Pacifica Quartet reasserts its skills with popular, challenging pieces

By Malkah Bressler / March 7, 2006

The audience size of the Pacifica Quartet has grown tremendously over the past few years. Whereas two years ago, Mandel Hall was a sea of empty chairs during a performance, a surge of concert-going enthusiasts have recently taken the hall by storm. Such was the case this past Sunday when the Pacifica Quartet presented their...

Harding and Vogt disappoint with passionless renditions of classics

By Malkah Bressler / November 22, 2005

During this age—in which the production of and interest in new classical music is incomparable to that which occurred more than 100 years ago—the trend has evolved so that it is no more the sound of new notes that strike the audience’s ears, but rather, how old classics are rendered. Thus, the reason why we...

Hottest show in town pairs conductor Levine and CSO director Barenboim

By Malkah Bressler / May 26, 2005

Getting student tickets to the CSO is usually easy on a weeknight. You go an hour before the concert, pay $10 to 15 in cash, and voila! You are allowed to hear and watch one of the best orchestras in the country. So imagine my surprise when after calling ahead, I learned that there were...

Pacifica Quartet takes its time to cohere but triumphs by end of the night

By Malkah Bressler / May 6, 2005

This past Friday, the University of Chicago Presents saw its last Pacifica Quartet concert of the 2004-2005 season. The concert began with Beethoven’s Quartet in D major, Op. 18, No. 3, and Hindemith’s String Quartet, Op. 22. They were joined in the second half by the renowned Menahem Pressler for Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat,...

Quartet-in-residence again awes the Mandel faithful

By Malkah Bressler / February 4, 2005

It was a truly beautiful concert. The Pacifica Quartet constructed a program that complemented their skill in terms of both breadth and expression. They began with Schubert’s early String Quartet in E-flat Major, D.87, and then launched into the 20th century with Janácek’s String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters.” After the ensemble’s pastoral and euphonious...

Piano prodigy makes up for inconsistent orchestra

By Malkah Bressler / January 14, 2005

A conglomeration of early classical music—two Haydn symphonies, No. 86 in D Major and No. 99 in E-flat minor, flanked by the early modern Bartók Piano Concerto No. 2—made for an unusual concert at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on January 6. The result, although initially disconcerting, proved to be dazzling upon better acquaintance with the...