1 Photo
Violinists Annie Fullard and Mari Sato, violist Kirsten Docter, and cellist Merry Peckham are fiercely individual. But when they sit together, instruments in hand, they are one.
They are the Cavani String Quartet.
Taking a brief respite from their longtime residency at The Cleveland Institute of Music—a position Ms. Fullard and Ms. Peckham have held since 1988, before Ms. Docter and Ms. Sato joined the group in 1993 and 1995, respectively—the quartet will play the Quogue Chamber Music series on Saturday at Quogue Community Hall.
“It’s a fantasy job we have,” Ms. Fullard said on Monday during a telephone interview. “When you’re working off of great art, it never fails you. It does not fail you. You have to dig deep. You have to look at the context of the composer’s life and what was happening historically, what was happening socially, in the world. The music never fails you, at least in my humble opinion. Great art never lets you down.”
The Southampton Press: Why chamber music, and how did the Cavani String Quartet get started?
Annie Fullard: Chamber music is just, it’s some of the greatest works of art ever created. And to sit down with new friends and play through a Mozart quartet and live through their minds and hearts, it’s a wonderful thing. Merry and I met in college and we loved playing together. We had dreams that it would be wonderful to create something.
What is the group dynamic like?
Fullard: Each of us is quite strongly individual. We share, I think, a common sense of humor. We can be a little bit silly. We all tend to be the glass-is-half-full kinds of people, which makes us able to, each day, come into rehearsal and find a common ground. You always have to give in a little bit. You can’t have a rigid personality in a string quartet. There’s a joy in being able to bend and not break.
What do each of you bring to the table?
Fullard: Kirsten, she’s a wonderful philosophical person. She’s our calm. Mari, she’s not afraid to tackle technology. She’s good at prodding me—“No, you can handle Google Maps and, while you’re at it, try Google Calendar.” There’s a nice ying-yang about the way we work together. Merry, she’s a very exuberant and fun-loving person. And I’m like Lucille Ball meets Captain Kirk. I can be pretty decisive, and then sort of a spaz. I have my fearless moments and then there’s the complete cuckoo bird.
Tell us about your Quogue program.
Fullard: We will be performing the Mozart Clarinet Quintet, with Daniel Gilbert, which is among the singular most heavenly of Mozart’s works—and that’s a pretty big thing to say because Mozart is a pretty incredible composer. This is a very special piece. It is very operatic with some of the most sublime movements ever written.
The Debussy String Quartet, “La Mer,” or “The Sea,” is a great reflection of the water and the air that you find in Quogue and on Long Island—this natural beauty and this intense force and ever changeability of nature.
And then Dvorak’s “Cypresses” String Quartet, which is also evocative of nature and written at the end of the 19th century. They’re love songs and absolutely beautiful. It’s a gorgeous program and great for fall. Lots of colors.
The Cavani String Quartet and guest clarinetist Daniel Gilbert will perform works by Mozart, Dvorak and Debussy on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Quogue Community Hall, as part of the Quogue Chamber Music series. Tickets are $40, $5 for students and $100 to include a post-concert reception. For more information, call (631) 728-3407, or visit quoguechambermusic.com.
on Sep 8, 2015