| Robert
Mann (Conductor) |
 For
more than fifty years violinist Robert Mann has been a driving force
in the world of American chamber music. As co-founder of the celebrated
Juilliard String Quartet, as soloist, and as composer and teacher, Mr.
Mann has brought a refreshing, out-of-doors sense of adventure and discovery
to chamber performance in this country. He is, in the words of Richard
Dyer of the Boston Globe, "one of the country's most admired and
deeply-loved musicians."
Mr. Mann's retirement from the Juilliard Quartet, at the end of the 1996-97
season, now allows him to devote a larger share of his time to composing
and solo performance, pursuits that were necessarily subordinate to his
role as first violinist with the Juilliard String Quartet.
Born in 1920, in Portland, Oregon, Mr. Mann began studying violin when
he was nine, and at age 13 was accepted into the class of Edouard Hurlimann,
concertmaster of the Portland Symphony. In 1938, he moved to New York
City to enroll in The Juilliard School, where he studied violin with
Edouard Dethier, composition with Bernard Wagenaar and Stephan Wolpe,
and conducting with Edgar Schenkman. Mr. Mann won the prestigious Naumburg
Competition in 1941.
At the invitation of Juilliard's president, William Schuman, Robert Mann
formed the Juilliard String Quartet in 1946, and served as the ensemble's
first violinist until his retirement from the quartet in 1997. The quartet,
which celebrated its Golden Jubilee during the 1996-97 season, has played
approximately 5,000 concerts and performed over 600 works including some
75 premieres. Its discography includes recordings of over 100 compositions.
Mr. Mann has composed more than 30 works for narrator with various instruments
that he performs with his wife, the actress Lucy Rowan; several have
been recorded on the Musical Heritage label. He has also composed an
Orchestral Fantasy performed by Dimitri Mitropoulos with the New York
Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and at the Salzburg Festival,
a Duo for Violin and Piano premiered at Carnegie Hall by Itzhak Perlman
and Samuel Sanders; and a String Quartet included in the repertoires
of both the La Salle and the Concord String Quartets. Other works include
a Duo for Cello and Piano written for Joel Krosnick and Gilbert Kalish,
a Concert for Orchestra, and Lament for two solo violas and orchestra. |
| ALTI
Quartet |
 The
ALTI Quartet was founded in Kyoto in 1998 by four first-class soloist
string musicians, violinists Yasushi Toyoshima and Tatsuya Yabe, violist
Yoshiko Kawamoto, and cellist Noboru Kamimura.
They took their name from Kyoto Fumin Hall (ALTI) where they serve as
the resident quartet. Their activities have spread from Kyoto throughout
the entire nation.
One of the unique characteristics of this quartet is that they perform
one of Beethoven’s string quartets at each of their concerts at
their resident hall in Kyoto. Their repertoire also includes the string
quartets of Mozart, Hayden, and Dvorak. Another of their unique features
is that the 1st violinist and the 2nd violinist change places depending
upon the piece being played, indicating the high level of their musical
skill.
It is quite difficult for group of soloists to develop a cohesive performance
style in a quartet, the lifeblood of which is chamber music, while also
continuing their soloist activities individually. However, these four
musicians all have a highly developed technique which allows them to
preserve the fineness of a quartet while asserting themselves as musicians,
resulting in extreme delicacy and nuance in their musical expression.
Since they formed the quartet they have continued to mature as a group
and now are recognized as Japan foremost string quartet.
They hold intensive rehearsal camps for several days before giving a
concert which allows them to create music with no compromises, as a result
of which, they always leave a deep and moving impression on their audiences.
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