Preview
DAEDALUS QUARTET with MARKO MARTIN
Thursday, March 20
Rozsa Centre
Daedalus Quartet’s name derives from the mythical Greek inventor, artist and architect celebrated for regaining his freedom by devising wings that made it possible for him to fly. In a way, the name is fitting, given that the quartet soared above their competitors to win the Banff International String Quartet Competition two years ago.
Now, Daedalus is back, joining forces with Marko Martin, laureate of the 2000 Honens Piano Competition, for a concert featuring works for string quartet and piano.
The quartet consists of brother and sister Kyu-Young and Min-Young Kim, who alternate on first violin, cellist Raman Ramakrishnan and violist Jessica Thompson. They have performed the world over and gained the recognition that puts them within the realm of other great quartets like the Hungarian Quartet, Borodin Quartet and the Julliard Quartet.
Min-Young Kim acknowledges that the Banff Competition kick-started Daedalus Quartet’s career.
"Being the grand prize winner for the 2001 Competition has done a lot for us in terms of recognition," she says.
The Banff Centre has arranged a cross-Canada recital tour and the group is also currently working on a CD. Their concert with Martin in Calgary begins the second leg of their tour, with stops in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
Kim is excited about the program, which includes "Test Run," a Juno-nominated work for string quartet by John Estacio, composer-in-residence for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Calgary Opera.
"It was commissioned for the competition and was always an audience favourite, even though they heard it 10 times," says Min-Young Kim. "Every quartet was required to perform the work – it’s about a 10-minute piece that’s a high-energy, virtuoso showcase for string quartet. There are cadenzas for each instrument that bring out each individual voice. It has this machine-like rhythm that audiences love."
Asked if she’s concerned that the quartet has never met Martin, the pianist with whom they are to perform in concert in less than a week, Kim says she is relaxed
"We’ve only talked over e-mail, but we’ll meet in Banff and rehearse for a few days," she says.
"The Dvorak Piano Quintet we’re performing together isn’t going to be difficult to put together if all the musicians are on top of their parts. The nature of a piano quintet makes it relatively easy to put together," she adds, explaining that the piano and string parts are separate, so it’s much easier to put together than a string quartet.
Kim seems to have a special affinity for string quartets, having developed an interest as a music student at Harvard.
"To me, playing chamber music is the most satisfying, musically and socially, by working with other people. Wanting to play in a string quartet is like catching a bug. There’s such amazing repertoire out there. And because of the nature of the string quartet, there are so many possibilities as a composer when composing for the medium." |
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