Since 1997, Friends of Chamber Music has been presenting a full season of concerts and outreach programs by world-class musicians yearly, aiming to enrich the quality of life, entertain, and inspire.
23/24 SEASON SPONSORS
HAYS & ROBIN GLOVER
SCHOOL OF PERFORMANCE, VISUALIZATION & FINE ARTS at TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
M A R​
21
7:00PM
HENSCHEL QUARTETT
TIMOTHY
and PITTS
The year 1994 marked the foundation of the Henschel Quartett’s international career, when the quartet devoted itself exclusively to chamber music. In 1995 the quartet won multiple prizes at the international competitions of Evian, Banff, and Salzburg, and the following year won 1st Prize and the Gold Medal at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. Successful débuts in the world’s musical capitals, including an acclaimed BBC live broadcast (replacing the Juilliard Quartet), led their way to the forefront of the international chamber music scene.
The quartet’s musical journey has included many remarkable highlights. The Henschel Quartett played at the official re-opening of the Anna-Amalia Library in Weimar (a UNESCO World Heritage site), and travelled to Brussels as a Cultural Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany. In March 2010 the quartet was honored to perform at the Vatican in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI. The quartet has regularly been invited to the Royal Palace of Madrid to perform on the four Stradivari of the royal collection. In 2012 the Henschel Quartett was the first European quartet in twenty years invited to perform Beethoven’s complete string quartets in the prestigious Suntory Hall in Tokyo. That year Monika became the president of the newly-formed Association of German String Quartets, and in 2013 Christoph was appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Augsburg.
The Henschel Quartett’s recordings have been awarded many prizes, including the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and several CD of the Year Awards (IMW). Their CDs have been highly praised in such prominent titles as Gramophone Magazine, the Sunday Times (London), and the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Forthcoming is a CD of works by the acclaimed American composer Christopher Theofanidis.
Highlights of recent seasons and the current one include appearances in London, Amsterdam, New York (Carnegie Hall), Washington, DC (Dumbarton Oaks) and Tokyo. They have collaborated with the Telegraph Quartet in octet performances.
The Henschel Quartett regularly accepts invitations to teach at world-class institutions, from Yale University to the Royal Northern College of Music in England, the University of Melbourne in Australia and Geidai University Tokyo, Japan’s most important state university of the arts. The quartet is also engaged in an ongoing collaboration with the Bavarian Ministry of Culture on youth music projects in the quartet’s home city of Munich. The Henschel Quartett has been an Ambassador of SOS Children’s Villages since 2006.
The Strad Magazine has published the quartet's blog, "10 ways to achieve long-term success with your string quartet."
You may also follow the Henschel Quartett on Facebook.
Free admission, complimentary childcare
P L A N Y O U R V I S I T
E N J O Y A P R E V I E W
The Henschel Quartett appears by arrangement with Lisa Sapinkopf Artists
Timothy Pitts
Double bass
Timothy Pitts, one of the most versatile double bassists of his generation, has been heard in many of the world’s greatest concert halls as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician.
Mr. Pitts’ orchestral career began as a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, after which he held the position of principal bass of the Houston Symphony for seventeen years. He also served as principal double bass of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra under the direction of John Williams.
Mr. Pitts has appeared as soloist with the Houston, Greenville, Savannah, Albany, and Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestras. He gave the U.S. premiere of John Harbison’s Concerto for Bass Viol with Hans Graf conducting the Houston Symphony. As a chamber musician, he has performed at Bay Chamber Concerts, the Mainly Mozart Festival, Boston Musica Viva, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and the Skaneateles Festival in New York. He has collaborated with the Los Angeles Piano Quartet and the St. Lawrence, Jupiter, and Vermeer Quartets, and with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Arnold Steinhardt, Christoph Eschenbach, Heinz Holliger, Robert McDuffie, and Roberto Diaz. As a member of the Houston Symphony Chamber Players he toured Germany and Japan, and appeared at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival.
Mr. Pitts is currently Professor of Double Bass at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. In the summer he teaches and performs at the Montecito Music Festival in California and the Beijing International Music Festival and Academy. He has given master classes at the National Orchestral Institute, the New World Symphony, Boston University, Indiana University, the Glenn Gould School, and the Pacific Music Festival. His students can be found among the ranks of the world’s finest ensembles.
