Cavani String Quartet performs Beethoven @ CIM
Way back before there were Bon Jovi and Billy Joel, there was Beethoven, a man so loved as a composer and pianist that 20,000 people attended his funeral in Vienna in 1827. Ludwig van Beethoven composed strong music reaching out to every man and woman across all segments of society. Remarkably, he accomplished this feat without the use of radio, television, or the Internet. He was a romantic hero, almost like a rock star, and well-known in his time.
During his career, Beethoven composed 16 violin quartets. In tribute to the man and his music, the Cavani String Quartet, in residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), has been performing these masterpieces at public libraries throughout Northeast Ohio and more recently for audiences at CIM. The Cavani members wanted to make Beethoven accessible to all.
The Cavani String Quartet will perform the final concert of the Beethoven Cycle on Wed 4/27 at 8PM @ Kulas Auditorium at the Cleveland Institute of Music. This final concert of the series is aptly titled “Beginnings and Endings” – a performance of Beethoven’s very first string quartet (F Major, Op.1 8, No. 1) and the last string quartet composed before his death in 1827 (F Major, Op. 135). The Cavani will also perform D Major, Op. 18, No. 3. The event is presented at no charge and will be broadcast live on WCLV 104.9 FM with support from AudioTechnica.
Annie Fullard, violinist and founding member of the Cavani, compared performing his 16 string quartets — the complete cycle — to athletes racing in a triathlon preparing for the Olympics. “It takes tremendous heart and soul to play his music, pushing us to our limits, focusing every step of the way,” she described. “Beethoven composed his string quartets based on the model created by Joseph Haydn. The Beethoven quartets are a perfect conversation; the voices all joining together create character and harmony.”
The Cavani String Quartet with violinists Annie Fullard and Mari Sato, violist Kirsten Docter and cellist Merry Peckham recently celebrated their 25th anniversary of professional performance. They have won the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award and have been a top prize-winner in numerous competitions including the Coleman, Fischoff, Banff International and Cleveland Quartet Competitions. In 2005, the group was the first recipient of the Guarneri String Quartet Residency Award from Chamber Music America.
This concluding Beethoven String Quartet concert is highly recommended. You will have the opportunity to enjoy a rock star from the 19th century (Beethoven) along with the high caliber performance of the Cavani String Quartet, all free of charge.
You don’t want to miss the Cavani String Quartet performing on Wed 4/27 at 8PM @ Kulas Auditorium at the Cleveland Institute of Music. For more information, please visit http://CIM.edu.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Schaul, who says the act of writing is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. The challenge lies in getting the pieces to fit together and make sense.
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