The Afiara String Quartet » News

November

adrian — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:47:54 +0000

After a wonderful time in our visiting residency at the University of Alberta, the Afiaras returned to New York working hard on repertoire for the latter half of the season. We’re having fun tackling the various challenges in Bruno Mantovani’s string quartet, Les Fées, for an upcoming concert for Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in April. There are many other new scores to be studied and November, in all its leafy fireworks of colours, seems the perfect month to learn.

Other than our concert at U of A’s Convocation Hall in Edmonton (Nov 4), we play concerts this month at the National Arts Club in New York (Nov 14) and Art Center Chamber Music in New Jersey (Nov 29).

If you haven’t seen it yet, click on the picture to see the new short video of the Afiara’s residency work at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

YouTube, CBC Radio and Concerts!

adrian — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:21:15 +0000

A new short film about our residency at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music, has been uploaded on YouTube! Please click here to view and leave a comment.

Afiaras will be broadcast live on CBC Radio’s “In Concert” on October 9 at 11:00 am, in a program including violinists James Ehnes and Jonathan Crow. The concert will feature our performance with Marc-Andre Hamelin (Dvorak Piano Quintet) from this past summer at Domaine Forget. Tune in here.

In other news, the Afiaras will play two concerts for the Stamford Chamber Music Society in Connecticut and a performance for Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s series “Inside Chamber Music”, with Bruce Adolphe. Afterward, we head to a residency at The Banff Centre before going to University of Alberta in Edmonton for the first part of our Visiting Residency of teaching, masterclasses, and performances.

New Season and a New Recording

adrian — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:13:01 +0000

After a little time away at the end of the summer, the Afiaras are back in their saddles. This month, we will be heading to the Ravinia Festival playing a program of Haydn, Beethoven, and Dvorak (Sept 9th). We’re also looking forward to celebrating Concert Artists Guild’s 60th with a performance in the Greene Space at New York’s classical music radio station, WQXR. Another highlight this month sees the Quartet rejoining our friend Steve Prutsman at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, playing a very cool presentation of Prutsman-composed music to Buster Keaton’s silent short film “Sherlock, Jr.” This will be our third time playing this work with Steve, and it’s a lot of fun and full of laughs (September 24).

Also, the Afiaras have a new recording of Aleksandra Vrebalov’s terrific piece “Pannonia Boundless“. Recorded this past summer and funded by The Banff Centre, you may soon hear this tune on a radio station near you! To browse our media page, click here.

August

adrian — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:22:36 +0000

August held the last three concerts of the Afiara’s season. August 2nd, the Quartet played their recital at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, which was also their first collaboration with the magnificent pianist Marc-André Hamelin, in a program consisting of string quartets by Haydn and Beethoven and closing with the Dvorak Piano Quintet. This same program was repeated three days later on August 5th at the beautiful Domaine Forget in Quebec, where it was recorded and broadcast by CBC in their program Espace Musique.

The Afiaras finished the season in the beautiful surroundings of Amherst Island, Ontario, playing for the Waterside Summer Series on August 10th. We thank everyone for making this last season terrific. Our first concert next season is September 9th at the Ravinia Festival.

We hope to see you at one of our concerts next season!

Month of July

adrian — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 19:47:32 +0000

The Afiaras have a busy month of July ahead. First, we return for our third year teaching at Indiana University’s Summer String Academy, playing also in the IU Summer Music Festival in concerts with the Cecilia Quartet (Mendelssohn Octet, July 8), as well as a quartet recital with our wonderful friend, Atar Arad, playing the Mendelssohn Viola Quintet Op. 18 (July 10). It is a neat coincidence to be playing the same work with Don Weilerstein and Atar Arad, both members of the legendary Cleveland Quartet, within a month of each other.

Next, we head to Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, Ontario for several concerts (July 17-23) before playing the Brahms Clarinet Quintet with Jim Campbell at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival (July 31) at the end of the month.

We hope to see some of you this month! Please click here for more information.

Month of June

adrian — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 18:26:03 +0000

The Afiaras will celebrate the Kronos Quartet’s win of the Avery Fisher Prize and Polar Music Prize with a performance of some very special Kronos commissions at Lincoln Center June 8th. We’re honoured to be a part of this commemoration, as the Kronos have been dear mentors and friends since the very beginning of the Afiara Quartet’s formation. Their extraordinary and unparalleled career, along with their generosity of vision and their tireless efforts to further the string quartet literature, will always inspire us in our own growth as an ensemble.

June also sees Afiara Quartet’s three-week chamber music residency at the Banff Centre. The performances there will include a Mendelssohn Viola Quintet with Donald Weilerstein (June 30), as well as their first collaboration with the Cecilia String Quartet, playing Mendelssohn’s Octet (June 25). Banff is a great resource for us to study our upcoming season’s repertoire. For all our summer activities please check out our calendar!

Month of May

adrian — Tue, 03 May 2011 03:28:23 +0000

The month of May sees the Afiaras playing their final recital as The Juilliard School’s graduate resident quartet in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center (May 3rd). The concert includes the U.S. premiere of Brett Abigana’s String Quartet No. 2, which was written for the Afiaras this season.

Also, the Quartet returns to the Montreal Chamber Music Festival (May 10th, 11th) to open a six-concert Beethoven Cycle shared with the Tokyo and Chiara String Quartets.

For other shows in May and the rest of the summer, please see our calendar! We hope to see you at some of our concerts!

adrian — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 00:49:08 +0000

The months of February and March went by in a flash. February saw the Afiaras touring through New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, and Kansas, before playing five concerts throughout beautiful communities in British Columbia. Immediately after, the Quartet joined the Juilliard String Quartet at the Kennedy Center in DC, playing Mendelssohn’s Octet with their beloved mentors. The Afiaras finished the month with three concerts in California’s Bay Area.

In March, the Afiaras returned to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto in their continuing Visiting Residency. A video of their activities there will soon be released. They escaped the blistering cold of the East Coast with a sunny trip to Texas State University in San Marcos, playing the music of the incredible Wayne Oquin and Berg’s Lyric Suite.

Now in April, the Afiaras embark to Vancouver for the wonderful Music in the Morning Concert Series (April 5-8), where they are joined by guest cellist Denis Brott. The Afiara’s recital debut at the Kennedy Center is April 17th, presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society. Among other events this month, they will play Vivian Fung’s String Quartet No. 2 at the Americas Society in New York (April 26).

A Wonderful Year

adrian — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:52:21 +0000

The Afiaras would like to thank everyone for a great year! We’re finishing the last of our performances in December and then taking off for the holidays to relax before the new year of concerts. In January, the Quartet will hit the road again, playing a concert in Florida before a tour of Europe (Munich, Amsterdam, and Denmark). If you’re in Europe and can’t come to the performances, you might hear us in broadcasts on Bavarian Radio and Denmark Radio stations. The month ends with concerts in New Mexico. Hope to see some of you there! (Click here for more details.)

In the meantime, stay safe and warm!

Greetings from us all in New York,

the Afiaras

Afiaras join Colbert Artists Management

adrian — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:49:20 +0000

The Afiaras are delighted to work with Colbert Artists!