Baumer Quartet (Photo credit: Mark Kitaoka)
Alex Greenbaum (Photo credit: Sam Zauscher)
Saturday, April 15, 2023
7:30 PM
The Baumer Quartet (Nathan Olson and Aaron Requiro, violins; John T. Posadas, viola; and David Requiro, cello) makes its first visit to the Athenaeum with a celebratory program to end the 2022–2023 season, featuring quartets by Haydn and Ravel. The members of the Quartet pursue parallel careers as international soloists, leaders, and principal players in world-class orchestras, as members of eminent chamber groups; and as professors of music. They will be joined by Alex Greenbaum (cellist and Co-Director of Chamber Music at the Athenaeum) for one of the most beloved chamber works ever written, Schubert’s epic Cello Quintet in C Major.
The concert is preceded by a pre-concert lecture presented by Alex Greenbaum at 6:45 p.m. (generously underwritten by Gordon Brodfuehrer in honor of Erika Torri) and is followed by a reception with the artists in the Sharon & Joel Labovitz Entry Hall.
Baumer String Quartet
Nathan Olson & Aaron Requiro, violins
John T. Posadas, viola
David Requiro, cello
with Alex Greenbaum, cello
Program:
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Quartet No. 64 in D Major, op. 76, no. 5 (“Largo” or "Friedhofsquartett") (1797)
Allegretto
Largo ma non troppo: Cantabile e mesto
Menuet: Allegro
Finale: Presto
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Quartet in F Major (1903)
Allegro moderato—très doux
Assez vif—très rythmé
Très lent
Vif et agité
—Intermission—
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Quintet in C Major, D. 956 (1828)
Allegro ma non troppo
Adagio
Scherzo. Presto—Trio. Andante sostenuto
Allegretto
Acknowledged as one of the finest young quartets in the country, the Baumer String Quartet was founded in 2003 at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The members of the Quartet pursue parallel careers as international soloists, leaders and principal players of world-class orchestras, as members of eminent chamber groups, and as professors of music. Baumer String Quartet members perform with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Dallas Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony, the Utah Symphony, and the Santa Fe Opera. The Quartet comes together for limited touring engagements on a project-by-project basis, and rather than committing to a year-round schedule, the members of the Quartet meet for short musical residencies, providing a fresh perspective on interpretations of the traditional string quartet repertoire.
The Baumer String Quartet is quickly distinguishing itself among audiences and critics for their technical finesse, warmth of expression, and cutting-edge performances. Formerly known as the Kashii String Quartet, they won the Silver Medal at the 2005 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and Second Prize at the 2005 Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition. They worked closely with members of the Cleveland, Alban Berg, Vogler, Takács, Cavani, Borromeo, Brentano, Orion, St. Lawrence, and Juilliard String Quartets, as well as Isaac Stern in the “Stern Encounters” master class series. The Quartet was selected to participate in the International Artist Program at Music@Menlo, and worked closely with members of the Emerson String Quartet at Stony Brook University.
Dedicated to educating and inspiring young musicians, the Baumer SQ founded the week-long Monterey (CA) Chamber Music Workshop, where they offered tuition-free intensive chamber music sessions to local students. The quartet has also served on faculty at the Crowden Chamber Music Workshop and the Innsbrook Music Festival. Members of the Quartet hold and have held faculty positions at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of South Florida, the University of North Texas, the University of Puget Sound, and Southern Methodist University. The Quartet has been invited as featured artists for residencies at the University of South Florida, University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, and the University of South Dakota, which included performance collaborations with faculty and students, as well as masterclasses, open rehearsals, and other educational events.
Strong advocates for new music, members of the Quartet have collaborated with composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Bright Sheng, Joan Tower, Elliott Carter, and Jennifer Higdon. They have premiered works by Tan Dun, Pierre Jalbert, Lou Harrison, Sydney Hodkinson, and Conor Brown. The Quartet premiered Charles Krenner’s String Quartet no. 1, and performed the Turtle Island Quartet’s arrangement of Egberto Gismonti’s “Palhaço” with former Turtle Island Quartet member Evan Price. In 2019, the Quartet premiered Quinn Mason’s String Quartet no. 2, in collaboration with Dallas-based Avant Chamber Ballet. Most recently, the Quartet was involved in the commission of “Sundial” for string quartet and percussion by Samuel Carl Adams. With guitarist David Tanenbaum, the Quartet recorded Aaron Jay Kernis’s “100 Greatest Dance Hits” on the Black Box label.
The Baumer String Quartet is a proud affiliate of InterMusic SF. Their album of string quartets by Mozart and Dvořák will be released in the next year.
Born in New York, cellist Alex Greenbaum enjoys a diverse and adventurous musical life. As a member of the Hausmann Quartet he is an Artist-in-Residence and Lecturer at San Diego State University, where he teaches cello and chamber music. As a long-time member of The Knights chamber orchestra he has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe, from New York to Vienna, Ireland, Germany and the Canary Islands, and appeared at the festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Caramoor, Dresden, Ojai, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Salzburg and in recent seasons returned to Vienna’s Musikverein and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. He has recorded for Ancalagon, ARC, Azica, Bridge, Canary Classics, Cantaloupe, In a Circle, Koch, Naxos, Warner Classics and Sony records.
His varied interests have led to collaborations with dance companies, recordings for film, television and commercials, studies of early music and performances throughout Mexico. Locally, Alex is a founding member of San Diego Baroque, a mainstay on the Art of Élan series, an affiliated artist with San Diego New Music, a member of Bach Collegium San Diego and Co-Director of Chamber Music at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. A dedicated advocate for new music, past associations include the Tarab Cello Ensemble and Hutchins East, performances with the FLUX Quartet, Newband, at Music at the Anthology (MATA) and as a member of the Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes and Tucson Symphony Orchestra. His teachers have included Steven Doane, Marcy Rosen, Ross Harbaugh, Joseph Elworthy and Andre Emelianoff. Alex plays a cello crafted in 2006 by Michele Ashley and a baroque cello labeled Claude Vuillaume, 1788.
Generously partially underwritten by the Sleet Music Performance Fund in memory of Don Sleet, Down Beat Magazine acclaimed trumpeter of the year and leader of the CD "All Members"; Marshall C. Sleet, instrumental music coordinator & educator for the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District; Anna Mae Sleet, Choral director at La Mesa Jr High and La Pressa Middle School, and Jeffery Barnett Sleet, Cellist, and a member of the acclaimed San Diego Youth Symphony who passed away in 2022 at the age of 58.
The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert.
Masks optional. If you have a fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, please stay home.