TESLA QUARTET string quartet

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Dubbed “technically superb” by The Strad, the Tesla Quartet has garnered top prizes at numerous international competitions,

including the Gold Medal at the 2012 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Third Prize and the Best Interpretation

of the Commissioned Work at the 6th International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, Third Prize at the

2012 London International String Quartet Competition, and the Prize for the International Summer Academy for Chamber Music

Niedersachsen at the 2013 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition. The Tesla Quartet was formed at

The Juilliard School in 2008 and quickly established itself as one of the most promising young ensembles in New York, winning Second

Prize at the J.C. Arriaga Chamber Music Competition only a few months after its inception. The London Evening Standard called their

rendition of the Debussy Quartet “a subtly coloured

performance that balanced confidently between intimacy

and extraversion.”

The quartet has enjoyed a busy performing schedule,

both in the States and abroad, with recent international

appearances in Austria, England, and France. During the

2015-16 season the Tesla Quartet will perform across the

U.S., including Alabama, California, Kansas, Michigan,

Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. The quartet

will also begin a community residency in Hickory, North

Carolina that will include performances and workshops at

local colleges, universities, and in the public school system,

as well as a dedicated chamber music series.

Inspired by Nikola Tesla’s words, “Though free to think and

act, we are held together, like the stars in the firmament,

with ties inseparable,” the Tesla Quartet views music as the

incredible, binding force, and strives to create meaningful

connections with their audiences. The Tesla Quartet is Ross

Snyder (violin), Michelle Lie (violin), Edwin Kaplan (viola),

and Serafim Smigelskiy (cello). P H O T O B Y A RT H U R M O E L L E R

“The Tesla players…offered an impressive program of music reaching across centuries of compositional creativity. And they did so with a superb capacity to find the inner heart of every-thing they played, regardless of era, style or technical demand.”

–Don Heckman, The International Review of Music

“Impassioned interpretation was the rule throughout...There were many refined moments of sweet repose too, particularly in the coda that were given duly sensitive treatment by the ensemble, an important contrast that helped to display the many sides of Brahms’s musical personality...[The ensemble] handled it all with an astute combination of power and grace, shifting gears seamlessly throughout the manifold textures.”

–Stephan Bonfield, Calgary Herald

“The Tesla Quartet (US) followed with Debussy’s String Quartet, the fleeting atmospheres of which have defeated some of the world’s finest. This was a subtly coloured perfor-mance that balanced confidently between intimacy and extraversion. A real sense of four players listening to each other did not obstruct a natural rapport with the audience.”

–London Evening Standard

“There was poise, mystery and elegance in the first movement, and playing in the second that was at once strong and delicate, the staccato perfectly judged to both speak and bite, the fortissimo outbursts raw and vehement…The Tesla was technically superb in Debussy’s Quartet, its performance full of urgency, colour and subtle dynamics. This was a masterclass in quartet technique, with great momentum in the last movement.” –The Strad

TESLA QUARTET string quartet

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RHAPSODY AND IDIOSYNCRASYAs the story goes, French composer Maurice Ravel was honored

with a birthday party during his visit to New York in 1928, and

among the guests was George Gershwin. After an impromptu

performance of Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin asked Ravel for

composition lessons, to which Ravel, who admired the Ameri-

can’s works, replied, “Why should you be a second-rate Ravel

when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?” In this program, we

feature four composers with unique musical voices. Ravel’s

singular contribution to the quartet repertoire stands out as a

beautiful work of inspired originality. Likewise, Gershwin’s only

quartet, the Lullaby, captures the composer’s tuneful voice.

William Bolcom, one of the most respected living American

composers, draws on that quintessential American musical style,

ragtime, for his Three Rags for string quartet. Finally, composer

and violist Ljova explores the rich melting pot of New York City’s

world music traditions in his Vjola Suite. In one movement, he

dreams about the joy of someday eating a bagel while strolling

down Havana’s Malecón boardwalk.

Works to be performed on the “Rhapsody and Idiosyncrasy”

program include:

William Bolcom, Three Rags

Gershwin, Lullaby for string quartet

Ljova, Vjola Suite

Ravel, String Quartet in F major

VIGIL

This program offers three different composers’ personal takes on

“awareness.” Mozart was highly inspired by Joseph Haydn and

dedicated a set of six string quartets to him. His K. 421 in D minor,

the second of the set, celebrates Haydn’s established and culti-

vated style. As his only quartet in a minor key, this music is at once

dramatic, bold, and introspective. Kevin Puts says of Dark Vigil that

it “was a reaction to the unrelenting pattern of violence that

plagued our country’s elementary and high schools during the year

it was written, 1999. The title was inspired by news footage I saw

of a high school in the Midwest whose students and faculty staged

a student shooting incident as a means of preparation for such an

event.” Rather than relaying a programmatic narrative, Dark Vigil

contemplates the fragility of a mind in this troubling context.

