Donald E. Osborne,  Director California Artists Management 564 Market Street, Suite 420, San Francisco, CA  94104-5412 415 362-2787 / fax: 415 362-2838 / Skype: calartistsdon  / Email

Susan Endrizzi Morris,  Director California Artists Management P.O. Box  2479, Mendocino, CA  95460-2479 707-937-4787 / cell: 415-302-1083 / Skype: sueendrizzi / Email

- The incomparable BORODIN QUARTET earned raves from their just-completed tour:
Headline: "Borodins at top of string quartets." "Is the Borodin Quartet the best ensemble of its kind in the world? Anyone who heard the Borodins play Sunday afternoon is likely to find the notion congenial. The quartet has played in Ottawa before. But it wasn't exactly the same ensemble. Cellist Valentin Berlinsky retired in 2007. His protegee, Vladimir Balshin, now occupies the cellist's chair and is an entirely worthy successor. He has a sound slightly warmer than Berlinsky's, but in matters of interpretation and ensemble playing he is as one with his colleagues. The Borodins played to virtual perfection and with the love the score certainly deserves. Beethoven's Quartet in F minor was quartet playing as good as it gets." The Ottawa Citizen  - Jan. 19

"If the Quartet was not the same group that played for Shostakovich, it closed its program with a stunning performance of that composer's Third Quartet. This work darkens with each movement, becoming an enveloping elegy in the finale. The quartet's sound reflected this journey, beginning with a relatively light tone and moving through stages of astringency and intensity. The group began with the Quartet No. 1 in A by its namesake.  By giving it a lush sound, occasional touches of portamento and lavishing attention on its dynamics, the players made the work hard to resist." New York Times - Jan. 23

The Borodin Quartet returns to North America in March / April 2010.

- The SHANGHAI QUARTET's latest world premieres were of music by none other than Felix Mendelssohn, whose 200th birthday is celebrated this month. Their program of unknown and suppressed works for The Mendelssohn Project at New York's Museum of Jewiish Heritage drew attention worldwide and some excellent reviews:
"The Shanghai Quartet showed the roots of Mendelssohn's lifelong passion for Bach in a set of 12 Fugues and the finale of a Quartet in E flat. But the real find here was a short Violin Sonata in D minor with an exquisite opening Adagio and a sizzling Allegro molto, played ravishingly by Weigang Li, from the Shanghai Quartet." New York Times - Jan. 30

In a busy month, the Shanghais also earned accolades for their performance of Chen Yi's "From the Path of Beauty" with Chanticleer:
"The unusual combination of vocal ensemble with string quartet resulted in one of the most successful performances of contemporary music in recent memory.  'The Dancing Ink' for string quartet featured dazzling and intensely played melodic passages. This is a very difficult work to perform, and the Shanghai Quartet was impressive with the virtuosic runs and dazzling colors they lent to the work." Kansas City Star - Jan. 18

On February 21 and 22 the Quartet gives the first US performances of Penderecki's String Quartet No. 3, "Leaves Form an Unwritten Diary," commissioned by Peak Performances, Montclair State University and the Modlin Center, University of Richmond: 

"To anyone attending the festival, the greatest discovery must surely have been Penderecki's chamber music. 'I am turning to chamber music having realized that you can say more in a muted voice, condensed to the sound of three or four instruments,' Penderecki said about his latest compositions. 'This escape into musical privacy is a kind of response to our fin de siecle, to that acceleration of the clock of history and the confusion linked to reshuffling of standards in culture, ethics and politics.' That is exactly what his Sextet sounds like; also the latest String Quartet No. 3 played for the first time at the festival by the Shanghai Quartet. It's hard to find words that best describe the character of this new composition: beautiful music, very personal. This is Penderecki today. A master of great forms who attains perfection in chamber music and condensed sounds." Warsaw Voice - Dec. 17

- The IVES QUARTET celebrated its 10th anniversary with an American program honoring Abraham Lincoln who, like Mendelssohn, was born 200 years ago in February 1809.
"The players are a unified force that shows some brilliant playing. The program had a number of delightful moments.  The Quartet has been recording Porter's complete string quartets, including this concert's featured quartet, which shows the genesis of his American style. The final work was the “American” String Quartet of Dvorak. The Quartet played the work beautifully; it's a fine group." SF Classical Voice - Jan. 27 

The following reviews will be posted to our homepage:
- Soprano KIRSTEN BLAISE in Handel's "Israel in Egypt" conducted by Helmuth Rilling: "The vocal soloists brought the desired tone, memorable in the cantabile full lines of soprano Kirsten Blaise." Esslinger Zeitung - Jan. 19 - Tenor JORMA SILVASTI as Shuisky in "Boris Godunov," Vienna Staatsoper: "Whether Jorma Silvasti in his supporting role challenges the overwhelming presence of Furlanetto's Boris certainly might be questioned, but there is magnificent pathos and beautiful singing." Die Presse - Jan. 8
- Baritone JAMES MADDALENA in music of John Adams with the Pittsburgh Symphony. conducted by the composer: "The highlight was hearing baritone James Maddalena, who created the role of Richard Nixon in 1987." Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Jan. 19
- Pianist PETER FRANKL with the Prades Casals Festival in Paris: "Frankl and his impeccable classicism seduced by a playfulness and a 
roundness of tone." Cocertonet - Jan. 22
- ARTHUR FAGEN conducting the New Year's Concert, Haydn Orchestra, Bolzano, Italy: "A conductor with exceptional sparkling gestures and rhythmically incisive.” Alto Adige - Jan. 3
- The PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA at the International Chamber Orchestra Festival in Saint Paul, MN: "Smiles graced the faces of both musicians and audience members when McGegan started the evening by dancing about to a suite by Jean-Philippe Rameau." St. Paul Pioneer Press - Jan. 30

Best regards,
Don Osborne
California Artists Management
tel: 415-362-2787 / fax: 415-362-2838 / Skype: calartistsdon
Susan Endrizzi
tel: 707-937-4787 / cell:415-302-1083
www.calartists.com
in association with Mariedi Anders
tel: 415-752-4404 / fax: 415-752-7451

We hope you find these messages of interest.  Should you prefer not to receive them, let us know and we'll be pleased to remove your name from our list.


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