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ORION QUARTET CELEBRATES 20th ANNIVERSARY WITH
ALL-BEETHOVEN PROGRAM IN NEW YORK

The renowned Orion String Quartet celebrates its 20th-anniversary season with an all-Beethoven concert on Sunday, April 13 at 5 PM at the New York Society for Ethical Culture as part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's 2007-2008 season. The program will feature some of Beethoven's greatest masterpieces including the 'Harp' Quartet (Op.74), String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135, and String Quartet in B-flat major, Op.130 featuring the Grosse Fugue which Beethoven originally composed as the finale for the piece.

The April 13 concert will also introduce the Orion's second volume of the complete Beethoven string quartets on the Koch label; the three disc set features the late quartets, including Op. 130 and 135. Released in May 2007, the Orion's first installment of the Beethoven quartets was called "richly rewarding" by BBC Music magazine, and the Strad magazine said the Quartet was "rich in sonority...[and]...powerfully persuasive."

The Orion Quartet's 20th-anniversary season has been one of its most ambitious seasons ever. In November, the Orion debuted David Del Tredici's newest work Magyar Madness with clarinetist David Krakauer. Following the initial premiere, the ensemble traveled to venues in Champaign-Urbana, IL, Raleigh, NC, Ann Arbor, MI and Washington, DC; several performances are slated for next season and the work will have its New York premiere in October, 2009. In their review of Magyar, The Washington Post called it "a superb new work" which was "performed with commitment and striking intelligence." Following the success of Magyar, the Orion Quartet presented the latest string quartet by Lowell Liebermann, one of America's most frequently performed and commissioned composers, in Rochester, NY as part of the Canandaigua Lake Chamber Music Festival's winter series.

In October 2007, the Quartet returned to the venue where they gave their New York debut—the 92nd Street Y. The ensemble revisited their debut program as a thank you to the venue that launched their career, and to reflect on their growth as an ensemble. Reflecting on the program and the Quartet's decision to re-live their first New York concert, cellist Timothy Eddy said, "It's fascinating to me how cyclical events have elements of feeling the same and elements of feeling different, which provides a vivid experience of the effect of the passage of time. I'm looking forward to that experience and to celebrating the longevity of our group and the many fulfilling aspects of membership in this quartet." In her review for The New York Times, Vivien Schweitzer remarked that the Quartet's performance had rendered the audience into "utterly silent awe."

SUNDAY, APRIL 13 at 5 PM
New York Society for Ethical Culture
Orion String Quartet
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 74, "Harp"
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in F major, Op. 135
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130

KOCH RECORDS RELEASES NEW OSQ RECORDING

Known for their performances of the entire cycle of the Beethoven String Quartets, the OSQ's performance of Beethoven's Middle String Quartets was released in March 2007 by Koch Records, the first album of a three-disc recording project to release the entire cycle.

OSQ PREMIERES KIRCHNER QUARTET NO. 4 FOR STRINGS

The OSQ performed an all-Kirchner concert, including the New York Premiere of his Quartet No. 4, in March 2007 in Alice Tully Hall as part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's String Quartet Series. Kirchner's Quartet No. 4 was co-commissioned by La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Orion String Quartet who gave the world premiere of the work at SummerFest in August, 2006, with a subsequent performance at the Santa Fe Music Festival.

MUSIC ACCORD PROJECT

In the 2007-2008 concert season the OSQ and clarinetist David Krakauer perform a program featuring a new work by composer David Del Tredici commissioned by Music Accord for the ensemble.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY RESIDENCY

The OSQ will return to Indiana University as the newly-appointed Resident Quartet at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music.

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