Famed Austrian string quartet debuts at Union Concert Series

Publication Date

The Quatuor Mosaïques performs on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. in Memorial Chapel.

The Series presents the debut of the Austrian string quartet – Quatuor Mosaïques – whose gut-string performances provide audiences with a unique perspective on classic repertoire. The program will feature Haydn’s Quartet in D Major, Op. 33, No. 6, Mendelssohn’s Quartet in A Minor, Op. 13, and Beethoven’s Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132.

Quatuor Mosaïques is the most prominent period-instrument quartet performing today. The ensemble has garnered praise for its atypical decision to use gut-stringed instruments which, in combination with its celebrated musicianship, has cultivated their unique sound. The quartet has toured extensively, won numerous prizes and established a substantial discography. Formed in 1985, Quatuor has appeared in Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan and regularly performs in Vienna, London's Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw and Berlin's Philharmonic Hall. Quatuor Mosaïques is often featured at such prestigious European festivals as Edinburgh, Salzburg, Luzern, Bremen, Bath, Styriarte Graz, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg and Oslo, among others.

The ensemble collaborates regularly with many international artists including pianists Sir András Schiff and Patrick Cohen, clarinetists Wolfgang Meyer and Sabine Meyer, and cellists Miklós Perényi and Raphael Pidoux. In 2006 Quatuor Mosaïques was invited to Spain to perform for King Juan Carlos I on the Monarch's personal collection of Stradivari instruments.

Individual tickets are $30. All students are free. Subscription packages offer significant savings. For information, call (518) 388-6080 or visit the concert series website.