by Mike Telin
Sometimes personalities and musical sensibilities among members of a chamber music ensemble just seem to click. Such is the case with the acclaimed Jerusalem Quartet, who first came together while still in high school. But in a 2015 interview with ClevelandClassical.com, violinist Alexander Pavlovsky said that at that time, becoming a world-class string quartet was the furthest thing from their minds. “We did not think a lot about the future. We were only concentrating on building a repertoire and enjoying every moment of being part of such an amazing ensemble.”
On Tuesday, October 2 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, the Cleveland Chamber Music Society will inaugurate their new season with a return visit by the Jerusalem Quartet — Alexander Pavlovsky and Sergei Bresler, violins, Ori Kam, viola, and Kyril Zlotnikov, cello. The program includes Beethoven’s Quartet in a, Op. 18, No. 5, Ravel’s Quartet in F, and Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 3 in F, Op. 73. CWRU professor David J. Rothenberg will give a pre-concert lecture beginning at 6:30. Tickets are available online.
Tuesday’s concert will mark the Quartet’s fifth appearance on the CCMS series since 2010 — the last was in March of 2017. Looking back at that 2015 interview, we thought it would be nice to re-share some of Alexander Pavlovsky’s responses to questions he graciously agreed to answer by email.
After first performing together at Music@Menlo in 2010, then following that up with an appearance at the Kennedy Center, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and guitarist Jason Vieaux have long had their eyes on a reunion concert.
Pianist Wu Han, violinist Philip Setzer, and cellist David Finckel — the No-Name trio who like to keep it that way — have been offering performances of Beethoven’s complete piano trios for several years now. That repertoire takes up two complete concert programs, and presenters have been given their choice of several formats.
“Beethoven’s six piano trios are important touch points in his development as a composer,” pianist Wu Han said during a telephone conversation. “Hearing all of them is the equivalent of hearing all of the string quartets — not only is it a rich and unusual experience, but you become a different listener.”
Since winning the grand prize and three special prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Dover Quartet — Joel Link and Bryan Lee, violins, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola, and Camden Shaw, cello — have quickly risen to the forefront of young, internationally touring string quartets. Following that 2013 breakthrough, the ensemble has added to their resume a Cleveland Quartet Award, a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, and most recently an Avery Fisher Career Grant.