Brentano String Quartet to perform series of concerts

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 1107 hits

The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State is partnering with Penn State Altoona to present a free Brentano String Quartet concert and outreach activity Thursday, March 22 on campus.

The quartet, an ensemble-in-residence at Princeton University since 1999, will perform "An Afternoon with Beethoven" at 3:30 p.m. in the Titelman Study of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. Afterward, Penn State Altoona instructorsTim Melbinger, lecturer in music, and Jutta Gsoels-Lorensen, associate professor of German, English, and comparative literature, will discuss the historical context of the musical pieces and lend insight on ideas from the works.

The public is also invited to attend another performance by the quartet at 7 p.m. in the Edith Davis Eve Memorial Chapel. Free tickets are needed for this event and can be picked up in advance at the Misciagna Box Office during regular hours Monday — Thursday,10 a.m.- 2 p.m. or at the door. The program includes pieces by Beethoven, Béla Bartók, and Claude Debussy. The evening ends with a brief question-and-answer session and a reception in the chapel lobby.

On March 23, the quartet will perform an “Afternoon Chat with the Brentano String Quartet” at 2:30 p.m. in Music Building I’s Esber Recital Hall at University Park. The hour-long event features the ensemble performing excerpts from the Beethoven quartets in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1; B-flat Major, Op. 130; and B-flat Major, Op. 133, Grosse Fuge. The event also features Marie Sumner Lott, assistant professor of musicology at University Park, lending insight into Beethoven and his work. The afternoon ends with a discussion among the musicians and audience members.

Brentano will present a full concert at 7:30 p.m. March 23 in University Park’s Schwab Auditorium. Tickets for this concert are $40 for an adult, $15 for a University Park student, and $32 for those under 18. They may be purchased online at www.cpa.psu.edu or by phone at 814-863-0255. The Nina C. Brown Endowment sponsors the Schwab concert. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Brentano musicians, is offered in Schwab one hour before the concert and is free for ticket holders.

The Brentano performances and activities are part of the Center for the Performing Arts Classical Music Project. The three-year project, supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, provides opportunities to engage students, faculty, and the community with classical music artists and programs.