Viennese Musicians Hugo Wolf Quartett To Premiere

New String Quartet In Newtown

Newtown Friends of Music have developed a knack for bringing to the stage of Edmond Town Hall some extraordinarily gifted musicians. Some are young and not yet very well known, others are established and their names are legendary, but all deliver astounding quality concerts that have kept audiences coming back for the past 31 years.

On Sunday, March 1, at 3 pm, the Hugo Wolf Quartett (two Ts in their name is correct) from Vienna will present two works Joseph Haydn in the second half of the 18th Century, String Quartet Opus 20 No. 3 in G minor and String Quartet Opus 77, No. 2 in F Major.

The performance will also include the premiere performance of a string quartet that was completed at the end of 2008 by the composer Wolfgang Muthspiel, who wrote the new works at the request of and commissioned by the musicians who will premiere it. The composer has stated that he wishes to honor the art of the string quartet and the genius of Haydn.

For more than ten years the Hugo Wolf Quartett has performed in the most prominent concert halls and renowned festivals such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie Berlin and Cologne, Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Wigmore Hall London, Carnegie Hall New York, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Edinburgh Festival. Their performances have taken them on extensive concert tours in Europe, North and South America, Mexico, Japan, and elsewhere.

The quartet was founded at Vienna Conservatory in 1993. The name was granted to the quartet by the International Hugo Wolf Society of Vienna. The late Romantic composer Hugo Wolf was situated between the great Viennese music tradition and its departure into the modern period, thus the quartet’s wide range of musical venues.

Shortly after its founding, the four young musicians began their professional careers by winning the Fifth International String Quartet Competition in Cremona, took first prize at the 45th International GB Viotti Chamber Music Competition, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Special Prize, and the European Cultural Award for Chamber Music, then made their debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus to wide acclaim by public and press alike, where they now have an annual sold-out series.

The four members of the quartet — Sebastian Guertler and Regis Bringolf, violins; Gertrud Weinmeister, viola; and Florian Berner, cello— perform on instruments of impressive provenance.  The first violinist plays a Nicolas Lupt from Paris of 1809.  Mr Bringolf performs on a 1697 Gioffredo Cappa.  Ms Weinmaster’s viola is a Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza, from the Milan of 1775.  And Mr Berner’s cello is a Niccolo Gagliano of Naples 1819. These valuable instruments are on loan to the musicians from the Ipiranga Estate in Brazil.

The press has been unanimous in its approval of the performance style, the clarity, the charm and the serious and thoughtful interpretation of the pieces that the quartet performs.  “One hears in these players, embryonically and in miniature, the qualities that make the Vienna Philharmonic special,” wrote one critic in The New York Times. “Urgent and impassioned, but with an absolute commitment to the ideal values of every note,” said The Los Angeles Times.

Tickets for the Newtown performance are $18 for adults and $16 for seniors. Students grades K through 12 are admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult. The box office will open one hour before the start 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 informal reception with the performers will follow the concert.

For tickets or additional information contact Newtown Friends of Music at 426-6470 or NewtownFriendsOfMusic.org.