The Ariel Quartet Presents a Complete Tour of Beethoven’s String Quartets in Early 2014

From left to right: Alexandra Kazovsky, Jan Grüning, Amit Even-Tov and Gershon Gerchikov are the Ariel Quartet. Photography by Saverio Truglia.

The Ariel Quartet proudly presents its first Beethoven Cycle during a series of six concerts in January, February and March of 2014. The acclaimed string quartet-in-residence at CCM will present a complete tour of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s 17 string quartets (including the “Große Fuge” or “Grand Fugue”) in a performance series dubbed “The Cycle.”

With this series, the Ariel Quartet (Alexandra Kazovsky and Gershon Gerchikov, violinists; Jan Grüning, violist; and Amit Even-Tov, cellist) is poised to become one of the first professional Quartets to publicly perform the complete Beethoven cycle before its members reach the age of 30.

These six concerts will also mark the first time a complete cycle of Beethoven’s string quartets has been performed at CCM. The series is believed to be Cincinnati’s first complete Beethoven Cycle, as well.

“The members of the Ariel Quartet and I began speaking of their interest in performing the Beethoven Quartet Cycle almost as soon as they began their CCM residency,” explains Peter Landgren, Dean and Thomas James Kelly Professor of Music at CCM. “I view the performance of all of the Beethoven String Quartets as the scaling of Mount Everest for not just the performers, but also the listeners.”

Beethoven’s 17 string quartets are considered by many to be the greatest achievement in the history of western chamber music. The members of the Ariel Quartet have had a longstanding fascination with these pieces, exploring Beethoven’s quartets one by one as a young ensemble.

“The quartets exhibit the gradual transformation of Beethoven’s musical language and were of tremendous influence on the development of music history,” the members of the Quartet explain. “Beethoven’s tragedies and struggles in life come through this music. The complete cycle of his string quartets translates into a journey leading to the most intimate and spiritual heights of the human soul.”

While many Quartets perform the cycle over a year’s time or longer, Dean Landgren challenged the Ariel Quartet to consider a “festival-style” approach to its upcoming cycle, keeping the performances in close proximity. The result is a concert series running on three pairs of consecutive Thursdays and Saturdays at the end of January, February and March. See complete schedule below.

“Hearing these masterpieces performed by the Ariel Quartet – not one member of which will be 30 years old at the time of these performances – will be life-changing for our audiences,” says Dean Landgren. “We have plans to record these live performances for posterity.”

For their part, the members of the Ariel Quartet are equally enthused about this concert series. “After exploring these works for so many years, we feel very lucky to have the opportunity to perform all of them as a cycle following the historical path these quartets reveal. This will be our first complete cycle, which will add so much to the unbelievable excitement and thrill!”

“The Cycle” will be held in UC’s acoustically stunning Corbett Auditorium with performances scheduled for 8 p.m. on January 23 and 25, February 20 and 22 and March 27 and 29, 2014.

Subscription packages and single tickets are on sale now. Subscribe to the full concert series for just $90 and save 25% off single ticket prices. See below for more information.

About the Ariel Quartet
Characterized by its youth, brilliant playing and soulful interpretations, the Ariel Quartet has quickly earned a glowing international reputation. Previously the resident ensemble in the New England Conservatory’s prestigious Professional String Quartet Training Program, the Quartet was named quartet-in-residence at CCM in 2012, a remarkable accomplishment for such a young ensemble and a testament to the Quartet’s skill and dedication to its craft.

The Quartet performs widely in Israel, Europe and North America at such venues as the Louvre in Paris, Kaisersaal in Frankfurt, Jordan Hall in Boston and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Winners of the Fischoff Grand Prize and recent recipients of the Cleveland Quartet Award, the members of the Ariel Quartet first started playing together as youths in Israel and have been performing around the world since.

Learn more about the Ariel Quartet at www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=14923.
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The grand tour begins on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. Tickets are on sale now.

THE ARIEL QUARTET PRESENTS “THE CYCLE”
Performance Schedule

8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23

• Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1
• Beethoven: String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95, “Serioso”
• Beethoven: String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127

8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25

• Beethoven: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2
• Beethoven: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3, “Razumovsky”
• Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135

8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20

• Beethoven: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2
• Beethoven: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3, “Razumovsky”
• Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135

8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22

• Beethoven: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3
• Beethoven: String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2, “Razumovsky”
• Beethoven: String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131

8 p.m. Tuesday, March 25

• Beethoven: String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18, No. 4
• Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1, “Razumovsky”

8 p.m. Thursday, March 27

• Beethoven: String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5
• Beethoven: String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130
• Beethoven: String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 133, “Grand Fugue”

8 p.m. Saturday, March 29

• Beethoven: String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6
• Beethoven: String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 74, “Harp”
• Beethoven: String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Subscriptions and Single Tickets
Experience “The Cycle” in its entirety for just $90 per subscription, a savings of 25% off single ticket prices. Subscription packages can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office or over the telephone at 513-556-4183.

Single tickets are $20 for general audiences and $15 for non-UC students. A limited number of UC student rush tickets are FREE beginning one hour prior to each concert. Single tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online atccm.uc.edu/boxoffice.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

The Ariel Quartet’s CCM concert series is made possible by the generous contributions of The Corbett Foundation, Dr. & Mrs. Randolph L. Wadsworth, Mr. & Mrs. William A. Friedlander, Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Santen, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Stegman and Mr. & Mrs. J. David Rosenberg.