Fine Arts Quartet Performs Three Concerts in April

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Photo courtesy The Fine Arts Quartet

The Fine Arts Quartet in New York City

The Fine Arts Quartet

This year the Fine Arts Quartet returns to Milwaukee for concerts April 7-16. As always, these concerts are free and open to the public.

For the first program on April 7 the FAQ will be joined by the Brazilian pianists Gisele and Fabio Witkowski. The concert begins with Schumann’s Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44. It was composed in 1842, a year which Schumann devoted to chamber music. It is both dazzling and exciting. Ms. Gisele Witkowski will be at the piano. Many of you will recognize the march in the second movement. First violinist Ralph Evans told me that movie buffs might remember it was featured in the soundtrack of the famous 1934 horror film, The Black Cat.

The second quintet is Dohnanyi’s Piano Quintet No. 1 with Fabio Witkowski at the piano. It was composed in 1895 when Dohnanyi was only 18. Brahms is reported to have said, “I could not have written it better myself.” 

“Dohnanyi, a terribly underrated composer who even many music lovers haven't heard of, happens to be one of my all-time favorites,” Evans says. “I’m so smitten with his compelling melodies and harmonies that we've recorded all three of his string quartets as well as his two piano quintets. Though his first piano quintet was written when Dohnanyi was still a teenager, it is truly a great work and I’m happy we can perform it in Milwaukee. The Witkowskis play with great sensitivity, and we are delighted to perform the Schumann and Dohnanyi quintets with them.”

The second concert will take place on April 14 in Milwaukee’s St Paul’s Episcopal Church on Knapp Street at 3 p.m. (pre-talk 2 pm). It begins with Verdi’s String Quartet in E minor. In March of 1873, while Verdi's production of Aida was delayed due to the sudden illness of soprano Teresa Stolz, Verdi focused his time in Naples composing this quartet, his first and only purely instrumental work. It was premiered two days after the opening of Aida during an informal recital at his hotel on April 1, 1873. As one would expect, it is lyrical with melodic lines one can easily sing. 

“Verdi's only Quartet is a work of great sophistication, with some unusual technical demands, yet it's filled with the most charming and haunting melodies,” Evans explains. “Nevertheless, that Quartet is not often heard in concert halls, mainly because its final fugal movement is filled with complex counterpoint and thus takes repeated hearings to comprehend and appreciate. But those who make the effort will be well rewarded.”

Few sextets were written after those Boccherini composed in the late 17th century. And then came Brahms! The String Sextet No. 1 in B♭ major, Op. 18, was composed in 1860. It, like the Verdi, is wonderfully lyrical. Parts of the sextet have been used in the soundtrack of various films including episodes in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Morse” and The Piano Teacher. Need I say more? Linda Numagami, viola, and Madeleine Kabat, cello, will join the Quartet for this performance. 

For the final program on April 16 the Quartet will be joined by piano soloist Alon Goldstein and double bassist Avery Cardoza in chamber versions of Mozart's great Piano Concertos Nos. 18 and 22 arranged for piano and string quintet by Ignaz Lachner, a 19th German composer and conductor. It was not uncommon at the time to transcribe larger symphonic works for smaller ensembles for performance in homes and salons.

“We are busy recording for the Naxos label these days and one of our many ongoing projects has been to record Mozart's divine piano concertos in these superb, forgotten 19th century chamber arrangements which I rediscovered many years ag,” Evans says. “It’s a rare chance to hear some of Mozart's greatest works in a more intimate setting. Together with our brilliant guest pianist Alon Goldstein, the concert on April 16 will be our fifth installment of Lachner’s Mozart concerto series.” 

The Fine Arts Quartet, founded in 1946, has now existed for 78 years, the last 41 of them with Evans as first violinist. “During my long tenure with the Quartet, my goal for us has always been to present great works in a manner that would please audiences aesthetically—namely by making every note beautiful,” he says. ‘I’ve never been a fan of austere sound and cutting-edge style in the arts that many critics favor nowadays. The greatest string players of the past like Heifetz, Kreisler, Elman, Casals, Feuermann, among many others, were able to charm listeners with their gorgeous expressive tone qualities, and I’ve always believed there's no reason why string quartets couldn’t do the same. I’m gratified to be working with some of the world’s finest string players (Messrs. Boico, Sharon, Schmidt) who are in harmony with that aesthetic philosophy, and ‘m grateful, too, for those lovers of chamber music who cherish our approach.”

The Fine Arts Quartet perform April 7, 3 p.m. (pre-talk 2 pm) at UWM’s Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts; April 14, 3 p.m. (pre-talk 2 pm) at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church; April 16, 7 p.m. at UWM’s Helene Zelazo Center.