The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center returns to Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts November 10 | Press Releases

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center returns to Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts for the second of three concerts this season on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. with an evening devoted to the music of Gabriel Fauré. Journalist Robert Sherman will hold a pre-concert "Art to Heart" discussion from 7-7:40 p.m.

"One could no more analyze a work of Faure's than one could dissect the wing of a butterfly," wrote the French critic Bernard Gavoty of his compatriot. It is an apt metaphor: Faure's scores, like a butterfly's wing, are strong but never bulky, and their magic resides in the luminous, elusive beauty with which their details interact.

The evening's repertoire includes the "Sonata No. 1 in A major for Violin and Piano, Op. 13" (1875-76). It is in this early composition that Fauré's talent was first fully revealed. Once it premiered in 1877, it was immediately taken in to the violin repertory and it remains one of Fauré's most highly regarded compositions.

The "Dolly Suite for Piano, Four Hands, Op. 56" (1893-96) is a delightful collection of keyboard miniatures composed for the daughter of Emma Bardac who became Fauré's mistress. So small was she as a baby, the tiny infant Hélène's nickname was Dolly. Three of the six pieces comprising the "Dolly Suite" were Fauré's musical birthday gifts for her.

The "Quartet No. 2 in G minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 45" (1885-86) begins with a sweeping unison string theme of almost symphonic breadth. It is followed by a Scherzo possessed of a kind of demonic force that is rare in Fauré's writing and an Adagio with a twilight mood and meditative serenity that, the composer said, recalled the evening bells he heard as a child in southwest France. The work closes with a thematically rich Finale that resumes the impassioned energy of the opening movement.

The five-piece ensemble features pianists Inon Barnatan and André-Michel Schub, violinist Elmar Oliveira, violist Richard O'Neill and cellist Andrés Diaz.

Inon Barnatan's blossoming career takes him to some of the most important music centers and festivals worldwide. In recent seasons he has made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall; he has appeared at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, Shanghai's Arts Theater and the Rising Stars series of the Ravinia and Gilmore festivals.

André-Michel Schub has been described by The New York Times as "Pianistically flawless...a formidable pianist with a fierce integrity." He has appeared internationally at music centers and festivals. Since 1997, he has been artistic director of chamber music at the Virginia Arts Festival. Recipient of a 1977 Avery Fisher Career Grant, he won the 1974 Naumburg International Piano Competition and the 1981 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

A commanding violinist, Elmar Oliveira remains the first and only American to win the Gold Medal at Moscow's Tchaikovsky International Competition. Richard O'Neill is one of the very few violists to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a Grammy Award Nomination (Best Soloist with orchestra). He has made concerto appearances with the London Philharmonic, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic.

Since winning the First Prize in the 1986 Naumburg International Cello Competition, Andrés Diaz has exhilarated both critics and audiences with his intense and charismatic performances. The New York Times described his musical style as a "strongly personal interpretive vision."

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center returns to the Quick Center next spring for its final appearance of the season on April 26.

Tickets are $35 and are available online at www.quickcenter.com or by calling the Quick Center Box Office at (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 1-877-ARTS-396. For further information, please visit www.quickcenter.com.