Summer Chamber Series III: “A Distant Shore”
July 14 in Fort Lauderdale and July 16 in Key West
The South Florida Symphony presents the Blue Door String Quartet in the final concert of the season, “A Distant Shore,” on Monday, July 14 at 7:00 p.m. at the Josephine S. Leiser Opera Center, located on 221 SW 3rd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. There will be a second performance on Wednesday, July 16, at the Studios of Key West, located at 600 White Street in Key West.
The Blue Door String Quartet is featuring the work of three composers: the Austrian Lied composer Hugo Wolf; the art music composer and pianist Amy Beach, heralded in America’s Gilded Age; and the legendary German composer Johannes Brahms.
Captivating and highly original for its time, Hugo Wolf’s one movement Italian Serenade inspired great enthusiasm when it was first performed. Following in his footsteps, Amy Beach composed the String Quartet in One Movement. Fascinated by folk music, she successfully integrated three Inuit tunes into this form.
The evening concludes with Brahms masterpiece String Quartet No. 1 in C minor. He took almost ten years to complete. Of Brahms musical genius, Arnold Schoenberg wrote, “At a time when all believed in ‘expression’, Brahms, without renouncing beauty and emotion, proved to be a progressive in a field that had not been cultivated for half a century. He would have been a pioneer if he had simply returned to Mozart. But he did not live on inherited fortune; he made his own.”
At the behest of Sebrina Alfonso, Music Director and Conductor of the South Florida Symphony, the Blue Door String Quartet has become the Quartet-in-Residence for the Symphony. Its members include Whitney La Grange (violin), Funda Cizmecloglu (violin), Yuiko Kamakari (violist), and Arthur Cook (cellist).
Both evenings will start with a complimentary reception at 7 p.m., catered by Lenore Nolan- Ryan Catering and Cooking School. It will then be followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for the Fort Lauderdale concert and $25 for the Key West show ($35 reserved seating). If you’re interested in buying tickets or have any other questions, you can call (954) 522-8445 or visit southfloridasymphony.org.
