Sunday, July 8, 3:00 p.m.
St. Petersburg String Quartet
Victoria Schwartzman, Piano
Peter Askim, Bass
All Russian Program
Shostakovich: String Quartet # 1, Opus 49 (1938)
Shostakovich: String Quartet # 15, Opus 144 (1974)
Glinka: Grand Sextet for Piano, String Quartet & Bass (1832)
Intermission Feature: Performance by the students of the St. Petersburg International Music Academy
Back for a second consecutive weekend, The St. Petersburg String Quartet returns to Music Mountain with Victoria Schwartzman, piano and Peter Askim, bass and a special intermission performance by the students of the St. Petersburg International Music Academy. The Sunday afternoon concert will feature an all-Russian program: the first and last Shostakovich string quartets followed by the Music Mountain debut of Glinka: Grand Sextet for Piano, String Quartet & Bass.
Considered by many to be one of the world’s most esteemed chamber ensembles, the St. Petersburg String Quartet was founded in 1985 and has steadily risen to fame performing all over the world. Their US appearances have included concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They first performed at Music Mountain in 1995 and have been back every summer since. Their concerts this summer coincide with the Music Mountain session of the St. Petersburg Quartet’s International Musical Academy running from June 18 to July 11.
Pianist Victoria Schwartzman first appeared at Music Mountain during the 2011 season. Born and trained in St. Petersburg, as well as the Longy school of Music, she has performed widely in the United States and has appeared at BargeMusic and Merkin Hall in New York. Ms. Schwartzman has also performed with Jerusalem Symphony and other orchestras. In demand as a vocal coach, she has been at Glimmerglass, the Brevard Music Center and has also taught at Graz, Austria.
Active as a composer, conductor and bassist, Peter Askim is the Music Director and Composer-in-Residence of the Idyllwild Arts Academy. He has been a member of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and served on the faculty of the University of Hawaii-Manoa, where he directed the Contemporary Music Ensemble and taught theory and composition.
