MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at (847) 491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu

November 18, 2003

Barenboim, Starker Perform at Chamber Music Festival

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Pianist Daniel Barenboim, cellist Janos Starker and the Vermeer Quartet are among the distinguished array of artists who will perform chamber music by Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart and five other leading composers during the Northwestern University 2004 Winter Chamber Music Festival (Jan. 9 to 25).

Other artists slated to perform include the Chicago String Quartet, Evanston Chamber Ensemble, Lincoln Quartet and members of the Northwestern University School of Music faculty.

Presented by the University’s School of Music, the six-concert series will be held at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive, on the Evanston campus.

The first five concerts will be Friday or Sunday evening events, and the final program of the series is a Sunday matinee.

“This year we are presenting two works of Mozart and three of Schubert that are each in turn described by both performers and listeners as the most beautiful works ever written,” said Blair Milton, music faculty violinist and director of the chamber festival for the eighth consecutive year. “From another ‘pair’ of composers, we have two mature works of Brahms, who was a mentor of Dvorák, here represented by three large works.”

This year’s festival is made possible in part by the continuing generosity of the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation. Details regarding the six 2004 Winter Chamber Music Festival concerts follow:

• 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9 - Performers: Vermeer Quartet (violinists Shmuel Ashkenasi and Mathias Tacke, violist Richard Young and cellist Marc Johnson), pianist Andrea Swan and clarinetist Russell Dagon. Program: Schubert’s String Quartet in E flat major, D. 87; Brahms’ Trio in A minor for Piano, Clarinet and Cello, op. 114; and Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 2 in F major, op. 22.

• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11 - Performers: Evanston Chamber Ensemble (pianist Andrea Swan, violinist Blair Milton and cellist Stephen Balderston); the Lincoln Quartet (violinists Lei Hou and Qing Hou, violist Lawrence Neuman and cellist Brant Taylor), harpsichordist David Schrader, flutist Richard Graef, oboist Michael Henoch, clarinetist J. Lawrie Bloom and double bassist Michael Hovnanian. Program: Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B flat major (“Archduke”), op. 97, Falla’s Concerto for Harpsichord, Oboe, Flute, Clarinet, Violin and Cello; and Dvorák’s String Quintet in G major, op. 77.

• 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16 - Performers: Pianist Alan Chow, flutist Richard Graef, oboist Scott Hostetler, clarinetists J. Lawrie Bloom and Larry Combs, bassoonist Robert Barris, French horn player Gail Williams, violinists Russell Hershow, Gerardo Ribeiro and Yuan-Qing Yu, violist Diane Mues and cellist Stephen Balderston. Program: Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano and Winds, Grieg’s Sonata No. 3 in C minor for Violin and Piano, op. 45; and Brahms’ Quintet in B minor for Clarinet and Strings, op. 115.

• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18 - Performers: Pianist Daniel Barenboim, clarinetist Matthias Glander, violinists Robert Chen and Blair Milton, violist Felix Schwartz, cellist Kyril Zlotnikov, and double bassist Nabil Shehata. Program: Mozart’s Quintet in A major for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581; Schubert’s Quintet in A major for Piano and Strings (“Trout”), D. 667; and Dvorák’s Quintet in A major for Piano and Strings, op. 81.

• 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23 - Performers: Chicago String Quartet (violinists Joseph Genualdi and Jasmine Lin, violist Rami Solomonow, and cellist Marina Hoover), pianist Deborah Sobol, oboists Michael Henoch and Scott Hostetler, clarinetists J. Lawrie Bloom and Russell Dagon, bassoonists Lewis Kirk and Dennis Michel, French horn players Oto Carrillo, James Smelser and Gail Williams, cellist Gary Stucka and double bassist Michael Hovnanian. Program: Mozart’s Quintet in E flat major for Horn and Strings, K. 407; Schumann’s Quartet in E flat major for Piano and Strings, op. 47, and Dvorák’s Serenade in D minor for Winds and Strings, op. 44.

• 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25 - Performers: cellist Janos Starker, violinists Robert Chen and Blair Milton, violist Yukiko Ogura and cellist Stephen Balderston. Program: Mozart’s Divertimento in E flat major for String Trio, K. 563 and Schubert’s String Quintet in C major, D. 956.

“Chamber music has been a lifelong passion for me,” said Toni-Marie Montgomery, new dean of Northwestern’s School of Music. ”I am very pleased that this important art form figures so prominently on the Pick-Staiger season. I am looking forward to these concerts.”

A subscription to all six 2004 Winter Chamber Music Festival concerts is $112 for the general public; $101 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $54 for full-time students.

Single tickets for each of the Jan. 9, Jan. 11, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 concerts are $22 for the general public; $18 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for full-time students.

Single tickets for the Jan. 18 concert featuring guest pianist Daniel Barenboim are $28 for the general public; $22 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for full-time students.

Single tickets for the Jan. 25 matinee concert featuring guest cellist Janos Starker are $25 for the general public; $20 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for full-time students. To purchase a series subscription or single tickets by phone, call the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office at (847) 467-4000.