Afiara String Quartet

Taking its name from the Spanish fiar, meaning "to trust," the Afiara String Quartet-Valerie Li and Yuri Cho (violins), David Samuel (viola), and Adrian Fung (cello)-approaches chamber music as an intimate conversation between friends, prompting the San Francisco Classical Voice to call the group "a terrifically unified, versatile, and moving ensemble" with "a powerful, keen-edged collective sound." The all-Canadian ensemble-currently the Morrison Fellowship Quartet-in-Residence at San Francisco State University's International Center for the Arts-won the Concert Artist Guild International Competition in New York in 2008, following a top-prize victory at the Munich ARD International Music Competition that same year. The quartet is the only Canadian ensemble to win top honors in either of these historic competitions. Their program will feature quintessential works for the string quartet by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, and a poignant elegy by Puccini, along with John Zorn's seriously composed, but comically inclined "Cat o' Nine Tails."
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven: Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, no. 3
John Zorn: "Cat o' Nine Tails"
Giacomo Puccini: Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums), elegy for string quartet
Felix Mendelssohn: Quartet in A Minor, Op. 13
The Afiara Quartet gives every piece they play a whole world of energy, style, and pizzazz. Each player brings individuality and commitment to their music and the collective Afiara sound is a beautiful organism, teeming with vitality. I always feel renewed by their performances.
-David Harrington, Kronos Quartet
Location: Loeb Playhouse