Quartet attached by strings

by Linsey Helser assistant news editor

The sound of strings was heard echoing throughout the campus of Eastern College. Tri-County Concerts, the longest running arts serieson the Main Line, began its 58th Emerging Artist Series season ~th the award-winningMagellanString Quartet in the Mcinnis Auditorium on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 3 p.m.

The Magellan String Quartet, winner of the 1998 Naumberg Chamber Music Award, has won high praise for its performances throughout both the United States and Japan. It bas just completed two years at Juilliard as the Graduate· String Quartet in Residence. It has appeared at the Aspen, Caramoor and Rorida International Music Festivals and has been featured on the CBS program, "60 Minutes."

The members of the quartet have per- formed at such prest1g10us venues as Carnegie Hall, the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The quartet consists of two violinists, a violist and a cellist. It performed works by such classical musicians as Schubert, Shostakovich and Ravel.

The first piece performed by the quartet was "String Quartet in C minor, D. 703," also called "Quartettsatz" by Franz Schubert. This piece began with a swift pace with soft sounds but went on to include slower and very low tones.

The second piece played by the quartet was "String quartet No. 8 in C minor, Opus 11O" by Ditry Shostakovich. According to Ori Kam, the violist, this piece was written just after World War II. Shostakovich was endorsed by the government and had to please Stalin. This piece was dedicated to everyone who died in the war.

"We want everyone to feel the oppressed quality in the music," Kam says. With the very dark, slow sounds, the audience was able to feel the oppressiveness.

The quartet ended the concert by playing Maurice Ravel's, "String Quartet in F major." This piece was very beautiful with its smooth, mellow and light tones.

The focus of Tri-County Concerts has been on "emerging artists," selected by its search committee. Its goal is to allow audiences the opportunity to see and hear tomorrow's stars.

This is Tri-County Concert's first year at Eastern College. Robert V. Rossi, president of Tri-County Concerts said, ''We are delighted and thrilled to hold our concerts at Eastern."

by Joe Holden