The Clarion Quartet Presents: Music of the Exiled

The Clarion Quartet makes their long-anticipated return to Alphabet City. Composed of members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra—Marta Krechkovsky (violin), Jennifer Orchard (violin), Tatjana Mead Chamis (viola), and Bronwyn Banerdt (cello)—the Clarion Quartet restores life to the music of suppressed composers. This concert features the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Ernst Krenek, Alexander Zemlinsky, Ernst Toch, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg—all composers forced to flee Nazi Europe. The Clarion Quartet is joined by the Pittsburgh Cello Quartet as well as guest musicians David Harding (viola) and Dimitri Papadimitriou (piano).

About the Musicians:

The Clarion Quartet was formed in 2015 by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra members Marta Krechkovsky (violin), Jennifer Orchard (violin), Tatjana Mead Chamis (viola), and Bronwyn Banerdt (cello), who joined forces to share their passion for chamber music and their particular interest in EntarteteMusik—works that were termed “degenerate” and banned by the Nazi regime. The centerpiece of the Clarion Quartet’s debut season was a unique performance in the former Theresienstadt (Terezín) concentration camp in the present-day Czech Republic. The quartet performed works by composers whose abuses during the Holocaust ranged from exile to execution. The emotional experience of performing in this extraordinary setting became the inspiration for Breaking the Silence, the quartet’s critically acclaimed debut album. The Clarion Quartet’s mission is to perform the works of forgotten composers alongside known masterpieces, thus returning lost voices to their deserved stature.

Recognized for both refinement and versatility, the Pittsburgh Cello Quartet engages audiences with its eclectic, memorable programming. Comprised of Bronwyn Banerdt, Michael DeBruyn, Michael Lipman, and Charlie Powers—all cellists of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra—the quartet explores the rich and varied catalog of original compositions for four cellos, complementing these works with transcriptions of Baroque masterpieces, Renaissance madrigals, and PCQ’s own arrangements of popular favorites from the Beatles and Billy Joel to U2 and Guns ’N Roses.

David Harding has an extensive solo and chamber music career, having performed throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, Central America and Australia, in such renowned venues as Berlin’s Philharmonie, the Beethovenhaus in Bonn, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and New York’s 92nd Street Y and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Noted for his “eloquent viola playing” (The Scotsman), David has performed at music festivals around the world, including the Edinburgh International Festival, Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Sitka Chamber Music Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, and Philip Glass’ “Days and Nights Festival” in Big Sur, California. David’s career has involved collaborations with leading instrumentalists and ensembles such as the Pacifica, Shanghai, Cypress, Dover, Fine Arts and Miro Quartets as well as the Gryphon Trio. David was formerly a member of the Toronto String Quartet and the Chester String Quartet  (“one of the country’s best and brightest young string quartets,” — Boston Globe) as well as the Canadian string trio “Triskelion.” With his wife, flutist Lorna McGhee and harpist, Heidi Krutzen, David is a member of Trio Verlaine.

Pianist Dimitri Papadimitriou has distinguished himself as an artist of refined musicianship and versatile talent. A passionate advocate of chamber music, Dimitri has shared the stage with leading industry figures such as Augustin Hadelich, James Ehnes and Alexi Kenney, as well as principal musicians from major European and U.S. orchestras, including Noah Bendix-Balgley (Berlin Philharmonic), Alex Kerr (Dallas Symphony) and Andrés Cárdenes (Pittsburgh Symphony). Dimitri is currently an Associate Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University School of Music in Pittsburgh, and this year he will assume a new role as Director of Performance. Defying the traditional mold of a classically trained pianist, Dimitri recently earned an MBA from Tepper School of Business with the sole intention of making a difference in the arts. A competent administrator, he serves as the Founder and Artistic Director of the Carnegie Mellon Chamber Series that aims to bring together distinguished artists, members of the CMU faculty and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians. 

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant Cucina Alfabeto is open for happy hour from 3-6pm and dinner from 5-10pm. Please visit Open Table or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.