Seasons Greetings from Philomusica

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Photo: Philomusica String Quartet - philomusicaquartet.com

Philomusica String Quartet

Philomusica String Quartet

The Philomusica String Quartet—violinists Jeanyi Kim and Alexander Mandl, violist Nathan Hackett and cellist Adrien Zitoun—is celebrating their 15th season. It was formed in 2008 to create an outlet for sharing and expressing their love of chamber music. They are in residence at Wisconsin Lutheran College where they teach string instrument students.

Philomusica continues to delight their loyal and ever-growing audience with jewels of the string quartet repertoire, collaborating with other musicians to increase the reach of the string quartet even further.

I asked Mandl how they decide on a season’s programing. It’s not as simple as I thought. He explained that the genesis of each Philomusica Quartet program/season begins with a wish list from individual quartet members, comprising factors such as “a player’s affinity to a particular work, musical milestones such as composer anniversaries or a special event; works that belong within an ongoing cycle such as the Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky; new or overlooked repertoire that we feel are important to spotlight; guests that the quartet would like to invite; and of course, input/feedback from our loyal audience members. 

“From then on, we brainstorm the season’s cohesiveness, program themes and lengths. Programs are then crafted as if one were creating a musical ‘dinner menu’: hors d’eouvre, salad/soup, and the main course. Special attention is given to create a balanced program that is attractive, musically stimulating, and enjoyable to the audience and performers alike!” 

Philomusica’s opening program on October 9 is titled “Seasons Colors.” I remarked how Puccini’s I Crisantemi, SC65 with its mournful melody captures the fall season with dying flowers and falling leaves. It was written as an elegy commemorating the sudden death of Amadeo di Savoia, Duke of Aosta. [Crisantemi is Italian for Chrysanthemum, a flower traditionally associated with mourning and loyalty.] The theme is reused three years later in his opera Manon Lescaut. 

Is the central theme of the first concert or if it was one of friendship as in William Grant Still’s composition, Quartetto Lyrico? Mandl answered indeed friendship and life are also reflected in the other compositions—Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 7 in D major, D. 94 and Bedřich Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, “From My Life.”

Winter is often a time for reflection. Would the selections be different if the quartet was located somewhere else. Mandl explained, “Likely, the programming would be somewhat adjusted to suit the likes of the audience demographics. Afterall, we are performers, and besides our own individual enrichment as musicians, we aim to entertain while enlightening the audience.” 

Their programing had changed over the years. “When we started back in 2008,” Mandl said, “we were mostly new to performing the quartet repertoire, and in hindsight, we now realize how heavy and musically/technically challenging we were programming. Although audience feedback was very positive, when I would mention our programming to colleagues of other non-fulltime quartets, many would say: that’s a lot of courage! Anyway, we adjusted quickly and set as goal to balance programs with the inclusion of a quartet from the Beethoven cycle in each season. We are proud to have performed all of the Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Schumann cycles and others.”

As for audience requests he had this to say. “Absolutely we consider requests. We even have had requests for us not to perform certain repertoire.” Once the pieces for a particular concert have been selected the quartet “strive to balance the halves as much as possible timewise; with the most substantial work performed last.”

Mandl pointed out that the quartet enjoys expanding their repertoire with the addition of guest musicians as on their February 12, 2024, program titled Winter Masters. They will be joined by Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concert Master Jinwoo Lee, guest violinist, and Melinda Masur, guest pianist, for Ernest Chausson’s Concerto in D major for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Op. 21. Anton Bruckner’s String Quartet in C minor, WAB111 and Guillaume Lekeu’s Molto adagio, sempre cantante doloroso for String Quartet.

The members of the quartet are from around the world. Jeanyi Kim is from Toronto and her husband, Alexander Mandl, is both a violinist and conductor in his native Brazil. Nathan Hackett is a native of Wisconsin while Adrien Zitoun is from France.

The season’s final program, Vibrant Spring, April 22, 2024. will include Giacomo Puccini’s: Allegro for String Quartet, Florence Price’s String Quartet No. 1 in G major, and Jessie Montgomery’s Strum for String Quartet. Robert Levine, the principal violist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, will join them for Antonín Dvořák’s String Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 97 “American.” which will complete the program.

All performances are at Wisconsin Lutheran College Swan Hall For more, visit philomusicaquartet.com.