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The Verona Quartet will appear in concert at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois on October 14. The program’s title, “What is Left for Us to Write,” takes inspiration from a remark by Schubert upon hearing Beethoven’s Quartet No. 14, Op. 131. Alongside this late Beethoven quartet, the Verona will perform Schubert’s Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703 and Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout by Gabriela Lena Frank.

Just three days later, the Quartet will bring the same program to Mobile, Alabama for a performance with Mobile Chamber Music on October 17. Details for the Illinois concert can be found here. Details for the Mobile concert can be found here.

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On October 15-16, David Fung makes his debut with the Charleston Symphony on not one work, but two! On a program exclusively of works by Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss, David will perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major and Strauss’ Burleske together with conductor Ken Lam. More info here.

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Originally scheduled for 2020, Friends of Chamber Music Denver welcomes violinist Arnaud Sussman and pianist Anna Polonsky for a long-awaited appearance on their Chamber Series. The evening recital on October 6 at Gates Hall, Newman Center includes violin sonatas by Janáček, Dvořák, and Brahms, concluding with the Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes by Mieczyslaw Weinberg. More info here.

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Chamber Music Raleigh presented the Lysander Piano Trio as part of their Sights and Sounds Concert Series on September 18 and 19, comprising two different programs, two cities, and a total of four concerts. The first two concerts in Charlotte offered Trio selections by Boulanger, Turina, and Schubert; Sunday’s performances at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh exchanged the Turina for a Piano Trio by young American composer Brian Raphael Nabors.

Geoffrey Simon of the Classical Voice of North Carolina commends the ensemble for "the Trio's ability to immerse themselves into stylistically-disparate musical works and become extensions of the composers' creative minds...the Lysander are totally 'in sync' with each other and with the music."

Read the full review here: https://cvnc.org/articleprint.cfm?articleid=10062#current_protocol#://cvnc.org

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The Verona Quartet returns to Durham to open the second season of their residency with Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle on September 22. Visiting several times per season, the Quartet curates the UpClose Chamber Music Series, which brings chamber music to venues throughout the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. The first concert of the season on September 24 will include works by Beethoven, Schubert and Lena Frank in a new collaboration with Om Grown Dancers, a Durham-based contemporary dance troupe.

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Following her appearance with Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth on September 11, Danbi Um has received positive recognition from the Texas Classical Review. Critic Richard Sylvester Oliver writes of her playing:

"Korngold distilled a delightful range of moods—from excitement to intimacy—in his Suite from the Incidental Music to Much Ado About Nothing, arranged for violin and piano. Young violinist Danbi Um made an exemplary Fort Worth debut in this alluring opener, accompanied by pianist Baya Kakouberi."

A link to the full review can be found here.

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David Fung will perform with Friends of Music in Stamford, NY on Sunday, September 19th for a solo recital at the Stamford United Methodist Church. The program, spanning almost 300 years of music, was specially dedicated to those unseen and unheard, and all affected by the pandemic. Fung performed piano works by J.S Bach, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, Reena Esmail, and Frederic Chopin.

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Just months after release, the Verona Quartet has received sweeping recognition for their debut album ‘Diffusion’, comprising three quartets by Janáček, Szymanowski, and Ravel. Textura commends the ensemble as “executing the pieces with consummate poise and technical precision...the four generate a collective luscious sound that makes the group an ideal match for material of the kind featured on the album.” Grego Applegate Edwards of the Classical-Modern Music Review writes that the Verona’s performances reveal “detailed finessing of all the motifs and their seamless juxtaposition of all perhaps like never quite heard in this way.” The album has further been recognized internationally by Lark Reviews of the United Kingdom, citing “fine performances from this well-travelled and experienced Quartet who champion this repertoire.”

Diffusion has also been broadcast widely on radio, including features on Performance Today, WFMT, Classical WETA, and WWFM The Classical Network.

