Our 2008/2009 Season

The St. Petersburg Quartet is unquestionably one of the world’s great chamber ensembles. Their rise to fame has included a Grammy nomination, “Best Record” honors in both Stereo Review and Gramophone, an opening night performance at Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center, a five-year residency at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and hundreds of concerts on many of North America, Europe and Asia’s most prestigious series and festivals. They opened the 2007-08 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center quartet series (the New York Times praised their “sumptuous account of Tchaikovsky’s Quartet No.1”), and performed with violist Michael Tree of the Guarneri Quartet at the Library of Congress.

At this concert, the SPSQ will be joined by their long-time friend and collaborator, cellist Roman Mekinulov, who is a native of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, and is the principal cellist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. After immigrating to the United States in 1989, Mr. Mekinulov studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where he completed his bachelor and master degrees.

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Winners and protégés of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Competition the Korean sisters Soo-Jin Hong and Soo-Kyung Hong together with the Dane Jens Elvekjaer were also chosen by the eminent musicians Claude Frank (pianist), Michael Tree (violist of the Guarneri Quartet), and Peter Wiley (former cellist of the Beaux Arts Trio). “Let´s get the basics out of the way: Balance, ensemble, intonation are all perfect. They play with perfect unanimity, and each is a solid virtuoso. What stands out from this ensemble is the range of tone and sound . . . they command an amazing range of timbres.”

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Formed in Vienna in 1993, the ensemble has taken the name of the late 19th century composer/critic Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) in recognition of his pivotal position between 19th century romanticism and the various new music movements of the 20th century; their name was granted to them by the International Hugo Wolf Society. The quartet has achieved astonishing renown within the 15 years of its existence. Technically gifted and highly focused, these four superbly matched musicians are less concerned with superficial sheen and gloss than digging in and finding the emotional core of the music. “It is a rare and joyous treat when you go to a concert and it exceeds your expectations.”

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Russian Katia Skanavi, who won the Maria Callas Competition in 1994 and was a finalist in the '97 Van Cliburn Competition, was trained in Moscow, Paris and Cleveland. "Everything she did was a joy, and exactly the same can be said for her dashing performance of the Rachmaninoff-Paganini Rhapsody. It had marvelous momentum that dazzled …" from the Dallas Morning. A terrific snowstorm canceled her appearance in Newtown a few seasons ago – we are so happy to bring her back. This will be a sold-out concert, we promise.

One of our favorite violinists, Miss Bachmann first appeared on our Newtown stage many seasons ago as the winner of the Concert Artist Guild International Competition and we have had the pleasure of hearing her with the Trio Solisti more recently. The New York Times raves about her: “A rare violinist … she embraces a wide variety of styles with absolute confidence … crisply clean, warmly lyrical and unexpectedly sensuous.”

Pianist Jon Klibonoff has established a versatile career as orchestra soloist, recitalist and chamber musician throughout the United States and abroad. His many awards and prizes include the Silver Medal in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and winner of the Pro Musicis International Concert Series.

Together they are a winning team each and every time.