The Daily Campus

Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Matt Lin Celebrating 21 years of artistry, the stylistically sophisticated Orion String Quartet is one of the most sought after ensembles in the United States.

A stirring calm seemed to fill the air as the Orion String Quartet played its first notes of Hugo Wolf's Italian Serenade" a calmness filled the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts yesterday night. This was in sharp contrast to the lively theme of the piece by the 19th-century Austrian composer.

The Orion String Quartet brought out all the various melodies to capture the rich Italian spirit. Since the foundation of the Orion String Quartet was founded over 20 years ago they have released nine albums and gained a considerable amount of respect in the music world.

Noted for their interpretations of the Beethoven quartets, the Orion String Quartet is now considered at the forefront of chamber music. This high reputation has led them to perform alongside some of music's finest, including Isaac Stern and Yo Yo Ma. The quartet is made up of brothers Daniel and Todd Phillips who both play violin, Steven Tenenborn on viola and Timothy Eddy on cello.

The highlight of the night came with the final piece: "Sextet in B-flat Major" by Johannes Brahms. For this piece, guest performers Theodore Arm on violin and Kangho Lee on the cello sat in to reach the necessary six performers. All during the piece the audience members seemed to find themselves completely absorbed in the music.

"Though all I really wanted was Tang, when they started playing I wanted Tang a lot less," said Ali Telmesani, a 6th-semester English major. "Then I wanted Tang again after they stopped playing."

In complete contrast to the warmth of the first pieces, the Orion String Quartet followed the "Italian Serenade" with the more tense "Bagatelles" by Anton Webern. The darkness of the piece struck a chord with much of the audience.

"I thought the whole performance was enjoyable with a diverse selection, and I thought the interpretation of the Webern piece was very good," said Marine Bodinaud, a graduate student studying French.

For the group's final piece before intermission the Orion String Quartet had a treat in store when they played Mendelssohn's "Quartet in D Major." The number allowed ample of opportunity for the quartet to play an assortment of musical moods and show off their bold interpretation of the piece. The regal feeling of the piece is no surprise, as Mendelssohn originally wrote it for the Crown Prince of Sweden.

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