Performances by the Juilliard String Quartet and the classical comedy duo Igudesman & Joo highlight the 2015-16 season of Virginia Commonwealth
University’s Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts series.Violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo have built a wide following (largely via YouTube) for their physically manic yet wryly comic spoofs on classical music and its performance etiquette. The duo will stage its “And Now Mozart” program to open the coming Rennolds season on Oct. 10.
The Juilliard Quartet, due on Oct. 24, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in the coming season. In its current lineup, the quartet’s longtime cellist, Joel Krosnick, and violinist Ronald Copes, a member since 1997, perform with violinist Joseph Lin, who joined the Juilliard in 2011, and violist Roger Tapping, who joined in 2013.
Following an acclaimed performance earlier this season by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a different foursome from the society – pianist Gilles Vonsattel, violinist Aranaud Sussman, violist Paul Neubauer and cellist Paul Watkins – will give another concert of piano quartets, including Dvořák’s E flat major, Op. 87, on Feb. 20.
Two musicians familiar to Richmonders from their performances with the Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia, violinist Jesse Mills and pianist Reiko Aizawa, will return to town with cellist Raman Ramakrishnan, with whom they comprise the Horszowski Trio, for a March 19 Rennolds program.
In the final concert of the series’ 2015-16 season, the Doric String Quartet – violinists Alex Reddington and Jonathan Stone, violist Hélène Clément and cellist John Myerscough – will be joined by pianist Jonathan Biss on April 2.
To obtain a season brochure or more information on the Rennolds Chamber Concerts, call the VCU Music Department box office at (804) 828-6776.