2012-13 Season

String Quartet No. 6, in B flat major, Op. 18, No. 6

String Quartet No. 7, in F sharp minor, Op. 108

Bedrich Smetana

"Its most immediately striking quality is the vibrancy, flexibility and homogeneity of its sound: the first violinist's tone in particular is extraordinarily beautiful and intense. The players are technically extremely good, their ensemble is flawless and they can weave a seamless tapestry of lines and voices. Everything they do is carefully planned and worked out to the last detail, but they have succeeded in balancing perfect control with passionate involvement, youthful exuberance, and spontaneous expressiveness - a rare feat that gives their playing a feeling of total security as well as a powerful emotional impact."

— Andante

Johannes Brahms

"The Brentano String Quartet is something special...Their music making is private, delicate and fresh, but by its very intimacy and importance it seizes attention." "As usual with this ensemble, the performances were full of life...They seem to be listening to the same heartbeat."

— NY Times

Sonata en Trio, Op. 30 in F#-minor

Ernest Chausson

Pie`ce for viola and harp, Op. 39 in C Major

Arnold Bax

Elegiac Trio for flute, viola and harp

Founded in 1997, the Boston-based Walden Chamber Players has garnered a reputation for being one of the most exciting and versatile chamber groups performing today. Critics have hailed its perfomances of everything from Bach to Schoenberg, and Chamber Music America Magazin raves: "A season spent with the Walden ahamber Players is a time for discovery." The success of its performances, recordings and educational currical has earned it a place as one of the most sought-after chamber ensembles in the United States.

"Meticulous and expressive playing.."
—The Washington Post

American Folksongs in Counterpoint

Antonin Dvorak

The members of this two-decade-old quartet love to play, and teach, with passion and total commitmen, as four unique individuals united by a single purpose – a love for classical music. Along with touring and performing, and a teaching residency at Blinn College in Bryan, Texas, they are running a music school in Bryan for anyone interested in classical music, regardless of race, sex, or age. The quartet tries to champion as many African-American composers as possible, but they are passionate about European-based classical music, too. "I lean toward folk music very much ... like Dvorák did," second violinist Nicole Cherry says. First violinist Marianne Henry adds, "Mozart was writing operas for the people." "Baroque music of the 17th century was the original jazz," reminds cellist Prudence McDaniel, employing jazzlike improvisation and chord progressions.

— the Christian Science Monitor