The University of Chicago Presents Opens its Season with The Tokyo String Quartet with Phillip Ying, viola

The University of Chicago Presents Chamber Music Series will proudly open its 2001-2002 season with exclusive Chicago appearance by the Tokyo String Quartet with guest violist Phillip Ying on Friday, October 12, at 8:00 p.m. in Mandel Hall. Lawrence Zbikowski, Assistant Professor in Music, will deliver a free pre-concert talk to ticket holders in Mandel Hall at 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $29 (student price $11, with valid ID). For further information or to purchase tickets, please call (773) 702-8068, or visit us online at http://chicagopresents.uchicago.edu.

The all-Brahms program is as follows:

• Quartet in C minor, Op. 51, No. 1
• String Quintet in F Major, Op. 88 "Spring"
• Intermission
• String Quintet in G Major, Op. 111

About The Tokyo String Quartet

Founded over thirty years ago, the Tokyo String quartet has captivated audiences with their polished sound and impeccable technical command. Regarded as one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world, the Quartet is comprised of violist Kazuhide Isomura, a founding member of the group; second violinist Kikuei Ikeda, who joined the ensemble in 1974; first violinist Mikhail Kopelman, formerly of the Borodin Quartet; and Clive Greensmith, formerly Principal Cellist of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Quartet performs on "The Paganini Quartet" a group of renowned Stradivarius instruments named for the legendary virtuoso Niccolo Paganini, who acquired and played them during the 19th century. The instruments have been loaned to the ensemble by the Nippon Music Foundation.

The Tokyo String Quartet has released more than thirty landmark recordings, including the complete quartets of Beethoven, Schubert and Bartok. The ensemble’s recordings of works by Brahms, Debussy, Dvorák, Haydn, Mozart, Ravel and Schubert have earned numerous honors, including seven Grammy nominations. The Tokyo Quartet has also been featured on PBS’s Sesame Street, Great Performers and CNN This Morning.

The members of the Tokyo String Quartet have served on the faculty of the Yale School of Music since 1976 as quartet-in-residence. Deeply committed to teaching young string quartets, they devote a considerable amount of time to Yale during the academic year, and to the prestigious Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in the summer.

About Phillip Ying

Phillip Ying, violist of the Ying Quartet, performs regularly across the United States, Europe and Asia. He is an Assistant Professor of Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music, where he is particularly interested in revising and building the chamber music curriculum in order to produce exceptional and broadly trained musicians for the future. As a performer, Mr Ying maintains a vital interest in new music, with recent and planned premieres of works by Chen Yi, Augusta Read Thomas and Michael Torke. He is currently pursuing a multi-year commissioning project with the Institute for American Music.

Additional Information On the Web

For more information about the Tokyo String Quartet please visit http://www.skassoc.com.

General Information

This performance will take place at Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th St. on the University of Chicago campus. There is free parking nearby, and the venue is handicapped accessible. Persons with disabilities or who are in need of assistance should call (773) 702-8068 prior to the event. Further information on The University of Chicago Presents and this season’s performances can be found http://chicagopresents.uchicago.edu or by sending email to concert-officeAuchicago.edu.

The University of Chicago Presents receives generous support from Regents Park by The Clinton Companies