Violinist Yuel Yawney, spokesman for the Borealis String Quartet, said their program to be presented in the Mansion at Strathmore will be all about variety.
“The three quartets [we play] make for a varied program — contrasting, and in a way, very complimentary,” he said. “We cover the Classical, Romantic and 20th century periods.”
The widely acclaimed Borealis String Quartet, formed in the fall of 2000, also includes members Patricia Shih on violin, Nikita Pogrebnoy on viola and cellist Shih-Lin Chen. The group has chosen an evening’s repertoire of quartets by classical composer Franz Joseph Haydn (Quartet in G Major, Op. 76, No. 1,) modern composer Dmitri Shostakovich (Quartet No. 8, Op. 110,) and, in the second half of the program, romantic composer Edvard Grieg (Quartet in G minor, Op. 27.)
“The Haydn [Quartet] is a very cheerful, joyful kind of piece, which is a nice way to introduce ourselves to the audience,” Yawney continued. “This leads into the Shostakovich, which is a dark, brooding and very ominous piece … dedicated to the victims of fascism and war. The Grieg is a very full, lush and rich quartet, [as] he was trying to create orchestral sounds and the fullness of sound. The movements are like little vignettes, coming together in the last movement [for a] cyclical feeling.”
Like most musicians, Yawney will say he has no particular favorite work in the classical quartet canon. He noted when the group is playing, the musicians are caught up in the moment and each piece requires different characteristics that the individual musician must draw from the piece. Each musician focuses on the music at hand, making it his or her favorite piece at the time.
“We are so together that people think we have the same personality,” said cellist Chen, who in 2006 replaced the original cellist, who died in a car accident. “I think part of our music comes from our arguments. We have our own ideas, we argue from there and we make a decision. We are good friends but we don’t always have to agree.”
When asked why this Canadian group calls itself Borealis, a name that refers to the colorful northern lights, or aurora borealis, Chen said, “We play not just the colors we see, but [also] the colors we hear. We try to make our playing full of color.”
