March 30: American women play American women
Pianist Magdalena Baczewska and the Cassatt String Quartet perform music by Florence Price, Amy Beach, and Dorothy Rudd Moore
Italian Academy at Columbia University
"an extraordinary quartet" – New York Times
On March 30, 2023, at 7:30 pm, the pianist Magdalena Baczewska brings the renowned Cassatt String Quartet to the Italian Academy at Columbia University (1161 Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan) to perform music by three American women—Amy Beach, Florence Price, and Dorothy Rudd Moore. The concert is free, and advance reservations (via this link) are recommended. Further details are on the Italian Academy's website.
In 2019, Ms. Baczewska and the Cassatts performed at the Italian Academy to a completely full audience, who "were clearly moved by the music and offered standing ovations," wrote Rick Whitaker, Italian Academy concert manager in Columbia News. "It was a concert I always describe as the best we've ever presented," he said.
All three composers on the program were pioneers and groundbreaking musicians. Price was the first Black woman to have her music performed by a major orchestra. Moore, who lived in New York City until her death last year, was co-founder of Symphony of the New World, the first racially-integrated orchestra in the United States. Beach is known for being the first woman to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra in 1896.
On the program, the CSQ performs Moore's "Modes" and Prices' String Quartet No. 1, and is joined by Baczewska for Beach's Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor. Baczewska also performs a solo piano work by Price.
This spring, the Cassatt String Quartet performs a number of programs in the Northeast, including another concert with pianist Magdalena Baczewska in New Canaan, CT on May 14. Details about the CSQ's upcoming concerts are below.
Calendar Listing
Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 7:30 pm
AMERICAN WOMEN PLAY AMERICAN WOMEN
The Cassatt String Quartet and pianist Magdalena Baczewska
Italian Academy at Columbia University
1161 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY
Admission is free; advance reservations (via this link) are recommended.
PROGRAM
Florence Price String Quartet No.1 in G major
Florence Price Fantaisie nègre, No. 1, for piano solo
Dorothy Rudd Moore Modes for String Quartet
Amy Beach Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor Op 67
The Cassatt String Quartet
Muneko Otani and Jennifer Leshnower, violins
Rosemary Nelis, viola
Gwen Krosnick, cello
The Cassatt String Quartet Upcoming Concerts
May 7: Amherst, MA
Amherst College's Buckley Recital Hall (53 College St)
Music by Dylan Schneider:
PANDEMIC (world premiere)
with saxophonist Jonathan Hulting-Cohen
GOES A-H-H-H: Quartet Bossa Nova
Dancer at an Exhibition (Written for the Cassatt String Quartet)
Part of Amherst College Residency (May 5-8)
May 9 at 8 pm: Bennington, VT
Dean Carriage Barn at Bennington College (1 College Dr)
Program:
W.A. Mozart: String Quartet in F major, K. 590
Florence Price: String Quartet No. 1
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: String Quartet
Part of Bennington College Residency (May 9 & 10)
May 13 at 5 pm: Ossining, NY
Opening Night Concert at Bethany Arts Community (40 Somerstown Rd)
Program:
Dorothy Rudd Moore: Modes
W.A. Mozart: String Quartet in F major, K. 590
Florence Price: String Quartet No. 1
May 14 at 4 pm: New Canaan, CT
Treetops Chamber Music Concert at Carriage Barn Arts Center (681 South Ave)
Program:
W.A. Mozart: String Quartet in F major, K. 590
Dorothy Rudd Moore: Modes
Amy Beach: Piano Quintet in F-sharp Minor, Op. 67 (with Magdalena Baczewska)
July 25 - August 5: Seal Bay Festival in Maine
Programs include:
Anthony DeRitis: Passion's Continuum (ME premiere)
Zhou Long: Song of the Ch’in
Chen Yi: Fiddle Suite
About the Artists
Hailed by the press as “One of the most innovative, even radical classical keyboardists in the U.S.,” pianist and harpsichordist Magdalena Baczewska [pronounced ba-CHEV-ska] enjoys a versatile career as a concert and recording artist, educator, speaker, and administrator. Since her debut at age 12 with the Silesian Philharmonic, she has performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and China National Symphony.
Baczewska is the Director of the Music Performance Program and Senior Lecturer in Music at Columbia University, where she mentors and provides performance opportunities for the student musicians, teaches Music Humanities (a part of Columbia’s famed Core Curriculum), and works with the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange students in Performance Seminar. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage for promoting Polish culture abroad. Baczewska is a Yamaha Artist.
Hailed for its “mighty rapport and relentless commitment,” the Cassatt String Quartet has performed to critical acclaim across the world since its founding in 1985, with appearances at Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Tanglewood Music Center, the Kennedy Center, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Centro National de las Artes, Maeda Hall, and Beijing’s Central Conservatory. The group’s discography includes over forty recordings, including three discs that were named “10 Best Classical Recordings” in The New Yorker.
The Cassatt String Quartet’s upcoming projects include major performances and recordings of works by Tania León, Dylan Schneider, Shirish Korde, and Daniel S. Godfrey; its annual residencies at the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music and Cassatt in the Basin!; hometown concerts in the New York area; and appearances at Treetops Chamber Music Society, Maverick Concerts, and Music Mountain. The CSQ, comprised of Muneko Otani and Jennifer Leshnower, violins; Rosemary Nelis, viola; and Gwen Krosnick, cello, is named for the American Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt.