Visiting string quartet to offer master classes, concert

The Penderecki String Quartet, one of Canada's preeminent chamber ensembles, is coming to the Fredonia School of Music for a day of master classes, chamber music coaching and a free concert on Oct. 1.

The master classes begin at noon by instrument, the chamber music master class is in Rosch Recital Hall at 1:30 p.m., and the concert begins at 4 p.m., also in Rosch.

The quartet, approaching the third decade of an extraordinary career, has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation. The four musicians from Poland, Canada, and the U.S. bring their varied yet collective experience to create performances that demonstrate their “remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep” (Toronto, Globe and Mail).

The quartet’s recent schedule has included concerts in New York (Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Los Angeles (REDCAT at Disney Hall), St. Petersburg, Paris, Prague, Berlin, Rome, Belgrade, Zagreb, Atlanta, as well as appearances at international festivals in Poland, Lithuania, Italy, Venezuela, Brazil, and China.

The PSQ performs a wide range of repertoire from Haydn to Zappa as well as premiering over 100 new works to date. Described by Fanfare Magazine as “an ensemble of formidable power and keen musical sensitivity,” the PSQ’s diverse discography includes the chamber music of Brahms and Shostakovich (Eclectra and Marquis labels) and their recently released Bartok cycle.

They enter their 20th year as Quartet-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

The events are free and the public is invited to attend.