KAIA String Quartet 

Mexican Modernist Music for String Quartet

FREE CONCERT (With Admission to the Museum)

Details

Sunday, November 17
The Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall
Free Concert (With Admission to the Museum)
CONCERT: 2:00PM

Synopsis, Program & Biography

Synopsis:

Explore the rich and colorful music of Mexico with the KAIA String Quartet. The Chicago-based all-female ensemble performs compositions by mid-century and contemporary Mexican composers, on the occasion of the exhibition In a Cloud, in a Wall, in a Chair: Six Modernists in Mexico at Midcentury. Selections include Metro Chabacano by Javier Álvarez, String Quartet No. 1 by Carlos Chávez, String Quartet No. 2 “Los Magueyes” by Silvestre Revueltas, and Cuarteto Virreinal by Miguel Bernal Jiménez.

Program:

Mexican Modernist Music for String Quartet

JAVIER ÁLVAREZ (b. 1956)

Metro Chabacano 

SILVESTRE REVUELTAS (1899 – 1940)

String Quartet No. 2, “Magueyes”

I. Allegro giocoso

II. Molto vivace

III. Allegro molto sostenuto

CARLOS CHÁVEZ (1899 – 1978)

Cuarteto de Arcos I

I. Allegro

II. Adagio

III. Vivo

  1. Sostenuto

MIGUEL BERNAL JIMÉNEZ (1910 – 1956)

Cuarteto Virreinal

I. Allegro

II. Zarabanda con variaciones

III. Minué

IV. Mosso e spigliatto

Biography:

From the tango of the Rio de la Plata to the string quartets of Silvestre Revueltas, the KAIA String Quartet is an ensemble devoted to exposing audiences to the rich and colorful music of Latin America. Active performers in both the US and abroad, highlights of the 2019-2020 season include a residency at the Avaloch Farm Institute, a tour of Argentina and Uruguay, as well as performances at concert series in North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Celebrated for its ability to “beautifully blur the lines between jazz, classical, Latin and world music” KAIA’s recent album collaboration with Fareed Haque was chosen by the Chicago Tribune as one of the top ten classical musical recordings of 2018. Their latest album, Sureño, explores the music and relationship of composers Astor Piazzolla and José Bragato.  KAIA is currently in residence at DePaul University’s Community Music Division.