The Delray String Quartet opened its 12th season this past weekend with a new member in the second violinist seat and a season of concerts full of unusual repertoire. The Uzbek violinist Valentin Mansurov, a familiar face to concertgoers in the area for several years now, has taken the chair occupied for years by Tomás Cotik, who in turn has joined Miami’s Amernet String … [Read more...]
Delray Quartet closes 6th season in exemplary style
The Delray String Quartet that finished its sixth season this past weekend at the Colony Hotel in its namesake’s historic downtown is a foursome that has been playing together more frequently than its earlier iterations, thanks to its expanded three-county performance schedule. And the extra time together showed Sunday, with excellent performances of quartets by Arriaga and … [Read more...]
Delray Quartet makes another advance with fine Ravel
In presenting a fine performance of one of the supreme masterworks of the 20th-century literature, the Delray String Quartet on Saturday night showed that it is an ensemble continues to grow and deepen, and that its current multi-venue concert series has been more than beneficial for it. The quartet's second program of the season, which opened at All Saints Episcopal Church … [Read more...]
Delray Quartet brings power, passion to Beethoven, Franck
There were two moments Sunday afternoon in a concert by the Delray String Quartet that gave encouraging hints about the kind of ensemble this foursome is becoming. The first moment came in the first movement of the Beethoven Fourth Quartet (in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4), around about the recapitulation, when it suddenly became clear that the musicians were working at a unified … [Read more...]
Delray String Quartet embarks on expansion
It's difficult to predict what will happen years down the road in any arts endeavor, given the vagaries of unreliable economics and audience taste. But for the foreseeable future, there will be a Delray String Quartet in some form or another. Founder Don Thompson won't have it any other way: He's already set aside a chunk of money in his will to keep the foursome going. … [Read more...]