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Oct. 6, 2006
St. Martin Chamber Ensemble Classical Music on a Grand Scale
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA – The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble has been called “nothing short of stunning” by Gramophone  magazine, with masterful readings of "compelling grandeur” (BBC Music).
In Cleveland, a recent concert of their was said to have “splendor in an account full of power and poetic grace” (Plain Dealer).
Cal Poly Arts presents the renowned Chamber Ensemble on Friday, October 20, 2006 at 8 p.m. in the Spanos Theatre.
The artist roster includes Ensemble leader and ciolinist Kenneth Sillito; violinists Harvey de Souza, Martin Burgess, and Jan Schmolck; Robert Smissen and Duncan Ferguson on viola; and cellists Stephen Orton and John Heley.
The Ensemble will be open their program by playing an unannounced work —
entitled “Innocent Ear” — and inviting the audience to guess the
composer and the piece, winning an Academy of St. Martin CD for the
correct guess.
They will continue with “Verklaerte Nacht (‘Transfigured Night’) in D
minor, Op. 4” composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1905 and performed in one
continuous movement).
The evening will conclude with Felix Mendelssohn’s “Octet for Strings in
E-flat major, Op. 20.”
The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields was formed in 1959 by a group of
eleven enthusiastic musicians with the aim of performing in public
without a conductor.
Their first three recordings led to a succession of long-term contracts
and the Academy quickly took their place among the most recorded
ensembles in history.
As the repertoire expanded from Baroque to Mozart, Bartok, and
Beethoven, it became necessary for the principal violin, Neville
Marriner, to conduct the larger orchestra.
The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble was created in
1967 to perform the larger chamber works — from quintets to octets —
with players who customarily work together, instead of the usual string
quartet with additional guests.
Drawn from the principal players of the orchestra, the Chamber Ensemble
tours as a string octet, string sextet, and in other configurations,
including winds.
Contracts with labels such as Philips Classics, Hyperion, and Chandos
have led to the release of over thirty CDs by the Chamber Ensemble.
The Chamber Ensemble’s touring commitments are extensive, with annual
visits to France, Germany, and Spain, and frequent tours to North and
South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan.
A pre-concert lecture will be held by Cal Poly Music professor David
Arrivée at 7 p.m. in Philips Recital Hall.
Tickets for the performance are $38 and $44, with student discounts
available, and may be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office, 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
To order by phone, call 805/756-2787; to order by fax: 805/756-6088.
Order on-line at www.pacslo.org. Sponsored by KCBX 90.1 FM.
For audio and video samples of Cal Poly Arts events, visit www.calpolyarts.org.
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