Lark Quartet Discusses Chamber Music Today

Members of the Lark Quartet discuss exciting developments in chamber music, interviewed by the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy.

The Larks have performed in venues around the globe - what is special about performing in historic Hempstead House?
There is a great tradition in the arts of performing in private spaces for social groups and gatherings - in fact the history of chamber music evolved through this ritual. While Hempstead House is very grand in an American context, if we consider what role such a space may have played in a comparable European royal context, it would be right at home with the birth of much of the great western chamber music. The acoustics should be wonderful and will help everyone to appreciate the communal, empathetic experience of hearing live music in a beautiful public space.

How do you see chamber music developing today, given contemporary influences? World music influences?
Chamber Music is always developing and we enjoy our small role in celebrating some of those new directions when we embark on a new collaboration with percussion, for example, or when we commission works from some of our (and today’s) most beloved composers. The art is changing; even our perspective of the old works changes as we live with the new. It’s like the color studies of Ellsworth Kelly or Mark Rothko - just the context of seeing one color next to the other changes our experience or perception of the colors’ attributes or saturation. There is no point in trying to keep our perception unchanged, but rather enjoy the cross-fertilization.

How did you choose the program for the evening?
We are working toward two important concerts in the Lark 30th anniversary season; one in Washington DC at the end of April and at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie on May 1st. We are taking our time experiencing the works for these programs in as many different contexts. In all our programs we seek to perform diverse works that give a varied emotional and coloristic experience and we’ve stayed true to that mission in this program.

Free tickets are available for middle and high school students (must be accompanied by an adult). Why would young musicians enjoy and benefit from your concert?
They will hear sounds a hundred years old that sound brand new, and brand new sounds that could be hundreds of years old. The best music is timeless and is experienced as a mix of sounds, expression and sensory input. Hearing a string quartet live is a completely different experience than a recording; a concert is the best way to experience the vitality, the riskiness, the on-the-edge-of-your-seat excitement of a live art. Anything can happen - but you have to be there to know about it!

The Larks have performed in such renowned venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, L’Opéra de la Bastille in Paris, among many others, and they have appeared in numerous international festivals including Mostly Mozart and Wolftrap. With a distinctively passionate sound, they offer audiences new insights into the art of chamber music through programs that begin with the ensemble virtuosity of the western tradition and continue into recent music from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Beginning at 8 p.m., the evening includes cocktails at intermission and dessert with the artists following the concert.

Conservancy Members: $45 per person
Non-Members: $55 per person

Free tickets for middle and high school students - must be accompanied by an an adult.
Online code: studentCOMP
Purchase tickets online, or call the ticket line 516.304.5076 to save handling fees.

For information about the Sands Point Preserve and all programs, and to purchase a 12-month membership for free admission to the park and discounts to many events, see www.SandsPointPreserve.org, call 516-571-7901 or visit the Gatehouse at 127 Middle Neck Road, Sands Point, NY, 11050, open daily from 8 am to 5 pm.

The Sands Point Preserve Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to maintain and preserve the 216-acre waterfront grounds and historic mansions; and to provide a range of cultural events in Hempstead House and Castle Gould and educational programs for families, adults, and schools in the Phil Dejana Learning Center and Outdoor Classroom.