6 Sonate a Quattro are the brilliant compositions from Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, written during the summer of 1804 at the young age of 12. These works, at the time, were commonly performed by wind quartet and it wasn’t until 1954 when the original manuscripts were discovered in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. showing their original arrangement for string quartet.
This recording of Rossini: 6 Sonate a Quattro features two of Canada’s most respected and beloved performers – Mark Fewer (violin), and Joel Quarrington (bass) – and two of North America’s rising stars – Yolanda Bruno (violin), and Julian Schwarz (cello) and was produced by JUNO award-winning producer John D.S. Adams. These performances, from November 2017, were recorded in collaboration with the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance using the newly released (2014) Critical Edition published by the Fondazione Rossini Pesaro.
Rossini: 6 Sonate a Quattro
Release date: March 19, 2021
Listen HERE
Violinist Mark Fewer leads a multi-disciplined life in music. Violin soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, artistic director, conductor, arranger, teacher, jazz violinist, recording artist and occasional radio host, he has performed worldwide to great critical acclaim. Described as “intrepid” (The Globe and Mail), “genre-bending” (National Post), “profound” (The WholeNote), and “freaky good”(The Gazette), he has performed around the world in halls such as Carnegie, Wigmore and Salle Pleyel, and is equally at home in recital venues such as Bartok House (Budapest) to Le Poisson Rouge (NYC) to The Forum (Taipei). His latest album, Vivaldi: Manchester Sonatas (with Hank Knox) has been streamed more than 300k times since its release in January 2020. https://www.markfewer.com/
Violinist Yolanda Bruno has been praised for her “total control of her instrument with infinite variety in the sound palette” (La Presse) and was recently named on CBC’s 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30. Yolanda has performed across North America and Europe including solos with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre Métropolitain, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and the London Mozart Players. She has appeared in festivals including the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, the Ottawa Chamberfest, Toronto Summer Music Festival, the BBC Proms and the International Musicians’ Seminar Prussia Cove. Yolanda’s performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio 2, ICI Musique as well as on BBC Radio 3. A devoted chamber musician, Yolanda has collaborated with Pinchas Zukerman, Menahem Pressler, Paul Lewis and Levon Chilingirian. https://www.yolandabruno.com/
Julian Schwarz was born to a multigenerational musical family. Heralded from a young age as a cellist destined to rank among the greatest of the 21st century, Julian’s powerful tone, effortless virtuosity, and extraordinarily large color palette are hallmarks of his style. After making his concerto debut at the age of 11 with the Seattle Symphony and his father Gerard Schwarz on the podium, he made his US touring debut with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2010. Since being awarded first prize at the inaugural Schoenfeld International String Competition in 2013, he has led an active career as soloist. https://www.julianschwarz.com/
Born in Toronto, Joel Quarrington began his formal studies of the double bass when he was thirteen. Upon graduation from the University of Toronto, he was awarded the “Eaton Scholarship” as the school’s most outstanding graduate. Joel is a winner of the Geneva International Competition and the CBC Talent Competition, and has made solo appearances across Canada, the United States, Europe and China. His recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Yefim Bronfman became an instant classic. He is particularly honoured to have been a part of a 1982 recording session with the legendary Glenn Gould for the soundtrack of Timothy Findley’s The Wars. Written for solo cello and bass and based on Brahms’ Intermezzi, this turned out to be the last music composed by Gould before his untimely death. https://joelquarrington.com/
Recording producer/engineer John D.S. Adams has been passionate about sound for 30 years. His artistic collaborations vary widely across the disciplines of recording, design and performance. As a producer/engineer Adams has worked with James Ehnes, John Cage, Neil Young, Jane Bunnett, Emanuel Ax, The Getty Center, Kevin Fox, to name a few. Many of these collaborations have resulted in multiple JUNO awards and nominations. Adams’ sound designs have been commissioned by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Blue Rider Ensemble, composer Peter Hatch, and Barishnykov’s White Oak Dance Project.
https://www.stonehousesound.com/
Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (LAMP) is an international center for advanced studies in performance and interpretation. Like the gifted young artists it trains, LAMP is propelled by passion and ambition. In a short time, it has emerged as one of the most innovative and exciting post-graduate music schools in Canada offering immersive instruction with the world’s most versatile and accomplished masters in disciplines like opera, strings, piano and composition. Burt Wathen is founder and artistic director of the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (LAMP). Raised in New Brunswick, he was longtime principal violist of the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Italy. While there, he developed his deep love of Rossini and befriended conductor Alberto Zedda, the world’s foremost authority on the composer. In 2014, Zedda led LAMP’s inaugural program focused on Rossini opera. http://www.lampns.ca/
