Ensemble Masters Of Passion, Precision & Interpretation

To Open NFoM’s 2010-11 Season

Newtown Friends of Music will welcome American String Quartet as the opening performers for NFoM’s 33rd season on Sunday, September 19, at 3 pm. The performance will be in the theater at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street in Newtrown.

Recognized as one of the world’s finest quartets, American String Quartet is celebrating its 35th anniversary in the 2010-11 season. In its years of touring, ASQ — violinist Peter Winograd, violinist Laurie Carney, violist Daniel Avshalomov, and cellist Wolfram Koessel — has performed in all fifty states, and has appeared in the most important concert halls worldwide.

Their presentations of the complete quartets of Beethoven, Schubert, Schoenberg, Bartók, and Mozart have won widespread critical acclaim, and their MusicMasters Complete Mozart String Quartets, performed on a matched quartet set of instruments by Stradivarius, are widely considered to have set the standard for this repertoire. A capacity Newtown audience was privileged to hear the American perform on these rare instruments, on loan to them from the Smithsonian, in November 1997.

The quartet’s diverse activities have also included numerous international radio and television broadcasts, tours of Asia, and performances with the New York City Ballet, Montreal Symphony, and Philadelphia Orchestra.

On September 19, ASQ will perform works of Haydn, Beethoven, and the much anticipated Schubert Quartet in D minor (“Death and the Maiden”).

Advance reservations are strongly recommended for this concert by calling 203-426-6470.

Single tickets for this performance are $20; tickets for the entire season of six classical music concerts will still be sold on opening day (visit NewtownFriendsOfMusic.org for the full season schedule and ticket details). Students in grades K-12 are admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.  The box office will open at 2 the afternoon of the concert. 

Parking is free behind Edmond Town Hall, and the facility is handicap accessible with all seating providing excellent viewing and acoustics. An elevator is available to all three floors of the building.

An informal reception following the concert will offer concertgoers the opportunity to mingle with the artists.

For information regarding future events, write to Newtown Friends of Music at PO Box 295, Newtown CT 06470-0295; or visit the organization’s website.