Concert Review: Golden State Warriors

The Carnegie Hall debut of the Calidore String Quartet
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Jeffrey Myers, Jeremy Berry, Estelle Choi and Ryan Meehan: the Calidore String Quartet.
Photo from the group's official website, calidorequartet.com

The arrival of a string quartet for its first performance at Carnegie Hall--here at the intimate upstairs Weill Recital Hall--is a momentous occasion, especially if that quartet is a group of talented and ambitious musicians. So it was on Tuesday night when the California-based Calidore String Quartet played a concert of works by Mozart, Hindemith and Mendelssohn at its first concert on W. 57th St.

Concert Review: Cliff Notes

The Dover String Quartet at Weill Recital Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Dover Quartet (Joel Link, Bryan Lee, Camden Shaw, Milena Pajaro-Van de Stadt)
playing Samuel Barber. Image from DoverQuartet.com

The playing of string quartets remains one of the most cerebral of music disciplines, and the interplay between two violins, viola and cello has fascinated composers and listeners for centuries. On Friday night, Weill Recital Hall was packed to hear the Dover Quartet take on major pieces by Dvořák, Berg and Beethoven, in a performance that was both a watershed and a welcome for this young ensemble.

Concert Review: He's Ready for the World

Behzod Abduraimov at Weill Recital Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Bezhod Abduraimov.
Photo by Ben Ealavega © 2015 Decca Classics.

The first Carnegie Hall recital by a promising young pianist is an important occasion. When that artist is Behzod Abduraimov, the young powerhouse playing a musically conservative (but pianistically ambitious) program of Chopin, Schubert and Ravel, that occasion becomes a hot ticket, especially when that recital is held in the cozy (268 seats) elegance of Weill Recital Hall, located upstairs from the more famous Hall that Music Built.