RIPEFG
String Quartet
Yevgeniy Sharlat
About
I wrote my first string quartet in 2000 while studying composition at Curtis. It received its premiere in Curtis Hall (now known as Field Hall) – the world’s most intimidating concert stage. Some 16 years later, I was thrilled to receive a commission from my alma mater to write a new quartet (no. 3) for the formidable Aizuri Quartet, and a bit worried, knowing that its premiere in the same hall would constitute coming full circle, which must usually go with a bit of artistic self-examination.
Soon after starting work, I lost someone who meant a great deal to me – my former student at the University of Texas, fellow composer, dear friend, melodica virtuoso, maverick artist, and a real mensch Ethan Frederick Greene. His death paralyzed me for months, so I couldn’t write. Instead, I listened to his music. When I resumed work, it felt as though we had switched places, and Ethan was now my teacher looking over my shoulder, urging me to be more patient with musical material.
On the surface, there are two ways in which Ethan left a mark on this quartet: the monogram EFG that bookends the second movement and the use of melodica – an instrument Ethan insisted on bringing to our lessons. There may also be countless others, less conscious, buried deep in the score.
Beyond that, there is little else I can say about this music. I so wish Ethan could hear it; he would have known exactly what to say about it.
Performance
| Yevgeniy Sharlat |
RIPEFG I. — II. — |
|---|---|
|
Duration
18:30 |
|
|
Commissioning Year
2015 |
|
|
Premiere
March 9, 2016 Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA |
|
|
Recording
March 9, 2016 Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA |
Artists
-
Yevgeniy Sharlat Composition
Yevgeniy Sharlat has composed music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo, theater, dance, mechanical sculptures, animations, and film. He has written string quartets for Kronos, Aeolus, Aizuri and Amphion Quartets. Other chamber music has been played by the NOW Ensemble, Hub New Music, Seattle Chamber Players, Trio Séléné, Quodlibet Ensemble, Le Train Bleu, and many others. Orchestral music has been performed by Kremerata Baltica, Seattle Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Mikkeli City Orchestra (Finland), and Chamber Orchestra Kremlin.
He was among the composers commissioned by the Kronos Quartet for its “Fifty for the Future” project. His RIPEFG appeared on Aizuri Quartet’s Grammy-nominated album “Blueprinting” and was hailed as “startlingly compelling” by the San Diego Union-Tribune. A piano quartet, commissioned by Astral Artistic Services, was described as “one of the most compelling works to enter the chamber music literature in some time” by the Philadelphia Inquirer. He collaborated with prominent choreographers Lar Lubovitch, Donald Byrd, and C. Eule, as well as a renowned dancer Lil Buck. His arrangement of Chopin’s both piano concertos were performed by Kremerata Baltica with Daniil Trifonov as s oloist at Carnegie Hall in 2018.
Mr. Sharlat is a 2020 John Simon Guggenheim Fellow; other honors include the 2006 Charles Ives Fellowship from American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Fromm Music Foundation Commission (2010), fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo, and ASCAP’s Morton Gould (2003), Boosey & Hawkes (1997), and Leiber & Stoller (1997) awards.
Born in Moscow, Russia, Mr. Sharlat came to the United States as a refugee at age 16. He studied composition at the Curtis Institute of Music (BM) and Yale University (MM, DMA). Since 2005, he has been on the composition faculty at The University of Texas at Austin.
-
Aizuri Quartet
-
Miho Saegus Violin
-
Zoë Martin-Doike Violin
-
Ayane Kozasa Viola
-
Karen Ouzounian Cello
100 for 100
100 for 100 celebrates contemporary music with a showcase of bold, original compositions and fresh perspectives.
