“It’s obvious from the inventive program that Carpe Diem has committed itself to forging a unique identity.”
— Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press

The inimitable Carpe Diem String Quartet (www.carpediemstringquartet.com) ventures away from its residence at the Conservatory of Music at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, to perform in the New River Valley March 15-16. The program features music by Russian composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Piotr Illich Tchaikovsky, and Sergei Taneyev, the latter of which Carpe Diem has truly championed. With violinists Charles Wetherbee and John Ewing, violist Korine Fujiwara, and cellist Wendy Morton, this concert promises to be richly impressive and engaging.

Noted for a commitment to changing the concert experience, Carpe Diem is an award-winning group that has a passion for audience engagement, utilizing innovative programming, visual presentations, and speaking directly to the audience. They break boundaries and provide a truly worthwhile musical event. The group has premiered works by many of today’s prominent composers including Gunther Schuller, Nicholas Maw, Osvaldo Golijov, film composer Danny Elfman, and even quartet member Korine Fujiwara, among many others.

Beginning the all-Russian program is a piece by Shostakovich (1906-1975), a composer that felt that “real music is always revolutionary” His complex relationship with the Soviet government proved highly influential in the outcome of his music. Winning several accolades only to then be told “how music should sound” by Joseph Stalin himself left the composer with large restrictions and predicaments, shaping the music and his career. Among his most famous works are the 15 string quartets, so his Two Pieces for String Quartet (1931) should be no exception within the repertoire of this important Russian composer.

The program continues with the familiar Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), presenting his Quartet No. 1 in D Major. The major Romantic-era composer, always dramatic and introspective, is perhaps best known for his flair for melody, exemplified in huge works such as Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, and Marche Slave.

Carpe Diem has recorded all nine string quartets of Taneyev (1856-1915) on the Naxos label, (as well as the first part of a complete Shostakovich quartet cycle). With this in mind, the shining moment of the concert is likely the finale as pianist Tracy Cowden joins the quartet in Taneyev’s Piano Quintet in G minor. Cowden, a frequent collaborator and professor at Virginia Tech, is the perfect pianist for the concert, having performed with the Cavani and Audubon String Quartets. She can also be heard on a few recordings, including “With Blackwood and Silver,” (a CD with flutist Nancy Gamso), as well as the Eastman Wind Ensemble’s 50th anniversary recording, released in 2002.

While not as well known as the other two Russians on the program, Taneyev was, in addition being a great composer, a pianist and a teacher, boasting Alexander Scriabin and Sergei Rachmaninoff as some of his most famous pupils. Additionally, Taneyev was a dear friend of Tchaikovsky, close enough that he could give frank compositional advice. This trend of Taneyev being a trusting, knowledgeable theorist and composer lasted through his lifetime among many of his more prominent colleagues.

Taneyev’s works, however, are in no way second rate, having thoroughly studied the music of Giovanni Palestrina and Johann Sebastian Bach. Taneyev’s love of counterpoint (essentially, many intricate musical lines, carefully placed to complement each other) is highly evident in his music. The compositional opportunities with a string quartet and piano prove to be an excellent sandbox for such exploration.

You have two opportunities to hear the critically acclaimed Carpe Diem String Quartet and Tracy Cowden. Tickets are $15 general, $10 senior, and $5 student and are available in advance through the UUSA Box Office in the Squires Student Center, at 540.231.5615 or online at www.uusa.vt.edu and at the door one hour prior to performance time. The captivating evening of Russian music for string quartet can be heard at Squires Recital Salon (Virginia Tech Campus) on March 15 at 8 p.m. and March 16 at 3 p.m.

C.R. Kasprzyk, is Polish, not Russian, but still thinks you should go to this concert. He too, has written a string quartet or two.