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Hawthorne String Quartet
Si-Jing Huang, Violin Sato Knudsen, Cello
Since its inception in 1986, the Hawthorne String Quartet has performed extensively throughout Europe, South America, Japan and the United States, including major festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia and Aspen. The Quartet has an expansive repertoire ranging from the classics of the 18th and 19th centuries to contemporary works. It has distinguished itself internationally by championing the works of composers persecuted during the Nazi regime, with an emphasis on the Czech composers incarcerated in the Theresienstadt concentration camp (Terezín). The Quartet boasts a rich history of collaborations with Christopher Hogwood, Ned Rorem, Andre Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Marta Argerich and the Philobolus Dance Company. In addition, it has made solo appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), National Symphony, Julliard Orchestra and the Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie. With the BSO and the Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie, the Hawthorne String Quartet gave the American and German premiere performances of Schulhoff’s Concerto for Solo String Quartet and Wind Chamber orchestra.
In October 1991, the Quartet performed in Terezín and Prague in ceremonies hosted by Presidents Havel and Herzog to mark the opening of the Ghetto Museum in Terezín and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first transports to the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. The quartet has since returned for additional performances in the Czech Republic. Most recently they performed concerts in Prague and Terezín in November 2002 at the invitation of President Vaclav Havel and under the sponsorship of the U.S. State Department. The concerts were part of a diplomatic cultural mission to raise funds for Czech flood relief and restoration efforts at Pamatník Terezín. The quartet gave a return performances in Terezín and Prague Castle in 2004..
The Quartet's recording, Chamber Music from Theresienstadt, has received international critical acclaim and won the Preis der Schallplattenkritik in 1991. Their Silenced Voices CD on Northeastern Records also premiered newly recovered music of composers persecuted during World War II. The recordings were produced by the Terezín Chamber Music Foundation.
Displaying a diverse repertoire, the Hawthorne Quartet has also recorded compact discs featuring chamber music by the American composers Arthur Foote, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Thomas Oboe Lee and David Post in addition to several motion picture and documentary soundtracks. Throughout its travels, the quartet has performed on radio and television programs worldwide and in dicumentaries.
In April 1993, the Hawthorne Quartet began recording with the London Decca Recording Company. As part of London Decca's Entartete Musik Project, its first recording of the Haas and Krasa string quartets was released in April 1994. The recording was awarded Belgium's Cecilia Grand Prix Special Du Jury. The award was presented in recognition of "an exceptional undertaking and paying homage to an interpreter who has made a mark on the history of recorded sound."
Their next recording on the London Decca label was Ervin Schulhoff's Concerto for Solo String Quartet and Chamber Orchestra. The quartet gave the American premiere of this work with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Upcoming projects include recordings, the commissioning and performance of new chamber works and educational programs spearheaded by the Terezín Chamber Music Foundation. 2007 Hawthorne String Quartet concert tours include chamber and solo appearances touring in Europe and the United States.
The Hawthorne String Quartet includes Boston Symphony Orchestra violinists Ronan Lefkowitz and Si-Jing Huang, violist Mark Ludwig, and cellist Sato Knudsen. Based in Boston, the quartet takes it name from the New England novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Quartet was appointed Quartet-In-Residence at Boston College in 1998.
DISCOGRAPHY:
Chamber Music from Theresienstadt – Channel Classics CCS 1691
.Silenced Voices CD - Northeastern Records NR 248
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Chamber Music – KOCH International 3-7056-2
Haas and Krása String Quartets – London DECCA 440 853-2
Ervin Schulhoff Concerto for Solo String Quartet and Chamber Orchestra. – London DECCA 444 819-2
Finding a Voice: Musicians in Terezin – TCMF Collection 34-001
Mistletoe Sax and Strings – North Star Music NS 164
Sax Across America– North Star Music NS 176
Virtuoso Trumpet – KLEOS Classics KL 5114
Cradle Songs: A Collection of Lullabies from Around the World-IHJ Productions
An Introduction to Entartete Musik - London DECCA 452-664-2
Thomas Oboe Lee String Quartets – KOCH International 3-7452-2-III
Concert for Terezin – TCMF: Turquoise Bee Records 34-002
DOCUMENTARIES:
DESSA: A Legacy From Theresienstadt
Entartete Musik: The Birth of a Project
In the Shadow of the Reich: NAZI Medicine
The Last Dance: Maurice Sendak and Philobolus
Terezin: life from death
Terezin: resistance and revival
FILM SCORES:
Lost Momentum
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr.
Schindler’s List
The Secret of Roan Inish