EMERSON STRING QUARTET
Katonah, NY ~ June 24, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cohn Dutcher Associates
CARAMOOR INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL PRESENTS THE EMERSON STRING QUARTET
“THE FINAL QUARTETS”
SUNDAY, JULY 10 AT 4:30 PM IN THE VENETIAN THEATER
KATONAH, NY – Caramoor presents the nine-time Grammy Award-winning Emerson Quartet, performing the final works of three great masters – Haydn, Schubert, and Bartok – in the Venetian Theater on Sunday, July 10at 4:30pm. The program comprises the final quartets of these composers, opening with Haydn’s incomplete Quartet No.68 in D Minor, followed by Bartok’s Quartet No.6, and ending with Schubert’s posthumously published Quartet No.15 in G Major.
ABOUT EMERSON QUARTET
The Emerson String Quartet stands alone in the history of string quartets with an incomparable list of achievements over three decades: nine Grammy® Awards (including two for Best Classical Album, an unprecedented honor for a chamber music group), three Gramophone Awards, the coveted Avery Fisher Prize and an international reputation for groundbreaking chamber music projects including cycles of the complete Beethoven, Bartók, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich string quartets in the world’s musical capitals. Dedicated to the performance of the classical repertoire, the Emerson has also demonstrated a commitment to the commissioning and performance of 20th-and 21st-century music, including over 20 important commissions and world premieres. The Quartet has collaborated in concerts and on recordings with some of the greatest artists of our time, and after 35 years of extensive touring, it continues to perform with the same benchmark integrity, energy and commitment that it has demonstrated since it was formed in 1976.
In March 2011, Sony Classical announced an exclusive agreement with the Emerson String Quartet. The Quartet’s debut album for the label, Mozart’s Prussian Quartets K. 575, K. 589 and K. 590, will be released in November 2011 to coincide with a series of concerts at Wigmore Hall in London and Alice Tully Hall in New York City. This summer they return to esteemed music festivals across the United States including the Ravinia, Caramoor, Interlochen, Tanglewood and Aspen Music festivals as well as Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart festival and Chamber Music Northwest in Portland. In 2011-12, their 35th season as an ensemble, the Emerson will perform extensively throughout North America and Europe.
Formed in 1976, the Emerson String Quartet took its name from the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer alternate in the first chair position and are joined by violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist David Finckel. The Quartet is based in New York City.
ABOUT CARAMOOR
Caramoor is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who built their summer home – now known as the historic Rosen House at Caramoor – and filled it with their treasures. Walter Rosen was the master planner for the Caramoor estate, bringing to reality his dream of creating a place to entertain friends from around the world. Their musical evenings were the seeds of today’s Caramoor International Music Festival. Realizing the pleasure their friends took in the beauty of Caramoor – the house with its art collection, the gardens, and the musical programs on summer evenings – in 1946 the Rosens established a public charity to open Caramoor to the community. Lucie Rosen survived her husband by seventeen years. During those years, she expanded the Music Festival: the Spanish Courtyard was used as a setting for musical events, as it is today, and, under her direction, the great stage of the Venetian Theater was built.
Caramoor is a performing arts center, located on a unique 90-acre setting of Italianate architecture and gardens in Westchester County, NY. It enriches the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality. Its mission also includes mentoring young professional musicians and providing educational programs for young children centered around music. It is often described as “a Garden of Great Music,” where audiences are invited to come early, explore the beautiful grounds, enjoy a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in the relaxed settings of the Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, Music Room of the Rosen House, and the magnificent gardens. With its unique heritage, Caramoor remains a place where magical summer days and nights are shared and enjoyed by thousands. “Caramoor is the loveliest Festival of them all.” – The New York Times
Concert Venues and Gardens
Most Summer Festival concerts take place in two outdoor theaters: the 1714-seat, acoustically superb Venetian Theater and the more intimate, romantic Spanish Courtyard. Caramoor’s gardens are also well worth the visit and include nine unique perennial gardens. Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, a Butterfly Garden, Tapestry Hedge, and Iris and Peony Garden, which may be enjoyed on one’s own or seen on a guided tour.
GETTING TO CARAMOOR
By car from the West Side of Manhattan and New Jersey, take the Saw Mill River Parkway north to Katonah. Exit at Route 35/Cross River. Turn right, and, at the first traffic light, make a right turn onto Route 22 south. Travel 1.9 miles to the junction of Girdle Ridge Road. Follow the signs to Caramoor. (For detailed directions call 914.232.5035 and press 2, or online at www.caramoor.org). Parking at Caramoor is free on-site on a first-come, first-served basis. Once on-site parking is full, alternate parking will be available with free shuttle bus service.
By train, take the Harlem Division of the Metro-North Railroad to Katonah, New York. Taxi service from the station to Caramoor (5 minutes away) is available.
TICKETS
The Emerson String Quartet: $16.00, $21.00, $31.00, $46.00 . (Al Fresco tickets to this concert, which allow audiences to enjoy the music from the Picnic Lawns, are $10.00 each)
To order tickets, call the Box Office at 914.232.1252 or visit www.caramoor.org. Groups of 16 or more may purchase discounted tickets by contacting Matthew Scarella at 914.232.5035 ext. 252 or matthew@caramoor.org.
PICNICKING AT CARAMOOR
Extend the Caramoor experience by arriving early and enjoying a picnic amidst the beautiful gardens. Concertgoers can bring their own picnic, or order one for pick-up at Caramoor by calling Great Performances® at 212-337-6055 or online at www.greatperformances.com/caramoorpicnics.
PRESS CONTACT
For press tickets, images, artist information or interviews, contact Whitney Holden at 917.339.7188 orwholden@cohndutcher.com or Brittnee Walker at 917.339.7183 or bwalker@cohndutcher.com
PROGRAMS
Sunday, July 10, 4:30pm at the Venetian Theater
The Emerson String Quartet
Haydn Quartet No. 68 in D minor, Op. 103, Hoboken No. III:83 (incomplete)
Bartók String Quartet No. 6, Sz. 114
Schubert String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887 (Op.posth.161)
Performances are made possible, in part, by
ArtsWestchester with funds from Westchester County Government
Performances are made possible with public funds from
the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
The 2011 International Music Festival is supported in part by
an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
ALL PROGRAMS AND ARTISTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS IS LOCATED AT
149 GIRDLE RIDGE ROAD, KATONAH, NY.