October 1, 2023

Penderecki String Quartet

& Oskar Espina Ruiz, clarinet

The Penderecki String Quartet, “an ensemble of formidable power and keen musical sensitivity” (Fanfare Magazine), and CMW artistic director, Oskar Espina Ruiz, clarinet, join forces to present two major clarinet quintets: Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, an audience favorite, and Coleridge-Taylor’s Romantic gem for the same ensemble, inspired by Dvorak and Brahms. Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet, a neoclassical work that glances back to the Baroque era, completes the program with elements of Czech folk music, tango, and a relentless rhythmic drive.

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Celebrating their 36th anniversary, the Penderecki String Quartet began their career as winners of the Penderecki Prize at the National Chamber Music Competition in Łódz, Poland in 1986. Now based in Waterloo, Ontario where they have been Quartet-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University since 1991, The Penderecki String Quartet has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation.  The four Penderecki musicians (now originating from Poland, Canada, and USA) bring their varied yet collective experience to create performances that demonstrate their “remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep” (Toronto, Globe and Mail).

 

MOZART Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581

SCHULHOFF Five Pieces for String Quartet

COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Clarinet Quintet in F Sharp Minor, Op. 10