This quartet brings together the Principal cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the first American to win the Paganini Violin Competition in 24 years, and a Concert Artist Guild International Competition Winner, and has been praised by listeners and critics alike for its special combination of passion, warmth, elegance and poetry.

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Sunday, July 28, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Beethoven Septet & Brahms Trio

Monday, July 29, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Beethoven Septet & Brahms Trio

Wednesday, July 31, 7:30 PM at Simms Auditorium/Albuquerque Academy
Schumann Songs, Schubert Strings

Thursday, August 1, 12:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Johannes String Quartet

Thursday, August 1, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Schumann Songs, Schubert Strings

Sunday, August 4, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Mahler – Songs of a Wayfarer

Monday, August 5, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Mahler – Songs of a Wayfarer

The Johannes Quartet consists of four outstanding musicians who take time away from their busy careers to pursue their love of the string quartet literature. This quartet brings together the Principal cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the first American to win the Paganini Violin Competition in 24 years, and a Concert Artist Guild International Competition Winner, and has been praised by listeners and critics alike for its special combination of passion, warmth, elegance and poetry. Each member has spent numerous summers at the celebrated Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, birthplace of many of the world’s renowned ensembles. New York appearances include debuts at Carnegie Hall and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, as well as frequent performances on the Schneider Series at the New School and the Peoples’ Symphony Concerts at Town Hall.

Since the Johannes made its acclaimed debut there in 1998, the Chamber Music Society of Philadelphia has played a major role in launching the Quartet, presenting them regularly each season, including a two-concert series of the complete Beethoven opus 18 quartets. Their debut was described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as having “accurate intonation, vigorous interaction and careful regard for the details in the score…the passion and attack that characterize the best of quartet playing.”

The Quartet’s 2011-12 Season started with another triumphant return to the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, where they appear bi-annually in multiple concerts and is followed by debuts at Baltimore’s Shriver Hall and for the Buffalo Chamber Music Society.  They return to Wilton Candlelight concerts a year after making their debut and make their annual appearance as audience favourites with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.  Dvorak Sextet performances with members of the Guarneri Quartet bring them to New York City twice and extended residencies and performances take them throughout Ohio and to the renowned Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.  Forthcoming commissions include plans for a new quintet with renowned clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and a string quartet by Jorg Widmann.

A highlight of recent seasons included the group’s collaboration with the legendary Guarneri String Quartet in a program featuring Octet: Double Quartet written specifically for the two ensembles by award-winning composer William Bolcom, and commissioned by the Music Accord consortium of presenters. The two groups also joined together for performances of Mendelssohn’s glorious Octet. In addition to these works, the Johannes also premiered a new string quartet, Homunculus, written for them by Esa-Pekka Salonen. They received acclaim from audiences and critics alike at the Krannert Center (Urbana, IL), University Musical Society (Ann Arbor, MI), Penn State University, and Boston’s Celebrity Series, the Orange County Performing Arts Society, San Francisco Performances, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, UCLA Live, Kansas City Friends of Chamber Music, Hayes University (KS), the Islip Arts Council and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City for their performances of these groundbreaking works. Additional highlights have included performances at the The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, as well as residencies and performances at the Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and Middlebury College.

The Johannes has also been heard around the country through broadcasts on public radio’s Performance Today and St. Paul Sunday programs and live throughout New England on Vermont and Maine’s Public Radio Stations.