Guarneri String Quartet to Perform at Converse
On Monday, March 2nd, the celebrated Guarneri String Quartet will perform in Converse College’s Daniel Recital Hall at 8 p.m. as part of the college’s 26th season of the Carlos Moseley Chamber Music Series.
The concert, which will include the String Quartet in F Major by Maurice Ravel, will be steeped in significance as the Quartet is in the midst of its retirement tour. The performance is for subscribers to the Moseley Series. If you’d like to become a member, contact Sarah Spigner in Converse’s Petrie School of Music at (864) 596-9193.
Referred to as being “among the most revered and enduring ensembles of its kind in the world” by National Public Radio, the Guarneri String Quartet has circled the globe countless times since the group was formed in 1964, made numerous recordings, and played again and again in the most prestigious halls around the world. They have been featured on many television and radio specials, documentaries and educational presentations both in North America and abroad. They have been interviewed by Charles Kuralt on CBS’ nationwide television program, Sunday Morning. A full-length film entitled High Fidelity – The Guarneri String Quartet was released nationally, to great critical and public acclaim, in the fall of 1989 (the film was directed and produced by Allan Miller who was also the director/producer of the Academy Award-winning documentary, From Mozart to Mao, which dealt with Isaac Stern’s visit to China). The quartet is also the subject of various books including Quartet by Helen Drees Ruttencutter (Lippincott & Crowell, 1980), The Art of Quartet Playing: the Guarneri in Conversation with David Blum (Alfred A. Knopf, 1986) and Arnold Steinhardt’s Indivisible by Four: A String Quartet in Pursuit of Harmony (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998).
But as all good things must come to an end, The Guarneri has announced its retirement at the completion of the 2008-09 season, and will celebrate by touring extensively throughout the United States.
For decades the name Carlos Moseley has been synonymous with musical excellence. A Spartanburg native and former executive of the New York Philharmonic, Carlos Dupre Moseley has served on the boards of Converse College and Brevard Music Center, and has been awarded honorary doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School, Duke University, Wofford College and Converse College. Additionally, he is a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor available to a citizen of South Carolina, and has been named an Honorary Member of The Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.
The Friends of the Petrie School of Music was formed in 1983 by a group of devoted Converse faculty, administrators, and community supporters. Their mission was to entice future generations to the Converse campus through new avenues in musical programming, audience development, and support projects for the Petrie School. Spearheading the effort were Carlos Moseley, the first president and later chairman of the board of the New York Philharmonic; Henry Janiec, then Dean of the School of Music; Dicksie Cribb, Converse alumna and respected arts leader; and the late John McCrae, professor emeritus of voice and opera.