Concerts feature works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Michael Thomas Foumai, and Denys Lytvynenko
Hailed for their “superb playing, palpable chemistry, spirit, and emotional connection,” Midsummer’s Music’s quartet in residence, the Griffon String Quartet, will perform two free community concerts featuring Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn along with contemporary composers Hawaiian Michael Thomas Foumai and Ukrainian Denys Lytvynenko.
Haydn’s String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 33, No. 1, premiered in Vienna on Christmas Day of 1781, and it is noted as one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s favorite works by Haydn.
“Flare Up” by Foumai is a short work exuding a “Furious, Fiery & Flaming character and is inspired by the fire knife, [a] traditional Samoan cultural implement that is used in ceremonial dances,” according to Foumai’s website.
Lytvynenko is a Lviv cellist, soloist, and member of the Phoenix Quartet. His chamber and symphonic music works are widely performed in Ukrainian cities, as well as in video and audio recordings. String Quartet No. 2 is one of the pieces of which the composer is most proud. The general tonality of the music is sad and deeply emotional, but the philosophical piece hides a lot of meanings and musical secrets.
Griffon String Quartet musicians for these two performances are Roy Meyer and Megan Karls, violins, Erin Rafferty, viola, and Stefan Kartman, cello.
The first concert is at 7:00pm on May 27 in Green Bay and will be the Griffon String Quartet’s Tarlton Theatre premiere. The second concert is at 3:00pm on May 28 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay. Free tickets are available through the Midsummer’s Music website—midsummersmusic.com—or by calling 920-854-7088 during business hours.
One of the most vibrant and engaging quartets of their generation, the Griffon String Quartet was formed in the fall of 2018 by Midsummer’s Music. The quartet is a groundbreaking project to enrich the lives of children and adults throughout northeast Wisconsin through concerts, workshops, and music education outreach. Extraordinary musicians who have been Griffon members have performed with orchestras and ensembles around the globe in the finest halls from Carnegie Hall and Brazil’s Teatro Municipal de São Paulo to Japan’s Suntory Hall, and won prestigious music competitions and awards. All are equally dedicated to music education and inspiring the next generation of music lovers. Members of the Griffon String Quartet have advanced degrees and significant professional experience, both as educators and performers, and the ensemble has been recognized for “their youthful vigor, which is absolutely infectious!”
Midsummer’s Music was co-founded in 1990 by Jim and Jean Berkenstock, long-time Door County summer residents and principal orchestral players with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. What began as two concerts among friends has become one of the Midwest’s most anticipated chamber music series, bringing thousands of chamber music enthusiasts from around the globe to the magical Door County Peninsula.