Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes back the Fauré Quartett, joined by double
bassist Luis Primera on March 19, 2019, at 8:00 pm in Samueli Theater.
The concert features a unique pairing from the repertory of piano quintets that include the double bass, along with Frank Bridge’s
delightfully tuneful Phantasy. Quartett members include Dirk Mommertz, piano; Erika Geldsetzer, violin;
Sascha Froembling, viola; and Konstantin Heidrich, cello.
Single tickets start at $39 and are now available online at www.SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town
Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings of 10 or
more, please call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236.
PROGRAM NOTES
Bridge: Phantasy for Piano Quartet
Frank Bridge (1879-1941) composed the Phantasy for Piano Quartet in 1909-1910 as an entry into an
annual competition sponsored by Walter Cobbett, an English businessman and amateur violinist who wanted
to revive the “Fantasy” form of earlier British music. A Fantasia is generally a short, freely constructed musical
composition in one movement with sections alternating in mood and texture. In Bridge’s quartet, there is just
one movement, with six short sections separated by changes in key, tempo, mood, and texture. Like much
Victorian and Edwardian British music, it is infused with an atmosphere of the sea, whether in the gentle
rocking of unhurried three-beat rhythms or in the wave-like ripples of piano passages.
Vaughan Williams: Quintet in C Minor
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) completed the Piano Quintet in C Minor in 1903, extensively revising it
over the next two years before its premiere in London’s Aeolian Hall. The four fiery falling chords that open
the quartet are immediately inverted and expanded into a flowing melody for viola. Violin and then the full
ensemble develop the idea into a mighty statement over a sustained pedal note low in the double bass. The
second movement has a hymn-like melody, over which the piano lingers long and lovingly, with echoes of
the four-note motif from the opening before moving to provide unity in the finale. Although he consigned the
Piano Quintet to oblivion for the better part of a century, Williams did not forget the work, again writing
variations on the final movement theme in the finale of his Violin Sonata.
Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 “Trout”
Sylvester Paumgartner, a wealthy amateur cellist commissioned Franz Schubert (1797-1828) to write a
quintet, with similar instrumentation to include variations on one of his favorite songs by the composer, the
very popular Die Forelle, The Trout. The movement starts with a simplified version of the opening of the
song. As the music progresses, the theme only gradually reveals its full subtleties, culminating in the final
variation, the focal point of the quintet. The work’s great clarity of texture comes about largely through the
way Schubert contrasts the rich, resonant scoring for the four string instruments with a brighter, more
transparent piano line—created by having the pianist frequently play in octaves high in the upper range of
the keyboard. A hallmark of the work, the piano is usually heard in dialogue with the strings, rather than in a
mutual single texture that develops the work’s themes.
The Fauré Quartett has established itself as one of the world’s leading piano quartets within just a few years.
Dirk Mommertz (piano), Erika Geldsetzer (violin), Sascha Froembling (viola) and Konstantin Heidrich (cello)
have discovered new sound fields in chamber music and perform compositions outside the mainstream
chamber music repertoire.
They are visionary in their approach and highly regarded for their experiments and discoveries; be it
performances with the NDR Big Band, collaborations with artists like Rufus Wainwright or Sven Helbig,
appearances in clubs like the Berghain, Cocoon Club or “Le Poisson Rouge” in New York or TV shows in
KIKA or “Rhapsody in School,” getting children excited in chamber music. When they released their album
“Pop songs” in 2009, there was a great deal of buzz in the press and audience. In the following year, the
ensemble was awarded the ECHO Classic for their album “classic beyond borders,” their second award after
their recording of Brahms’ piano quartets (Chamber Music recording of the year, 2008).
Other prizes include
the German Music Competition, the ensemble prize from Festspiele Mecklenbug-Vorpommern, international
competition and recording awards, Music Prize Duisburg and Brahms prize Schleswig Holstein.
The musicians of the Fauré Quartett are pioneers in many ways. After they met during their studies in 1995
in Karlsruhe for the 150th anniversary of Gabriel Faure, the quickly realized that this combination offered new
insights into undiscovered repertoire. In 2006, they signed a contract with Deutsche Grammophon,
promoting them to the Champions League of classic music business. They made highly regarded
benchmark-recordings with works by Mozart, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and pop songs from Peter Gabriel and
Steely Dan. Sony Classical has just released works from Mahler and Richard Strauss.
Worldwide tours raise their profile abroad and international masterclasses are part of their work with
students. The members teach at the universities of Berlin and Munich. Moreover, they were Artistic Directors
of “Festspielfruehling Rügen” and are ‘Quartet in Residence’ at the University of Music Karlsruhe. During
their tours, the musicians appear in the world’s most important chamber music venues including
Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Berlin Philharmony, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires and
Wigmore Hall London. All these mosaics form a unique profile for this defining chamber music ensemble.
Luis Primera
Luis Primera is a native of Venezuela where he began playing the double bass at age 14. In 2008 he
became in a member of Latin American Academy of Double Bass where he studied with Felix Petit. He
served as the principal bass with the Carabobo Orchestra of Venezuela and since 2008. He toured with the
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel to the United States, South
America, the Middle East, and Europe as Tutti bassist per 6 years. As a soloist, he has performed Nino
Rota’s “Divertimento Concertante.” With orchestras in Venezuela. He was a semi-finalist in the International
Society of Bassists Competition in 2015 and Europe BASS Competition in 2016 in the solo- category. He has
participated in masterclasses with Timothy Cobb, Dominic Seldis, Kevin Brown, Edicson Ruiz, and Klaus
Stoll. Mr. Primera is a Performance Diploma candidate at the Colburn School, where he studies with Peter
Lloyd and he is currently a member of the American Youth Symphony.
Segerstrom Center is a leader among the nation’s performing arts centers for providing education programs
designed to inspire young people through the arts. The Center’s programs reach hundreds of thousands of
students each year in five Southern California counties. Community engagement programs developed
through the Center for Dance and Innovation and Center Without Boundaries also connect the Center more
comprehensively with Orange County’s many diverse communities. The CDI supports flagship artistic
programming and a wide range of projects that celebrate innovation, nurture creativity and engage
audiences of the future.
FAURÉ QUARTETT
Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Samueli Theater
600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA
Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Program:
Bridge: Phantasy for Piano Quartet
Vaughan Williams: Quintet in C Minor
Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 “Trout”
Tickets – Start at $39
In person – The Box Office
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily
Online – SCFTA.org
Phone – (714) 556-2787
Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily
Group Sales – (714) 755-0236
Information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the
Arts is a public, non-profit organization. “Segerstrom Center for the Arts” is a registered trademark.
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