Sibelius’s Quartet Op. 56 in D minor is one of his mature works,

displaying both the conviviality and intimacy of the string quartet

as a genre. Though this quartet is subtitled “Voces Intimae”

(Intimate Voices), Sibelius wasn’t fond of talking about the meaning

behind his music. He said, “You know how the wing of a butterfly

crumbles at a touch? So it is with my compositions; the very

mention of them is fatal,” suggesting that his music should be

experienced and not explained.

Works to be performed on the “Vigil” program include:

Mozart, String Quartet in D minor, K. 421

Kevin Puts, Dark Vigil

Sibelius, String Quartet in D minor, Op. 56 “Voces Intimae”

program offerings

P H O T O B Y A RT H U R M O E L L E R

TESLA QUARTET string quartet

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ARTISTSArielprogram offerings (cont.)

PLANET SOUND

This program is a journey through the rich gamut of sound

captured by five distinct composers from distant parts of the

world. Based on the Indian view of the four seasons, John Cage’s

String Quartet in Four Parts conveys tranquility and the experi-

ence of the nine permanent emotions of the Rasa aesthetic. Chaya

Czernowin’s visceral, wild String Quartet is a rollercoaster-ride of

extreme emotions and blasting energy. Toshio Hosokawa’s quartet

Silent Flowers is a testament to his compositional aesthetic, influ-

enced decisively by his relationship to nature; as he says, “I have

always wished to compose works which might become part of the

sounds of nature, the sound of the cosmos.” The exquisite and

virtuosic Figura II Frammento per Quartetto D’Archi by Matthias

Pintscher showcases the composer’s extensive knowledge of ex-

tended techniques and sonorities for string instruments. Bold and

expressive, Chang Music IV by Yanov Yanovsky instantly teleports

the listener to Central Asia through the use of imaginative tone

shaping and percussive effects.

Works to be performed on the “Planet Sound” program include:

Chaya Czernowin, String Quartet

Matthias Pintscher, Figura II Frammento per

Quartetto D’Archi

John Cage, String Quartet in Four Parts

Toshio Hosokawa, Silent Flowers

Yanov Yanovsky, Chang Music IV

TESLA’S FAVORITES

This program brings together some of Tesla’s

personal favorites by juxtaposing a variety of

styles and moods. The charming and witty

Haydn quartet that opens the program was

composed in 1788 for the violinist Johann

Tost, a popular Esterhazy court musician. Here,

as ever, Haydn is able to evoke in the same

gesture both the cultivated atmosphere of an

aristocratic court and the boozy delirium of a

barnyard contradance. Janáček’s String Quar-

tet No. 1, inspired by Tolstoy’s The Kreutzer Sonata, was composed

quickly in 1923 and displays the composer’s adventurous palette

and vivid brush strokes. Unlike the Haydn, Kreutzer is a completely

programmatic work, meant to convey the main narrative elements

of Tolstoy’s novella in musical form: from the pangs of jealousy of

Tolstoy’s main character, Pozdnyshev, to the brutal murder of his

wife, to the rumbling train Pozdnyshev rides in seeking repentance.

The final piece on the program, from 1875, is the last of Brahms’s

three surviving quartets. Like other chamber music works by

Brahms that are in a major key, the B-flat quartet conveys a light-

hearted sentiment (a fitting foil to the tempestuous Janáček) while

maintaining a noble air. However, the gaiety of the facade belies a

rich tapestry of ideas and compositional feats that lend this quartet

its depth of character.

Works to be performed on the “Tesla’s Favorites”

program include:

Haydn, String Quartet in C major, Op. 54, No. 2

Janáček, String Quartet No. 1 “The Kreutzer Sonata”

Brahms, String Quartet No. 3 in B flat major, Op. 67

P H O T O B Y A RT H U R M O E L L E R

TESLA QUARTET string quartet

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MASTER CLASS AND CHAMBER MUSIC COACHING

The Tesla Quartet is delighted to share their knowledge through

teaching. A master class can last one to two hours, depending on

the number of groups involved, and Tesla will give ensembles the

opportunity to play a movement of their choice. Through detailed

attention to the score, the Tesla Quartet will help guide students in

discovering and highlighting the character of the music in addi-

tion to addressing more technical issues such as ensemble perfor-

mance, intonation, and balance. Members of the quartet can also

provide individual coaching to groups in a more private setting.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION

The Tesla Quartet is happy to offer community enrichment pro-

grams for a variety of audiences. Tesla has an extensive back-

ground bringing their music to schools, libraries, retirement and

assisted living centers, coffee shops, and even public transit ter-

minals. The quartet presents exciting and informative programs

that can be tailored to a particular venue or audience. Typical

programs include introducing the instruments and classical mu-

sic to young children, storytelling through music, and lecture/

performances on specific repertoire. Through these programs,

the Tesla Quartet aims not only to educate, but to excite the

creative potential of the listeners.

MEET THE TESLAS

The tradition of the string quartet is rooted in conversation,

and the Tesla Quartet is pleased to be able to continue that

dialogue beyond the stage. Possible formats for more personal

interaction include an informal post-concert Q&A or a meet-

and-greet in the lobby. Topics for discussion could address

Tesla’s concert repertoire and programming, group dynamics,

and their interpretive process.

additional offerings

P H O T O B Y A RT H U R M O E L L E R