Colorado Quartet returns to Blacksburg for two concerts
The popular Colorado Quartet returns to Blacksburg to perform two all-Beethoven concerts on Saturday, April 13, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 14, at 3 p.m. in the Squires Recital Salon on the campus of Virginia Tech.
The concerts are part of the University Chamber Music Series presented by the School of Performing Arts and Cinema and the Department of Music.
This will be the quartet's fourth visit to Blacksburg over the past four years, and will be a culmination of their performances of the complete Beethoven string quartets at Virginia Tech.
Among their many accolades, the ensemble is the first female string quartet in history to perform the complete Beethoven quartet cycle in Europe and North America. Their performances are noted for musical integrity, impassioned playing, and lyrical finesse.
Their weekend in Blacksburg will feature two concerts, each with a different program:
- Wednesday, April 13: Quartet in F major, Opus 18 No. 1; Quartet in E flat major, Opus 127; Quartet in C major, Opus 59 No. 3
- Thursday, April 14: Quartet in A major, Opus 18 No. 5; Quartet in D major, Opus 18 No. 3; Quartet in B flat major, Opus 130 with Grosse Fuge
Violinists Julie Rosenfeld and Deborah Lydia Redding, violist Marka Gustavsson, and cellist Katie Schlaikjer have all experienced groundbreaking success for nearly three decades. Catapulted onto the scene by back-to-back wins at the first Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in May 1983, it was the first all-woman quartet to attain international stature. The group's performance of Beethoven quartets has garnered the ensemble major international accolades.
Fanfare Magazine wrote, "The Colorado Quartet tears into these works with a combined tension, cohesion, grace, and complete understanding of the music ... if it's the music and what the music says that interests you, well this is the only set of the late quartets you'll ever need. ... These four women bring Beethoven to intense, blazing life."
Tickets are $15 general, $10 senior, and $5 student and are available at the Student Centers and Activities Ticket Office on the first floor of Squires Student Center. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling 540-231-5615. Tickets will also be available at the box office beginning one hour prior to the performance.
Free parking is available in the Squires Lot, located at the corner of college Avenue and Otey Streets, in the Architecture Annex Lot on Otey Street, and the Perry Street/Prices Fork lots. Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200. Alternative parking is available in the Kent Square parking garage and the Farmers Market metered parking lot, both located on Draper Road. Find additional downtown Blacksburg parking information online.
