If assuming someone else’s name is a high tribute, Hugo Wolf must beam with pride as he sits among the celestial classical music composers.
Wolf is considered among one of the main figures in the Viennese school of Romantic classical music that evolved during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1997, four young musicians at the Vienna University of Music were given a rare honor, when the International Hugo Wolf Society granted their request to assume the name of the renown composer.
At 7 p.m. on Oct. 17, the Hugo Wolf Quartett will show why it is worthy of the high honor, when the foursome from Vienna appears as the second act in the 2008-09 Live From the Center concert series in the Simmons Center in Duncan.
Within a span of 10 years, the Hugo Wolf Quartett (Yes, the double “t” on quartet is correct Austrian spelling!) has developed from a chamber music lover’s insider tip to one of the most sought after string quartets of its generation.
Sebastian Gurtler, Regis Bringolf, Gertrud Weinmeister and Floria Berner have been dubbed “new stars in the quartet heaven.” The Los Angeles Times says the quartet’s music is “urgent and impassioned, but with an absolute commitment to the ideal values of every note.”
While taking a place among chamber quartet luminaries, the Hugo Wolf Quartett has played the most prominent concert halls and festivals in Europe, the United States, South America, Japan and Central America.
The group’s play list acknowledges their namesake and also bows to masters such as Bartok, Brahms and Beethoven.
However, the quartet also cast a spotlight on 20th century composers like Austrian composer Franz Mittler, and the playful compadres have also ventured into partnerships with jazz musicians Kenny Wheeler and John Taylor.
Tickets for the Oct. 17 performance at the Live From the Center series sponsored by the Chisholm Trail Arts Council are on sale at the CTAC office, 717 W. Willow St., Suite 6, Duncan, OK 73533 or at the Simmons Center, 800 Chisholm Trail Parkway, Duncan.
Tickets are also available by calling CTAC at (580) 252-4160 or the Simmons Center at (580) 252-2900, or by ordering online at www.chisholmtrailarts.com.
