Peoples' Symphony Concerts

"In the lovingly sculpted phrasing and virtuosic interplay of this fine ensemble of musicians, one could clearly feel the frank emotion and dancing spirit that's just under the surface of every seemingly formal Bach work." - Washington Post



The Program:

BARBER: Summer Music for Wind Quintet, Op. 31
BRAHMS: String Quartet in C minor, Op. 51, No. 1
BACH: Excerpts from the Art of the Fugue

The Artists:

The Orion String Quartet is one of the most sought-after ensembles in the United States. Since its inception, the Quartet has been consistently praised for the fresh perspective and individuality it brings to performances, offering diverse programs that juxtapose classic works of the standard quartet literature with masterworks by living composers. They remain on the cutting edge of programming with their wide-ranging commissions from composers Chick Corea, David Del Tredici, Alexander Goehr, John Harbison, Leon Kirchner, Marc Neikrug, Lowell Libermann, Peter Lieberson and Wynton Marsalis, and enjoy a creative partnership with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. With over fifty performances each year, the members of the Orion String Quartet - violinists Daniel Phillips and Todd Phillips (brothers who share the first violin chair equally), violist Steven Tenenbom and cellist Timothy Eddy - have worked closely with such legendary figures as Pablo Casals, Rudolf Serkin, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Peter Serkin, members of TASHI and the Beaux Arts Trio, as well as the Budapest, Végh, Galimir and Guarneri String Quartets. The Orion serves as Artist Members of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Quartet-in-Residence at New York's Mannes College of Music and Resident Quartet at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. "A noisy standing ovation is nothing rare, and these players certainly deserved theirs after the stellar performance. But silence can be an even better indicator of a powerful performance. After the Adagio in the Mendelssohn, the musicians managed to seduce the rustling, coughing, whispering audience into utterly silent awe." The New York Times.

Created in 1994 by five eminent woodwind soloists, WINDSCAPE has won a unique place for itself as a vibrant, ever-evolving group of musical individualists, an "unquintet", which has delighted audiences throughout the North America. WINDSCAPE's innovative programs and accompanying presentations are created to take listeners on a musical and historical world tour--evoking through music and engaging commentary vivid cultural landscapes of distant times and places.

As Artists-in-Residence at the Manhattan School of Music, the members of WINDSCAPE are master teachers, imparting not only the craft of instrumental virtuosity, but also presenting a distinctive concert series hailed for its creative energy and musical curiosity. The series offers the perfect setting for the ensemble to devise new, sometimes startling programs and to experiment with new arrangements and repertoire combinations. Popular programs which have emerged from this process in recent seasons include "The Roaring 20's", “The Fabulous 50’s”, "The Young Titan: Beethoven Comes to Vienna", and "East Meets West: The Music of Japan and the Impressionists".