Joel Ochenheim
The renowned Fibonacci Quartet will present a free concert of the chamber music of local composer John Warren at Central Congregational Church on Seaverns Avenue on Sun., June 15 at 7 p.m. [See Happenings for details].
The concert will present the world premiere of two recent works, String Quartet No. 16 and String Quartet No.17. Warren’s music, which includes a prolific and varied output in many musical forms, is known only to a very few here in the US.
His work is more widely known in Europe, where one critic wrote in “Neue Dusseldorfer Zeitung,” “…Warren’s music is wholly attuned to the emotional and spiritual realities of our very own time, with its profound ambiguities, subtleties of significance, and constant flow of surprises.” Another critic wrote that Warren’s music is “a magical landscape well worth entering,” adding the caveat to “breathe deeply before you do!”
The Cambridge-based Fibonacci Quartet—composed of Heidi Braun-Hill and Heather Braun on violin; Andra Voldins on viola; and Rafael Popper-Keizer playing cello—is an ideal chamber group to play Warren’s music. Their search for the inner meaning of every note they play presents a model of chamber music performance that would work well in any musical genre.
This quartet, originally assembled by Warren to play his own music, is currently considering, with Warren’s blessing, the possibility of a series of concerts to take place in at Central Congregational Church. They would include music of the great masters, such as Mozart and Beethoven. For more information about the series, see future issues of the Gazette.
The writer is a Jamaica Plain resident.