Program CURTIS ON TOUR AIZURI QUARTET MICHAEL RUSINEK, Clarinet SAT • MAR 26, 2016
Western Health Advantage Season of Performing Arts
RO B ERT A N D M A RG RI T
MONDAVI CENTER
FO R T H E PERFO R M I N G A RTS PRES EN TS
CURTIS ON TOUR AIZURI QUARTET MICHAEL RUSINEK, CLARINET SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2016 • 8PM Vanderhoef Studio Theatre
Support Provided by Dean & Karen Karnopp
The artists and fellow audience members appreciate silence during the performance. Please be sure that you have switched off cellular phones, watch alarms and pager signals. Videotaping, photographing and audio recording are strictly forbidden. Violators are subject to removal.
SATU R DAY, M ARCH 26, 2016
PROGRAM
Curtis On Tour Aizuri Quartet Michael Rusinek, clarinet
Quintet in A Major, K. 581 Allegro Larghetto Menuetto Allegretto con variazioni
W.A. Mozart (1756–1791)
Michael Rusinek, clarinet Aizuri Quartet
RIPEFG for string quartet
Yevgeniy Sharlat (b. 1977) Aizuri Quartet
INTERMISSION String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 56, “Voces intimae” Jean Sibelius Andante—Allegro molto moderato (1865–1957) Vivace Adagio di molto Allegretto (ma pesante) Allegro Aizuri Quartet
CURTIS ON TOUR | AIZURI QUARTET
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Aizuri Quartet
About The Curtis Institute of Music
Miho Saegusa, violin Zoë Martin-Doike, violin Ayane Kozasa, viola Karen Ouzounian, cello
Drawing upon 90 years of artistry, the Curtis Institute of Music pairs tradition and innovation, educating exceptionally gifted young musicians as artist-citizens who engage a local and global community through music-making of the highest caliber. Each year 175 students come to Curtis, drawn by a tuition-free, performance-inspired learning culture. In this intimate environment, they are nurtured by a celebrated faculty and inspired by the school’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach, offering more than 200 concerts each year in Philadelphia, as well as performances around the world through Curtis on Tour.
Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as being “in full possession of that most elusive of string quartet qualities: the balance between charisma of the individual and cohesion of the collective,” the Aizuri Quartet was a prizewinner in the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London. Through engaging and thought-provoking programs that combine masterpieces of the core repertoire, lesser-known quartets, and newly commissioned works, the Aizuri Quartet has garnered critical acclaim for its explosive combination of depth, refinement and vigor. It has appeared in Bremen, Dresden, Paris, and Salzburg; at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and New York City’s Morgan Library and Museum with cellist Peter Wiley, and in Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico with violist Roberto Díaz. The Aizuri Quartet is string quartet-in-residence at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. Michael Rusinek, clarinet Michael Rusinek joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 1998 as principal clarinet. He has also performed as principal clarinet with the orchestras of Philadelphia and St. Louis, the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada; and as assistant principal clarinet of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Rusinek has often been a concerto soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, where in 2008 he premiered a new concerto by Alan Fletcher. He has performed as a soloist and recitalist throughout Canada, the United States, and Israel, including appearances with the Belgrade and Czech philharmonics and the Toronto Symphony. In 1985 Rusinek received the grand prize in the International Clarinet Society competition. He returns regularly to the Grand Teton, Santa Fe Chamber, and Aspen music festivals. He has also participated in the Tanglewood and Marlboro festivals and toured with the acclaimed Musicians from Marlboro.
“One of the world’s finest music academies” (BBC Culture), Curtis reaches global audiences through Curtis Performs (curtis.edu/CurtisPerforms), the school’s dedicated HD performance video site. Online music courses and Summerfest programs offer lifelong learners further ways to listen, explore, and learn. And students hone 21st-century skills through social entrepreneurship programs that bring arts access and education to the community. The extraordinary young musicians of Curtis graduate to join 4,000 alumni who have long made music history. Each season leading orchestras, opera houses, and chamber music series around the world feature Curtis alumni. They are in the front rank of soloists, composers, and conductors and hold principal chairs in every major American orchestra. Curtis graduates are musical leaders, making a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities. To learn more, visit www.curtis.edu.
About Curtis On Tour Curtis on Tour is the global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. An embodiment of the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, it offers students real-world, professional touring experience alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In addition to performances, students frequently offer masterclasses, in-school demonstrations, and other community engagement activities. Since Curtis on Tour was established in 2008, students, faculty, and alumni have traveled to more than 50 destinations in Europe, Asia, and North and South America, with new venues added each year. Curtis on Tour is generously funded by Nina von Maltzahn through the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Rusinek studied with Avrahm Galper at the Royal Conservatory of Music and with Donald Montanaro at the Curtis Institute of Music. Rusinek is on the music faculty of Carnegie Mellon University and joined the Curtis faculty in 2012. CURTIS ON TOUR | AIZURI QUARTET