Alon Goldstein and Fine Arts Quartet

On Jan. 28 and 29, pianist Alon Goldstein and the Fine Arts Quartet worked with student musicians in two separate master classes to hone their skills on the piano, cello and violin. Following the classes, the Quartet presented a concert for the greater Exeter community.

The Fine Arts Quartet, founded in Chicago in 1946, is made up of two violinists, a violist and a cellist. Violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico have been performing together for the past 35 years and are joined by violist Gil Sharon and cellist Niklas Schmidt.

Each member of the group brings a unique set of talents to the internationally successful quartet. The Quartet has been nominated for many musical honors including Grammy Awards for “Best Classical Album” and “Best Chamber Music Performance.” Some of the musicians have even been commended as soloists during their time in the group: Evans was a prizewinner in the highly prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition.

The Quartet brought their talents to Exeter and instructed student musicians Erin Choi, Mia Glinn, Alexander Larrow, Sava Thurber, Bona Yoo, Kiesse Nanor, Brian Son, Sophia Chang and Zhaoran Chen at their masterclass in the Bowld. After the masterclass, audience member and upper Patricia Fitzgerald praised the performances by the students as “incredibly expressive.” She spoke highly of the visiting musicians, appreciating the diligence that the guest musicians put into helping them. "You could tell that [the members of the Fine Arts Quartet] were truly immersed in the music because they came individually and spoke specifically to the students with advice. They were kind but they ensured that progress was made.”

Pianist Alon Goldstein hosted the concurrent piano master class. Goldstein has performed alongside the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco, Baltimore, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Toronto and Vancouver symphonies as well as the Israel Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles and Radio France Orchestra. He played under conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Herbert Blomstedt, Vladimir Jurowski and many others.

At Goldstein’s master class, student pianists Penny Brant, Audrey Vanderslice and Vincent Xiao played pieces Glinka’s “The Lark,” Beethoven’s “Sonata No. 7, Op. 90” and Chopin’s “Revolutionary Etude,” respectively. Each had about 20 minutes to play and then received feedback regarding musicality, touch, pedaling and rhythm. At the end, Goldstein suggested that all musicians think more about the character of each piece, saying that it is preferable to get the character right and notes wrong rather than notes right and character wrong. Another tip he gave the pianists was to start learning each piece at multiple places instead of just the beginning so everything develops together.

Xiao appreciated the opportunity Goldstein’s master class provided to receive personalized feedback from a renowned artist. Though Goldstein’s comments were “very subtle,” Xiao noted how those small changes greatly impacted the overall tone of his piece. Xiao also highlighted Goldstein’s teaching style. “He is a great teacher, and like [the Harkness method], he allows students to teach themselves and just guides them in the right direction,” he said.

On Jan. 29, the Fine Arts Quartet performed in conjunction with Goldstein and double bass Pete Walsh, playing intricate pieces such as Mozart’s “Piano Concerto in C Major, K. 467,” the Andante Cantabile of  Tchaikovsky’s “String Quartet in D Major” and Beethoven’s “String Quartet in C major.” “It was a very enlightening concert,” said upper and pianist Nathan Sun. Sun was amazed by the technical skill and passion of the musicians and said that he “hasn’t seen a concert of this caliber for a long time.”

Xiao was also impressed by the professional performance, noting the difficulty of playing a Mozart concerto without a great number and variety of instruments in the group. “The concert was fantastic,” he said. “It was great to see how the Fine Arts Quartet and Goldstein could perform a Mozart concerto with just a few musicians.”

Prep Alexandria Westray felt that the master class and concert were unique opportunities for Exeter since the Academy is only a high school. Attending both the classes and final performance, Westray was thankful that the school allowed their student musicians to expand their knowledge of music beyond the courses and music groups offered by the music department.

“[PEA] allows world-renowned musicians to come and perform for us for free and teach students and teachers what they know,” she said. “I am so fortunate to be at a school like Exeter.”