation, the quartet won First Prize at the Coleman Competition, the Munich Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. An exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon firmly established it as one of the world's leading quartets, and it has since released more than 40 landmark recordings. The ensemble now records on the Harmonia Mundi label.

The members of the Tokyo String Quartet have served on the faculty of the Yale School of Music as quartet-in-residence since 1976. Deeply committed to coaching young string quartets, they devote much of the summer to teaching and performing at the prestigious Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. They also conduct master classes in North America, Europe and the Far East throughout the year.

The ensemble performs on the "Paganini Quartet", a group of renowned Stradivarius instruments named for legendary virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, who acquired and played them during the 19th century. The instruments have been on loan to the ensemble from the Nippon Music Foundation since 1995, when they were purchased from the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

One of America’s finest instrumentalists, Canadian cellist Desmond Hoebig has joined The Shepherd School of Music as Professor of Cello. Hoebig studied at the Curtis Institute with David Soyer and at the Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins. He was cellist with the Orford String Quartet, which won a Juno award for best classical album in 1990, and has performed for almost thirty years with the Hoebig-Moroz Trio. Mr. Hoebig has served as principal cellist of the Cincinnati, Houston and Cleveland Orchestras.

The ensemble’s balance, intelligence and style were beyond exemplary. - the Vancouver Sun

Featuring: 
Martin Beaver, violin
Kikuei Ikeda, violin
Kazuhide Isomura, viola
Clive Greensmith, cello

Desmond Hoebig, cello