The American String Quartet, comprised of four New York City based musicians, will perform as part of Skidmore College's Bartók String Quartet Series on October 8th at 8pm at the Zankel Music Center. The Bartók Series over the next two years will feature six guest groups performing the historic string quartets of Béla Bartók. Bartók influenced many 20th century composers through his unique compositional style of using irregular scales rather than chord progressions. The American String Quartet is renowned for their skill in representing both American and European classical styles.

1. For Immediate Release: Contact: Shelley Curran, Managing Director
Sept. 24, 2016 (518) 580-8381; Maria Possidente, Assistant
Event Coordinator (518) 580-5321
-30-
European Classics with an American twist at Zankel
Saratoga Springs, NY - Skidmore College Department of Music presents the first
performance of the Bartók String Quartet Series on Saturday, October 8 at 8 p.m.at
Zankel Music Center, featuring the New York City based American String Quartet.
New York City based American String Quartet is comprised of violinists Peter
Winograd and founding member Laurie Carney, violist Daniel Avshalamov, and
cellist Wolfram Koessel. Known for fearlessness and ambition, the musicians offer a
dazzling mix of European and American classical and contemporary music, often
performing complete string quartets of Beethoven (previously performed at Zankel Music
Center), Brahms, Schubert, Schoenberg, Bartók, Mendelssohn, and Mozart. Years of
professional concerts and collaborations have taken them around the globe, from tours in
Taiwan and China (even teaching music in Beijing), to Europe, Israel, Scandinavia, North
and South America coast to coast, and to all fifty U.S. states.
Skidmore’s Bartók Series will continue over the next two years, with six guest artist
performances dedicated to six historic string quartets. Béla Bartók, a significant
composer at the turn of the twentieth century, influenced dozens of later musicians with
his use of irregular scales to create tonality in his music, as opposed to harmonic chord
progressions. His stylistic technique serves to both orient the listener to a particular
composition and obscure its tonal center, challenging classical tradition of his time.
Throughout his life, Bartók composed six string quartets, among his many other
concertos, operas, ballets, dances and solo compositions, drawing on Eastern European
folk songs and classical European piano training.
The American String Quartet members regularly receive praise from American and
European critics alike, both as individuals and as one of the world’s most universally
renowned ensembles. Their innovative performances are universally crowd-pleasing, due
to their skillful, unmatched capability to represent American culture complemented with
refined European classical style. Their musical precision, passion, and natural artistry has
inspired rave reviews from critics, who have likened their balance and synchronicity to
acrobatics, and their expressionistic vitality to some of the most avant-garde international
musicians, including Alban Berg, Chen Yi, Charles Ives, and Leon Kirchner.
Admission for the performance on Saturday, October 8 at 8 p.m. is $8 adults, $5 seniors,
retirees, faculty, and staff; and free for students, sold at the Zankel Box Office open
Tuesday - Friday from 1 - 5 p.m. More information and advance ticket reservations are
also available for purchase at www.skidmore.edu/zankel, and at the Box Office at (518)
580-5321. The Zankel Music Center is wheelchair accessible and offers listening devices
for the hearing impaired.