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Violinist Danbi Um will make her first appearance at the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth on September 11, performing a selection of solo and chamber works. The matinee concert, “So Much More than Tinseltown,” opens the 34th Season of the series after a year of virtual programming. The concert will include Danbi’s signature solo work, Korngold’s Much Ado About Nothing Suite, in addition to chamber music by Martin and Korngold. Learn more about the concert here.

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The Amernet String Quartet returns to New York in late August, presenting programs in Brooklyn and Woodstock. On August 20 and 21, the Amernet will perform quartets by Schubert, Dvorak and Daron Hagen at Bargemusic as part of their “Eclectic Series.” The quartet will travel up to Woodstock for an afternoon performance on Sunday, August 22nd at Maverick Concert Hall, presenting the same three string quartets with the addition of Hagen’s Suite for Viola, “in dialogue” and the beloved Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major by J.S. Bach.

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Violinist Arnaud Sussmann will be featured at New Canaan Chamber Music’s first in-person concert since Covid-19 took hold. Joined by NCCM’s Artistic Director, pianist Andrew Armstrong, and R.J. Kelley on French horn, the program will include Brahms’s Trio in E-flat Major for Violin, French Horn, and Piano and Janácek’s Sonata for Piano and Violin. More info here.

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On July 16, the Verona Quartet returns to Caramoor and joins forces with pianist David Fung. For the quartet, this performance marks their first return to Caramoor since their Ernst Stiefel residency at Caramoor in the 2017-18 season. This is the quartet’s first time collaborating with David, who performed together with Dashon Burton at Caramoor earlier this season. This summer’s program includes Puccini’s Crisantemi, Bacewicz’s Piano Quintet No. 1, and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 14. More info here and some insight from David regarding Bacewicz’s music here.

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Artists on the Dinin Arts roster will grace the country’s most prestigious music festivals this summer. Here is a listing of some of our artist’s most notable appearances:

• Violinist Arnaud Sussmann at Music@Menlo July 16-August 1, Seattle Chamber Music Festival (Online), July 17-22

• Violinist Danbi Um at Northshore Chamber Music Festival June 11, Cooperstown Summer Chamber Music Festival September 19

• Violist Paul Neubauer at Chamber Music Northwest July 8-11, Music@Menlo July 23-31, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival August 4-11

• Pianist David Fung at Caramoor July 16 (with Verona Quartet), Anchorage Chamber Music Festival July 23-24, Chamberfest DBQ August 5, Grand Canyon Music Festival September 10-11

• Amernet String Quartet at Maverick Concerts August 22

• Verona Quartet at Caramoor July 16 (with David Fung), Music Mountain July 18, Bravo! Vail July 26-August 1, Cooperstown Summer Chamber Music Festival August 22

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On June 25, the Verona Quartet releases its debut album Diffusion on Azica Records. Through the intimate voice of the string quartet, Diffusion explores a mosaic of folk cultures through the lens Janáček's String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters," Szymanowski's String Quartet No. 2 Op. 56, and Ravel's String Quartet in F Major M. 35. As an ensemble of four nations (Singapore, Canada, United States, and United Kingdom), the Verona Quartet reveals a kaleidoscopic snapshot of cultural migration at the turn of the century.

The Verona Quartet explains, "As a quartet of musicians hailing from across the world, we knew we wanted our first album to reflect the essence of the cultural migration that is such a big part of our identity. Through Diffusion, we celebrate the spirit of intercultural exploration that permeates many of the great works of the string quartet canon. This music and the weaving together of global traditions is incredibly meaningful to us and we hope that listeners will love it too."

The album can be streamed via Spotify or Amazon Music, or you can order it on iTunes (here) or Amazon (here).

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Violinist Danbi Um and violist Paul Neubauer returned to the Chicagoland North Shore Chamber Music Festival June 11-12, winning praise for great “poise and sensitivity” from the Chicago Classical Review (here). Neubauer performed the Brahms Piano Quintet along with a winning encore of salon favorites. After appearing with the festival just two months ago (here), Um was brought back at the last-minute, flying to Chicago the day of the performance to substitute for an ill violinist who needed to cancel. As the review shows, it was a great festival return for all the artists performing.

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