The Johannes Quartet
Opens RCMS Season

The members of the Johannes Quartet will open the Rochester Chamber Music Society's 14th annual summer concert series this Sunday afternoon at the Federated Church on Main Street. (Provided)

The renowned Johannes Quartet will open the 14^th annual summer concert series of the Rochester Chamber Music Society, this Sunday, June 22 at the Federated Church of Rochester. The concert begins at 4 p.m., with a pre-concert talk at 3:30 p.m. by Larry Hamberlin.

Praised for their technical command and interpretative subtleties, the Johannes Quartet is rapidly becoming an audience favorite. The quartet brings together the principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Peter Stumpf; the associate principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, C.J. Chang; the first American to win the Paganini Violin Competition in 24 years, Soovin Kim; and an Avery Fisher Career Grant winner violinist, Jessica Lee.

Each member has spent numerous summers at the renowned Marlboro Music Festival. Performance highlights include concerts in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, New York and Washington DC, among others. The Johannes Quartet has also been heard on public radio’s Performance Today and St. Paul Sunday.

During the 2008-09 season, the group will return to the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Islip Arts Council and will make its debut at Middlebury College with residency activities and a performance of Schubert’s C Major Quintet.

The afternoon program in Rochester will include Beethoven’s Quartet in F minor, Op. 95, Mozart’s Quartet in F major, K. 580, and Homunculus, a new string quartet written for them by Esa-Pekka Salonen. This new piece, though short in duration and form, has been described by Matthew Guerrieri of the Boston Globe, as "marvelous, colorful and rich."

Concert admission is by donation. For additional information call 802-767-9234 or visit www.rcmsvt.org.

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