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2001-2002 HIGHLIGHTS

THE ORION QUARTET ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF TECHNOLOGY

THE NEW YORK TIMES (excerpt)
January 17, 2002, Thursday

CIRCUITS
Mastering a New Instrument: The Web
By Nancy Beth Jackson

The Orion String Quartet (www .orionquartet.com), organized as an ensemble in 1987, was one of the first chamber groups to recognize what the Web could offer classical musicians. Its professionally designed site, started in 1997, provides news about performances and recordings and links to online vendors of four of its CD's. But the site does far more than sell music for the Orion, the quartet in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. It builds an audience.

Visitors can send e-mail to each of the musicians, vote for their favorite pair of socks in the wild array worn by the violinist Todd Phillips and pick up chatty restaurant recommendations gathered between performances around the country.

"The way the world is now with so many great players out there, you want to be noticed in a new way," said Steven Tenenbom, the quartet's violist, adding that some people have discovered the Orion while browsing online for a Chinese restaurant.

BEETHOVEN IN KANSAS CITY AND PITTSBURGH

Hailed for its interpretation of these monumental works since the Quartet's critically-acclaimed Beethoven 2000 series in New York, the Orion Quartet presented the Beethoven Quartet Cycle in Kansas City and Pittsburgh during the 2001-2002 season. In Kansas City, the Quartet performed the series of five concerts over a two-month period and participated in masterclasses and other educational activities as part of the project. The complete cycle was performed in five concerts during one marathon weekend in Pittsburgh on April 5, 6 & 7. The concerts marked the culmination of the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society's three month long "Beethoven Project."

COLLABORATION WITH THE BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE COMPANY

For the 2001-2002 season, the Orion joined forces with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for a unique collaboration. Renowned dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones created three new works set to Beethoven's String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135, Kurtag's 12 Microludes, Op. 13, and Kurtag's String Quartet, Op. 1, integrating both dancers and the musicians. The Company revived a staple work, "D-Man in the Waters", set to Mendelssohn's Octet. This project was presented in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Iowa City, Princeton, Amherst, Greendale, NY, Ithaca, NY, and Orono, ME.

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