MIRÓ QUARTET & SHANGHAI QUARTET

Photo by Nathan Russell

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Friday, September 28, 2012, 8:00 pm
McCullough Theatre
$10.00-32.00

MIRÓ QUARTET
Daniel Ching, violin
William Fedkenheuer, violin
John Largess, viola
Joshua Gindele, cello

SHANGHAI QUARTET
Weigang Li, violin
Yi-Wen Jiang, violin
Honggang Li, viola
Nicholas Tzavaras, cello

WORLD PREMIERE BY DAN WELCHER

Made possible by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Dean of the College of Fine Arts and the Executive Vice President and Provost of The University of Texas at Austin

Presented in partnership with the Butler School of Music and Austin Classical Guitar Society

Texas Performing Arts presents both the Miró and Shanghai quartets in an all string octet program featuring the world premiere of a double quartet by UT faculty composer Dan Welcher with works by Shostakovich and Mendelssohn.

Hailed by The New York Times as possessing “explosive vigor and technical finesse,” the dynamic Miró Quartet, one of America’s highest-profile chamber groups, enjoys its place at the top of the international chamber music scene. Now in its second decade, the Miró Quartet is the Faculty String Quartet-in-residence at the Butler School of Music. Their honors include a 2005 Cleveland Quartet Award, and were the first ensemble to be awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Dan Welcher is one of most prolific composers working today, with a body of compositions in almost every imaginable genre including opera, concerto, orchestra, piano, and chamber music. With over a hundred works to his credit, Welcher is one of the most-played composers of his generation. Welcher was recently recognized as a 2012 winner in Music from the Academy of Arts and Letters, which honors outstanding artistic achievement and acknowledges the composer’s arrival at their own unique voice.

The double quartet, commissioned by Texas Performing Arts with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is conceived as an homage to the Stravinsky/Balanchine ballets of the 30’s and 40’s.

PROGRAM
Dmitri Shostakovich: Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11
Dan Welcher: Museon Polemos (World Premiere)
Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E flat major, Op. 20

The Shanghai Quartet will also perform with Haochen Zhang on Sep 26

“The Miró Quartet are the shining symbol of classical music greatness in Austin. I see them any time I can, and I’m always looking for ways to bring their inspiring brilliance into creative programing. To see them with masters like the Shanghai will be unforgettable.”
DR. MATTHEW HINSLEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
AUSTIN CLASSICAL GUITAR SOCIETY

“Dan Welcher is a bright voice to listen to amid America’s compositional landscape. He has something to say, and he says it directly and in a way very much his own.”
JOHN ARDOIN, DALLAS MORNING NEWS

CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS

Post-Performance Talkback
• Friday 09/28/12
• Immediately following the performance
• McCullough Theatre

Related Event
McCullough Theatre Lobby Exhibit & Video Display
September – December 2012
Learn about composer Dan Welcher’s composition process.

NEW PARKING INFORMATION: Please be aware when you come to the performance that UT parking signage has changed. All surface lots on the UT campus require a UT parking permit after 5:45pm. ADA parking is still available on Robert Dedman Drive. Patrons are advised to pay to park in university parking garages or LBJ surface lots. Please read signs carefully.

Parking for all Texas Performing Arts events is available through UT Parking and Transportation and can be purchased in advance at a reduced rate here.