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ArpaViva CD009: PANACEA – Three string quartets
Misha Shmidt – Violin I
Blayne Barnes – Violin II
Mara Gearman – Viola
Paige Stockley – Cello
Composer’s Notes
“Music and art are a panacea; an antidote to the shifting ground beneath our feet. The interaction with music and art offers us a place to experience the most genuine of interactions—interactions with ideas, and views across time that sometimes lead back right to ourselves.”
My music is often created using musical narratives and stories. These narratives are composed of a palette of psychological states made to pull and push the senses of the listener. I seek to capture the essence of the consonances and dissonances in our lives—and of the times we are living in.
For me, the string quartet can be approached as four distinct individuals:
Choleric—ambitious and leader-like
Sanguine—impulsive and pleasure-seeking
Phlegmatic—relaxed and quiet
Melancholic—introverted & thoughtful
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Album Notes
The title, Panacea, was given to String Quartet No. 1, but it is a fitting title for this album of three string quartets.
String Quartet No. 1. – Panacea
This three-movement quartet opens with a tremolo that builds and fades like an arc. This motif features prominently throughout the work. The opening impassioned and searching themes establish the ground for the three movements.
The second movement begins with an ostinato in the cello, creating a steady momentum which underpins the overall structure. The other instruments respond with spacious, expressive melodies. At times, the cello and viola break off to create captivating duets. The ostinato returns towards the end to merge with the third movement.
The third movement starts with a rhythmic jolt. Unison arcs are introduced in the violins. The rhythmic drive presses on until the cello takes the lead with a stirring passage. Then, the climactic section begins with expanding and contracting arcs until the energy gives way to the final section. The quartet concludes with a wide-open landscape, a plain, that stretches out as far as the eye can see.
String Quartet No. 2 – Stateless
The opening section portrays an upheaval, and the wide-awake feeling that change is at hand. The music begins with a series of slowly shifting glissandi and timbres. The familiar is disintegrating—we are in the midst of uncertainty. Suddenly, the first violin breaks through the surface like a flame in the dark. The four voices reorganize in an orchestral manner. The music is tumultuous and driving. The instruments are maximizing their sound as they rush forward—only to conclude with a quiet and unresolved aura.
The second movement establishes a new sense of calm and solace. The first violin leads with rich melodies, while the cello marks time with steady pizzicati. As the music progresses, a quiet feeling of anticipation builds in the background. We are in a place of transit towards an unknown destination.
The third movement recasts the fervent atmosphere of the first
movement into a new and serene light. The previous upheavals are a memory. We feel the excitement of new surroundings. The music ascends towards a climax of buoyant energy and confident melodies before arriving at a succinct conclusion. The music ends, but the story continues on in the imagination.
String Quartet No. 3 – Inter Nos
Inter Nos, latin for “between us”, begins with a theme in minor in the first violin. After a few iterations of the theme, the first violin unexpectedly leaves the group to develop into a virtuosic cadenza. When the opening theme is reintroduced, it is quiet and etherial. The movement ends with a deceptive gesture.
The second movement, in rondo form, starts with a soft, lyrical cascading sequence. This development section is understated; the instruments shine gently using spare chromatic themes. In the recapitulation, the opening cascading sequences are restated in a varied form. As the cascades dissolve, a solo violin emerges gently restating a previous theme.
The third movement starts with wild rhythmic sequences before shifting into a series of powerful chords and harmonic progressions. The quartet sound is maximized to create a vigorous wall of sound. We are in the throes of creative energy and performance. The music concludes with a resolute restatement of the first movement’s closing gesture.
Inter Nos is dedicated to one of my most influential teachers and a great artist, Bern Herbolsheimer. His passing in 2016 was, for me, like losing a parent. Inter Nos is composed in his spirit.
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Mikhail Shmidt, violin, was born in Moscow, Russia. At fourteen he became the winner of the International Chamber Music Competition. He graduated cum laude from Gnessin Institute of Music in 1987. His teachers included Halida Akhtiamova and Valentin Berlinsky of the celebrated Borodin Quartet. While still at college, Mikhail performed with the highly successful Gnessin String Quartet, winning several national competitions. He also performed in the State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Radio String Quartet and was concertmaster of Camerata Boccherini Baroque Orchestra. Since immigrating to the United States in 1989, Mikhail Shmidt has established himself as a leading chamber musician. He was a founding member of the Bridge Ensemble which recorded and toured widely in the U.S. and Europe. He is guest violinist with the Moscow Piano Quartet and tours Europe annually. Mikhail is a member of Seattle Chamber Players, a leading contemporary music group in the Pacific Northwest.
His has collaborated with diverse and distinguished composers and musicians, including Alfred Schnittke, Steve Reich, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Giya Kancheli, Paul Schoenfield, Dmitri Sitkovetsky, Vadim Repin. Shmidt has recorded on Melodia, Delos, Naxos, ECM, Tzadik, Dux, Six Degrees and Innova labels.
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Violinist Blayne Barnes performs with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Oregon Symphony, as well as in the Oregon Bach Festival orchestra. Previously, he was a regular performer with the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Phoenix Symphony. Barnes has recorded with the Oregon Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and on the soundtracks of numerous motion pictures and video games. He received degrees from Arizona State University and the University of Oregon.
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By the age of nine violist Mara Gearman had decided to pursue a career in music. Her training includes studies with Roberto Diaz, Pinchas Zukerman and Karen Tuttle at the Curtis Institute of Music. She has received awards from the Tertis International and Primrose Viola competitions. Gearman performs solo and chamber music throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Currently Third Chair with the Seattle Symphony, Gearman has also been Principal Viola with the Kansas City Symphony and Los Angeles Opera. She is violist in the Barston Quartet, comprising members of Seattle Symphony Orchestra. She has performed at the Olympic Music Festival, Methow Music Festival, and as a member of the All-Stars Orchestra. Gearman has taught at Central Washington University, Cornish College of the Arts, and the Eastern Music Festival.
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Recording Engineer – Doug Haire
Mastered at RFI, Seattle
Mastering Engineer – Rick Fisher
Cover art – Peter Vukmirovic Stevens
Producer – Peter Vukmirovic Stevens
Special thanks to Fredric Richard Radford for his generous support which made this recording possible.
This album was made possible in part by a Jack Straw Artist Support Award.
PANACEA – Three String Quartets, a new album by Peter Vukmirovic Stevens captures the powerful expression of emotions shared by the multitudes. For Stevens, art serve as a panacea; a ballast to the unstable ground beneath our feet. While the dramatic interactions among the four instruments in his works portray strife, Stevens’ music also reinforces us with resolve.
