Classically Speaking

“Chamber music is like a party or a meeting with friends.  You get together and make music, and you have a say in it, and you can make a musical difference” 

-- Evelyn Grau, Garth Newel Piano Quartet

In Charleston, this weekend is all about chamber music.

On Saturday, the Garth Newel Piano Quartet is visiting from Virginia to play music by Brahms and Fauré (on a Charleston Chamber Music Society concert), and on Sunday afternoon the Montclaire String Quartet will be playing quartets by Ravel, Haydn (the Sunrise quartet – one of my favorites!), and John Cage.

I spoke with the Evelyn Grau, the viola player and artistic director of the Garth Newel Piano Quartet. The first questions on my mind were: Who or what is Garth Newel?  What’s this music center like? What music are you bringing with you here?

The Garth Newel Piano Quartet will be in Charleston this Saturday, and in Lewisburg in February.  The rest of the year, they can be found at the Garth Newel Music Center in Warm Springs, Virginia.

Related posts:

* For another viola interview, check out Maggie Snyder

* More about the art of chamber music, listen to the Prima Trio

* October WV Classical Calendar