Lyrica Chamber Music concert of piano quartets

Piano quartets have inspired some of the finest music from composers such as Mozart, Schumann, and Brahms. So what could be better than an afternoon featuring music for this classic ensemble of piano, violin, viola and cello.

Lyrica Chamber Music has assembled a stellar cast of musicians – pianist Orion Weiss, violinist Deborah Buck, violist Paul Laraia, and co-artistic director Ani Kalayjian on cello – for a 3 p.m. concert on Sunday, Nov. 24, at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township, 240 Southern Blvd.

Lyrica concerts are presented with the support of Morris Arts which seeks to build community through the arts. Sunday’s concert will be preceded by a performance by students from Summit High School.

The program will include piano quartets by Antonin Dvorak, Joaquin Turina, and, somewhat unexpectedly, Gustav Mahler. Deborah Buck will team with Orion Weiss for Violin and Piano Romances by Clara Schumann.

Two of the quartets will have a nationalistic flavor with the finale of the Dvorak quartet featuring hints of folk music and Turina’s spiced with Spanish color.

“Joaquín Turina's Spanish heritage is vividly present in his Piano Quartet, with influences from Spanish folk music that feature intricate rhythms and vibrant harmonies that bring Spain’s rich musical traditions to life,” says Paul Laraia. “Turina weaves dance rhythms like the fandango and sevillanas throughout the piece, requiring performers to execute complex, syncopated patterns with style.”

Laraia explains that Turina’s compositional techniques “mirror the passionate and lyrical vocal and instrumental qualities of Spanish music.”

Musicians playing this music need to look beyond the notes on the page.

“For performers, capturing the essence of Turina’s heritage means going beyond technical accuracy to embrace the quartet’s emotional depth and nuanced phrasing,” Laraia says. “We must balance the music’s fiery rhythms with a sense of lyricism, interpreting each phrase with an understanding of Spanish expressiveness. A successful performance demands not only technical skill and close ensemble coordination but also a sensitivity to the cultural spirit that infuses Turina's work.”

Mahler, the great symphonist and composer of song cycles, is rarely associated with chamber music. But the teenage Mahler, still learning his craft, began a piano quartet. All that survives is the first movement, and it is unclear if he ever completed the work.

Are the characteristics of Mahler’s music beginning to take form in this early composition? On Sunday you can listen and learn.

Deborah Buck hears “a true and distinct musical voice that evokes intense emotion and passion” in the Romances of Clara Schumann. “Her use of rhythm and harmony depict love, innocence, and are deeply emotional.

“She wrote these pieces after a rather long break from composing and during a time of great torment caused by the mental illness of her husband, Robert Schumann,” Buck says. “These pieces were some of her last works ever written. I am amazed and inspired by her life as a touring concert pianist, mother to eight children, manager of all the household finances, teacher, and mentor to so many young composers, like Johannes Brahms.”

Buck has performed many times with Weiss, but will making her first collaboration with Laraia and Kalayjian.

“It is always exciting and inspiring to work with Orion, and equally as fun to work with new artists!” Buck says. “I get to do both on Nov. 24. There is such an opportunity to learn from one another and hear the music in different ways. This is why I have always loved rehearsing just as much as performing. I love the process of sharing ideas – even sometimes disagreeing, but in the end, developing a unified and gratifying performance for our audience.”

Praised by The Strad for her “surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” violinist Deborah Buck has built a rich and varied musical career as a chamber musician – including 17 years with the celebrated Lark Quartet, as well as a concertmaster, pedagogue, soloist, recording artist, and artistic director. Since 2014, Ms. Buck has held the positions of Head of Strings and Chamber Music and Assistant Professor of Violin at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music.

One of the most sought-after soloists and chamber music collaborators of his generation, Orion Weiss is widely regarded as a “brilliant pianist” (The New York Times) with “powerful technique and exceptional insight” (The Washington Post). In 2025, Weiss will release Arc III, the final album in his recital trilogy, on First Hand Records. His performance schedule has included engagements with violinist James Ehnes, who joins Weiss for a return to London’s Wigmore Hall and for performances of the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Seattle.

Acclaimed by the Strad for "eloquent” and "vibrant" playing, Paul Laraia is the 1st Prize winner of both the 13th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, and the 14th National Sphinx Competition, Gold Medalist with High Distinction at the 5th Manhattan International Music Competition, and has been soloist with major orchestras such as the Pittsburgh Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Filharmonica de Bogata, New Jersey Symphony, Nashville Symphony, New Haven Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Sphinx Virtuosi.

Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “representing the young, up-and-coming generation,” and a “superb cellist with a large, expressive, singing tone, passionate musicianship, and magnificent playing” by the Journal Tribune, Armenian-American cellist Ani Kalayjian enjoys a prolific career as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and educator that has taken her to Japan, Australia, Canada, the Middle East, and throughout Europe and the United States. In addition to being Lyrica’s co-artistic director, she is also artistic director at the Woman's Club of Englewood for which she created Carriage House Concerts.

Tickets for Lyrica concerts are $30 ($25 for seniors), and students and children are admitted free. For more information about Lyrica Chamber Music, visit www.lyricachambermusic.com or call 973-309-1668.