How to go
What: Vanguard Concerts presents the Modigliani Quartet
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park N., Dayton
Cost: $20 adults, $15 students
More info: (937) 223-5277 or www.daytonartinstitute.org
The four Frenchmen of the Modigliani Quartet return to the Vanguard Concerts stage on Saturday night.
Judging from the recordings they’ve released, the group might be considered conservative in their repertoire: Their discography focuses on Brahms, Mendelssohn, Haydn and Schumann. But the musicians make a conscious effort to transcend established classics and explore uncommon works.
“There are so many great pieces which are very rarely played,” said violinist Philippe Bernhard. “Part of our work as a quartet is to play, in parallel to what we call the great repertoire, some pieces less famous but of a very good quality.”
Saturday’s concert is a fitting example of this thoughtful diversity of programming. In addition to Beethoven’s Quartet in F, Op. 18 No. 1, and Borodin’s Quartet No. 2 in D, the evening will also include Quartet No. 3 in E-flat by Spanish prodigy Juan Arriaga (1806-26).
“As he died before even turning 20, he left just a few works (and) his name didn’t pass into posterity,” Bernhard said. “His third string quartet is a very fresh piece, very typical of the romanticism of a teenager, but already very well written and developed.”
The ensemble felt such strong attachment to the piece that they recorded it on a CD to be released next month. The disc also will include youthful compositions by Mozart and Schubert.
Due to the extraordinary effort required to prepare a new work for the recording studio or concert hall, decisions about repertoire are carefully considered. “Those choices are the fruit of common discussions and hours of listening to pieces with the four of us together,” Bernhard said.
Their performance at the Art Institute is the last of a two-week tour of the United States. “We will of course be very glad to be back to Dayton for the third time now, where the presenters always welcome us very warmly,” Bernhard said.
“That’s a very important part of our concert souvenirs,” he said. “Even more than the places we go to, it’s mostly the people we meet that make us enjoy our job so much.”
Adam Alonzo is a contributing writer for the Dayton Daily News. He can be reached by email at music@adamalonzo.com.
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