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19 March 2013
St. Lawrence String Quartet announces pending personnel change
The St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) will undergo a personnel change when violinist Scott St. John departs at the end of 2013. St. John is relocating to Canada with his family. The SLSQ will commence a search immediately, with the goal of identifying St. John’s successor by early fall 2013, and completing the transition by January, 2014.
Continuing SLSQ members Geoff Nuttall, Lesley Robertson, and Christopher Costanza have issued the following statement: “we are all sorry to see Scott leave the quartet -- he has been a substantial contributor to the most musically and personally rewarding of SLSQ's 24 years -- but we respect his decision and bid farewell with warm wishes. While his shoes will be hard to fill, we remain passionately committed to the great adventure that is quartet life. We eagerly look forward to continuing and building upon our commitments at Stanford, our worldwide touring, and projects with diverse composers and collaborators.”
In commenting on his decision St. John said: “working with the SLSQ for the past seven years has been a fantastic experience. Every member of SLSQ is an inspired colleague and also a friend, and one could not ask for a more supportive environment at Stanford, or a more thrilling concert dynamic within the ensemble. While the decision to leave has been difficult, recently my own family obligations have become more important, and I look forward to being a full-time father when my family is settled in Canada.”
Jonathan Berger, Stanford University’s Denning Family Provostial Professor added: “the St. Lawrence String Quartet have had a transformative effect on the University community at-large, and have been integral to the critical role the arts play at Stanford. The crown jewels of the music program, the quartet's artistry, collegiality, and passion for chamber music is felt in concert, teaching, and diverse outreach activities. We look forward to many more years of their greatness!”
2 April 2012
In perhaps the most high-profile appearances of their 22 year career, the St. Lawrence String Quartet joined forces with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas to unleash John Adams’ latest work, “Absolute Jest”. It was a thrill to be in the audience for all three San Francisco performances, and then again (following appearances in Chicago and Ann Arbor) at Carnegie Hall, for a piece which confirms Adams as today’s master of classical composition – effortlessly weaving snippets of late Beethoven into a grand tapestry which is uniquely his own. As the New York Timesconfirmed: “This 25-minute work takes about a half dozen motifs from Beethoven scores, mostly scherzos from the late quartets and piano sonatas, and uses them as raw materials to generate a pulsing, fidgety one-movement work that is Adams through and through. The brilliant St. Lawrence String Quartet dispatched the bustling solo parts, and the audience erupted in bravos.”
October 2011
The St. Lawrence String Quartet premiered a new work by Osvaldo Golijov at Stanford University. The work, entitled "Kohelet," was inspired by the Book of Ecclesiastes.
7 April 2011
Nonesuch to Release John Adams’s "Son of Chamber Symphony / String Quartet" on May 31Nonesuch Records will release John Adams’s String Quartet, performed by St. Lawrence String Quartet(for whom the work was composed in 2008), on May 31, 2011. The album is Nonesuch 523014, and will also include Adams' "Son of Chamber Symphony" performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), led by the composer. This is the first recording of both works.