Mark Applebaum (left) and Afiara Quartet (right)
Experience the Canadian premiere of a newly commissioned work by Gavin Bryars, alongside a work by composer-in-residence Mark Applebaum, and chamber music by Brahms and Dvořák performed by an exceptional roster of festival artists.
Program
Krisztina Szabó, mezzo soprano
Barry Shiffman, viola
Jeanie Chung, piano
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91
Mark Applebaum, actor
MARK APPLEBAUM: Aphasia
INTERMISSION
Livia Sohn, violin
Hao Zhou, violin
Barry Shiffman, viola
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK: Terzetto in C Major, Op. 74
Afiara Quartet
Jeanie Chung, harpsichord
GAVIN BRYARS: Harpsichord Quintet: Mr Bryars, His Sorrow at Miss Bley, Her Passing
Program is subject to change
About the Artists
Mark Applebaum
Mark Applebaum, Ph.D. is the Edith & Leland Smith Professor of Composition at Stanford University. His solo, chamber, choral, orchestral, operatic, and electroacoustic work has been performed throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia, including notable commissions from the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Fromm Foundation, the Spoleto Festival, the Kronos Quartet, Chamber Music America, and the Vienna Modern Festival. Many of his pieces are characterized by challenges to the conventional boundaries of musical ontology: works for three conductors and no players, a concerto for florist and orchestra, pieces for instruments made of junk, notational specifications that appear on the faces of custom wristwatches, works for an invented sign language choreographed to sound, amplified Dadaist rituals, a chamber work comprised of obsessive page turns, and a 72-foot long graphic score displayed in a museum and accompanied by no instructions for its interpretation. His TED talk has been seen by more than three million viewers. Applebaum is also an accomplished jazz pianist and builds electroacoustic sound-sculptures out of junk, hardware, and found objects. At Stanford Applebaum is the founding director of [sic]—the Stanford Improvisation Collective. He serves on the board of Other Minds and as a trustee of Carleton College.
Composer-in-residence generously supported by Sandra Green
Afiara Quartet
The Afiara Quartet is a dynamic and award-winning ensemble, described as "a revelation" (La Presse) with performances balancing "intensity and commitment" and "frequent moments of tenderness" (Montreal Gazette). After residencies at The Juilliard School and San Francisco State University, the Afiara are currently Fellowship Quartet at the Royal Conservatory of Music. The ensemble is winner of the Young Canadian Musicians Award, Concert Artist Guild, Munich ARD, and Banff International String Quartet Competitions, including the latter's Szekely Prize for the best interpretation of Beethoven. Their relentless pursuit of beauty and discovery is documented in over 25 commissions of new music and new educational outreach initiatives for school children funded by the Ontario Arts Council.