Classical

Serafin String Quartet: Before the Rehearsal

Richard Gordon

The Serafin String Quartet: Lawrence Stomberg, Esme Allen-Creighton, Kate Ransom, and Lisa Vaupel (Clockwise from top)

The Serafin String Quartet: Lawrence Stomberg, Esme Allen-Creighton, Kate Ransom, and Lisa Vaupel (Clockwise from top)

The University of Delaware is very lucky to have The Serafin String Quartet in residence. Dedicated teachers, superb players, and gracious people with excellent insight into the music they play–a winning combination!

We caught up to them after they had just finished a class for a high school string ensemble and were preparing to rehearse works by Beethoven, Borodin, and Still.

The quartet is named after Kate Ransom’s violin, made by the Italian luthier Sanctus Serafin in 1728. Lawrence Stomberg, ‘cello; Lisa Vaupel, violin; and Esme Allen-Creighton, viola, all play Testore instruments from the same era, thanks to generous support from Dr. William Stegeman. The instruments blend together so well. But, as you’ll hear in the interview, the musicians themselves mesh and blend together into a very strong quartet.

We talked about the pieces they are going to play in a concert in the Arts at Trinity series on Oct. 25, next year’s trip to play at Carnegie Hall, other music they will be playing in the coming year, their teaching, their instruments, folk themes in classical music, and many other topics.

If you missed this charming interview when it aired on WVUD, make sure you use the link below to listen. Then visit the Serafin Quartet’s website for more information about their upcoming performances and their recordings.

The Interview

The Serafin String Quartet: Lawrence Stomberg, Kate Ransom, Lisa Vaupel, Esme Creighton-Allen (l to r)
Serafin String Quartet
Recorded 10/8/15; Initial airdate 10/13/15; host: Mandorichard
29:45
28.6 MB

The music

Artist Work Album Label Year
Serafin String Quartet William Grant Still: Danzas de Panama for String Quartet: Tamborito (1st movement) Serafin String Quartet Centaur 2010
Serafin String Quartet William Grant Still: Danzas de Panama for String Quartet: Cumbia y Congo (4th movement) Serafin String Quartet Centaur 2010

Concertos, sonatas, and wolves

Richard Gordon

Helene Grimaud (photo by Mat Hennek)Tonight’s episode of The Music Room features French pianist Helene Grimaud. She is currently playing both Brahms piano concertos, along with other works, during her 2013-2014 world tour. Specifically, Helene will be appearing with the Philadelphia Orchestra Dec. 5 – 8, playing Brahms Second Piano Concerto.

We had a great conversation about her interest in the music of the German Romantic movement, in particular that of Johannes Brahms; some of her other recordings; her approach to music; and the Wolf Conservation Center she founded in New York state to help with both education about conservation and wolves’ role in the environment and with breed and release programs.

The podcast edition includes more conversation than we were able to fit into the radio version of the interview.

The Interview

Interview with Helene Grimaud (Recorded 10/25/13; original broadcast date: 11/26/13; host: Mandorichard). 31:09, 29.9 MB. Note: the version uploaded here contains excerpts from the music tracks used in the broadcast. We have included more of our conversation in this podcast than originally aired on WVUD.

The Music

The following music appeared on this episode of The Music Room:

  • Artist / Song / Album (or note) / Label (or source) / Date
  • Helene Grimaud / Bela Bartok: Romanian Folk Dance number 6: Maruntel / Resonances / Deutsche Grammophon / 2011
  • Helene Grimaud, piano, with Andris Nelsons and the Vienna Philharmonic / Johnannes Brahms: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra Number 2 in B flat major, op. 83: second movement, Allegro appassionatto / Deutsche Grammophon / 2013
  • Helene Grimaud, piano, and Sol Gabetta, cello / Dmitri Shostakovich: Sonata for Violincello and Piano in D minor, op. 40: fourth movement, Allegro / Duo / Deutsche Grammophon / 2012

Preview UDOT production of Verdi’s Falstaff

Richard Gordon

UD Opera Theatre: Verdi's FalstaffEach year, the UD Opera Theatre stages two major productions, a “chamber opera” in the fall Opera Now series, and a full opera production in the spring. The spring 2013 production is Verdi’s Falstaff.

In this episode of Campus Voices, we interviewed the UD Opera Theatre’s artistic director, Blake Smith (assistant professor, Music), and several members of the company, both graduate students and undergraduate students. We also include excerpts from the company rehearsing for the May 2013 performances.

This Campus Voices show presents a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes and highlights how participating in a major production like this benefits the students and graduate students singing in and working on the production. Staging an opera like Verdi’s Falstaff is a terrific experience for UD voice and music education students.

 

Listen to the interviews

Preview Verdi’s Falstaff
29:05
27.3 MB

Learn more