This Monday and Tuesday (March 16 -17) the young Ebene Quartet comes to Portland play on the Friends of Chamber Music series. The Monday program, at the First United Methodist Church, will feature the rarely performed Fauré String Quartet op. 121, as well as a late Haydn quartet and Schubert’s ever-present “Death and the Maiden”. Tuesday night (which I hope to attend), at Reed College’s Kaul Auditorium, is an all-Beethoven evening, with all three periods represented, with his op. 18/1, 59/1, and the massive, non-stop C-sharp minor op. 131.
You can get tickets by calling the FOCM ticket office at 503.224.9842, or at Ticketmaster.
Friends of Chamber Music writes:
The Ebene Quartet is distinguished by its open-mindedness and versatility, displaying equal facility in the classical repertoire, contemporary music, and jazz. The Quartet is the recipient of several international prizes including First Prize of the prestigious ARD Competition in Munich. Their recent live Haydn CD (Mirare, Harmonia Mundi) received unanimous world wide praise, including recognition as Album of the Month by The Strad.
Reviews have been good on their US tour:
- Ionarts review – “A Flawless Ear for Beauty”
- New York Times – “A String Quartet That Can Easily Morph Into a Jazz Band
They have a critically acclaimed CD out on the Virgin Classics label, featuring, tidily enough, an all French program of the string quartets of Debussy, Ravel and Fauré. Buy it as an mp3 download here: Ébène Quartet: Debussy, Fauré, Ravel: String Quartets
Here’s a short video clip from WNYC on the quartet’s recent concert at the club Le Poisson Rouge:
I don’t know if they’re planning any encores, but there’s a chance that this adaptation of the music from the movie Pulp Fiction might be heard at the close of one of their concerts…