The Abramyan String Quartet, composed of violinists Gerald Elias and Lynnette Stewart, violist Scott Lewis and cellist John Eckstein, will perform at 5 p.m. today at the Museum of Fine Arts on the University of Utah campus.
The program, a benefit for the Utah Wilderness Coalition, will feature readings by Terry Tempest Williams from her new book of essays, "An Unspoken Hunger: Stories From the Field" (see related story on E10). Musical selections will include Schubert's Quartet in A minor, Op. 29, David Crumb's "Movement for String Quartet" and three movements from Beethoven's Op. 130.The quartet was formed in 1993 to honor its members' late Utah Symphony colleague, violinist Ashot Abramyan. This afternoon's concert marks its formal debut. Tickets are $10, available at the door.
- THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Concert Chorale will present its annual spring concert at 7:30 this evening in Room 200 of the U.'s Gardner Hall. Under John M. Cooksey, with Celia Baker as assistant conductor, the chorale will sing music of Byrd, Victoria, Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Holst and Gilbert Martin, among others. In addition the 24-voice Chamber Chorale will be heard in music of Morley, Jannequin and Dello Joio.
Tickets are $5 ($3 students, $12 family) at the door.
- SHELLEY SHOWERS, principal horn of the Utah Symphony, will be the featured soloist at a concert by the Wasatch Community Symphony Orchestra to be presented this eveing at 7:30 at First Presbyterian Church, South Temple and C Street.
Showers will solo in two pieces, Saint-Saens' "Morceau de Concert" and "Romance" in F major. She will also conduct the orchestra in Beethoven's "Egmont" Overture and Handel's "Where E'er You Walk," as arranged by Leroy Anderson.
In addition Fred Anderson and Herb Ruttenberg will solo in John Peter Guzinger's Concerto in C major for Two Trumpets and Strings and a brass quartet will perform Jared Spears' "A Joyous Prelude." Admission is free.
- THE WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Faculty String Quartet will present a program of chamber music Monday, May 2, in the Ogden school's Browning Center for the Performing Arts.
Featured will be pianist Yu-Jane Yang, violinists Shi-Hwa Wang and Peggy Wheelwright, violist Michael Palumbo and guest cellist James McWhorter in performances of Beethoven's String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2, and Lalo's Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor. Starting time is 7:30 p.m. and admission is free.
- BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY faculty guitarist Lawrence Green will present a free recital Tuesday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall of the Provo school's Harris Fine Arts Center.
Green will play music of Turina ("Se-vil-la-nas"), Savio ("Batucada") and Granados, as well as his own variations on the hymn tune "Kingsfold." In addition flutist Elaine Jorgensen will perform "Aria" from Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasilieras" No. 5 and "Entr'Acte" by Jacques Ibert.
Another BYU faculty member, pianist Massimiliano Frani, will present a free recital Thursday, May 5, also at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall. His program will consist of Chopin's "Polonaise-Fantasie" in A-flat major and the Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Schubert's "Drei Klavierstucke" and Ravel's "La Valse."
Born in Italy, Frani graduated from the Venice Conservatory of Music and from BYU, where he studied with Paul Pollei. He has won several honors including first prize in the Italian Albenga National Piano Competition and third prize at the Venice Festival.
- THE EARLY-MUSIC GROUP Musica Reservata will present its spring concert Wednesday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Temple Square Assembly Hall and Thursday, May 5, at 8 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Logan.
Titled "An Evening of Pleasant Diversion: Chamber Music of the 17th and 18th Centuries," the program will include a "musical operation" by the celebrated gamba virtuoso Marin Marais, the "Lamentatio I" of Jan Zelenka, four excerpts from John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" and music of Monteverdi, Purcell, Telemann and Rameau.
Singing and performing on period instruments will be Cheryl Hart, Gayla Johnson, Randall Smith, Frances Bach, Paul Anstall, Mary Johnson, Herald Clark and Ruth Helm. Ben Norton will link the program with commentary and readings from original sources.
Tickets to the Logan concert are $8 ($6 students/seniors), available at Sunrise Cyclery. Admission to the Temple Square concert is free.
- "THE LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS" concludes its Utah premiere run in Ballet West's production, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 6 and 7, at Logan's Eccles Theatre.
Based on the life and death of Paris courtesan Marie Duplessis, the ballet is a new full-length work by Ballet West resident choreographer Val Caniparoli. Alternating in the roles of Marguerite and Armand are Pamela Robinson and Richard Bradley, Wendee Fiedeldey and Jeffrey Rogers, and Erin Lee-dom and Gilles Maidon. Terence Kern conducts the Utah Chamber Orchestra in the Chopin-derived score, with Jed Moss as piano soloist.
- MICHAEL PALUMBO will lead the New American Symphony Orchestra in performances of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony on Friday, May 6, at Weber State University's Browning Center in Ogden and Saturday, May 7, at Utah State University's Chase Fine Arts Center in Logan.
Performing with the 75-piece community orchestra will be the WSU Concert Choir and vocal soloists Marta Gutierrez, Colleen Butler, George Dyer and Eric Glissmeyer.
Starting time each night is 7:30, with tickets to the WSU performance priced from $2 to $3. Admission to the USU concert is free.
- MUSIC DIRECTOR Joseph Silverstein will conduct the Utah Symphony in the final concerts of its 1993-94 classical subscription series Friday and Saturday, May 6 and 7, at 8 p.m. in Abravanel Hall.
Featured each night will be Mahler's Symphony No. 2 - the "Resurrection" Symphony - in performances also involving soprano Andrea Matthews, mezzo-soprano Andrea Thornock and the Utah Symphony Chorus.
A winner of the 1981 National Association of Teachers of Singing competition, Matthews has performed with Virginia Opera, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival and the orchestras of Baltimore, Minnesota and New Mexico. Thornock has soloed with the Utah Symphony on several occasions as well as Salt Lake Opera Theatre and the Madeleine Festival. She holds degrees from Brigham Young University and the Manhattan School of Music and is currently on the faculty at Weber State University.
Tickets are priced from $11 to $32 ($5 students); for information call 533-NOTE.
- MUSIC OF FERRUCCIO BUSONI will be performed by duo-pianists Joseph Banowetz and Ronald Stevenson on Saturday, May 7, in the Temple Square Assembly Hall.
Included will be Busoni's "Fantasia Contrappuntistica," the Fugue on "Ach du lieber Augistin" and the Improvisation on the Bach chorale "Wie wohl ist mir, o Freund der Seele."
Author of "The Pianist's Guide to Pedaling," Banowetz is the recipient of the 1992 Liszt Medal of the Hungarian Liszt Society and has recorded for the Marco Polo, Naxos and Altarus labels, including an all-Stevenson collection for the latter. In addition to his piano pieces, the Scottish-born Stevenson has composed violin and piano concertos, songs and choral and chamber music. As a performer he has championed the music of Busoni and Grainger and he and Banowetz are scheduled to record a CD of the former's music for two pianos.
Admission is free but limited to those 8 and older.