November 11, 2024

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us last night for our first Showcase Soirée of the season at Mansion Hill Sanctuary! What a magical night hearing the Red Door Quartet perform Leoš Janáček’s captivating String Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata”, and the exciting world premiere of “In One Act” by Philip Marten. It was a night filled with so much creativity, inspiration, artistry, and community.

About the program:
This program, curated by violinist Philip Marten, will feature two works for string quartet:

For centuries, comparisons have been drawn between musical composition and literary rhetoric. There are small-scale organizational patterns like sentences and phrases that are shared between the two mediums, as well as more macro-level concepts such as proposing a problem or question to the consumer and then leading them on a journey towards resolution (or not!). Both of the works on this evening’s programs lean into this connection between music and literature. 

The first, String Quartet No. 1 by Leoš Janáček is nicknamed after the work that inspired it, The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy. Janáček uses Moravian and Russian folk tunes to illustrate the emotions and tensions of Tolstoy’s characters, evoking their struggles with love, jealousy, and violence.

The second work on this program follows the structure of an imagined one-act play, with each movement representing a different scene. The first movement introduces characters in their context, the second represents action and reaction, the third serves as an opportunity for character monologues (instrumental solos), and the fourth brings the characters together again in connection with all that has happened to them.

About the Red Door Quartet:
The Red Door Quartet, comprised of Philip Marten and Rachel Charbel, violins, Gabriel Napoli, viola, and Nicholas Mariscal, cello, are all members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Going beyond their traditional roles as members of the CSO string sections, the Red Door Quartet was founded so members could collaborate in the more intimate manner afforded by the quartet repertoire.  Named after their debut recital venue, the name pays homage to the red doors of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pleasant Ridge.