Hawthorne String Quartet

                                                                             

Ronan Lefkowitz, Violin                  Mark Ludwig, Viola

Si-Jing Huang, Violin                       Sato Knudsen, Cello

 

 

Since its inception in 1986, the Hawthorne String Quartet has performed extensively throughout Europe, South America, Japan and the United States, including major festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia and Aspen.  The Quartet has an expansive repertoire ranging from the classics of the 18th and 19th centuries to contemporary works.  They have distinguished themselves internationally for championing the works of composers persecuted during the Nazi regime, with an emphasis on the Czech composers incarcerated in the Theresienstadt concentration camp (Terezín).  The Quartet boasts a rich history of collaborations with Christopher Hogwood, Ned Rorem, Andre Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Marta Argerich and the Philobolus Dance Company.  In addition, the quartet has made solo appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and the Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie. The Quartet was appointed Quartet-In-Residence at Boston College in 1998.

 

In October 1991, the Quartet performed in Terezín and Prague in ceremonies hosted by Presidents Havel and Herzog to mark the opening of the Ghetto Museum in Terezín and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first transports to the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp.  The quartet has since returned for performances in the Czech Republic.  Most recently they performed concerts in Prague and Terezín in November 2002, at the invitation of President Vaclav Havel and the sponsorship of the U.S. State Department.  The concerts were part of a diplomatic cultural mission to raise funds for Czech flood relief and restoration efforts at Pamatník Terezín. 

 

The Quartet's recording, Chamber Music from Theresienstadt, has received international critical acclaim and won the Preis der Schallplattenkritik in 1991.  Their Silenced Voices CD on Northeastern Records also premiered newly recovered music of composers persecuted during World War II.  The Terezín Chamber Music Foundation produced these recordings.

 

Displaying a diverse repertoire, the Hawthorne Quartet has recorded compact discs featuring chamber music by Arthur Foote, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Thomas Oboe Lee in addition to several motion picture and documentary soundtracks.  Throughout its travels, the quartet has performed on radio and television programs worldwide.

 

In April 1993, the Hawthorne Quartet began recording with the London Decca Recording Company.  As part of London Decca's Entartete Musik Project, their first recording of the Haas and Krasa string quartets was released in April 1994.  The recording was awarded Belgium's Cecilia Grand Prix Special Du Jury.  The award was presented in recognition of "an exceptional undertaking and paying homage to an interpreter who has made a mark on the history of recorded sound." 

 

Their next recording on the London Decca label was Ervin Schulhoff's Concerto for Solo String Quartet and Chamber Orchestra.  The quartet gave the American premiere of this work with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

 

 

Upcoming projects include recordings, the commissioning and performance of new chamber works and the national release of a PBS documentary on the history of artists incarcerated in Terezín and educational programs spearheaded by the Terezín Chamber Music Foundation. 

 

The Hawthorne String Quartet includes Boston Symphony Orchestra violinists Ronan Lefkowitz and Si-Jing Huang, violist Mark Ludwig, and cellist Sato Knudsen.  Based in Boston, the quartet takes it name from the New England novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne.

 

 

 

DISCOGRAPHY:

 

Chamber Music from Theresienstadt ­ Channel Classics CCS 1691

 

.Silenced Voices CD -  Northeastern Records NR 248

 

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Chamber Music ­ KOCH International 3-7056-2

 

Haas and Krása String Quartets ­ London DECCA 440 853-2

 

Ervin Schulhoff Concerto for Solo String Quartet and Chamber Orchestra. ­ London DECCA 444 819-2

 

Finding a Voice: Musicians in Terezin ­ TCMF Collection 34-001

 

Mistletoe Sax and Strings ­ North Star Music NS 164

 

Sax Across America­ North Star Music NS 176

 

Virtuoso Trumpet ­ KLEOS Classics KL 5114

 

Cradle Songs: A Collection of Lullabies from Around the World-IHJ Productions

 

An Introduction to Entartete Musik - London DECCA 452-664-2

 

Thomas Oboe Lee String Quartets ­ KOCH International 3-7452-2-III

 

Concert for Terezin ­ TCMF: Turquoise Bee Records 34-002

 

 

DOCUMENTARIES:

 

DESSA: A Legacy From Theresienstadt

 

Entartete Musik: The Birth of a Project

 

In the Shadow of the Reich: NAZI Medicine

 

The Last Dance: Maurice Sendak and Philobolus

                       

Terezin: life from death           

 

 

FILM SCORES:

 

Lost Momentum

 

Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr.

 

Schindlerąs List

 

The Secret of Roan Inish