The Cypress String Quartet (Cecily Ward, violin; Tom Stone, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello) announced today that the ensemble will disband in the summer of 2016 after 20 fulfilling years of performing together. A Farewell Concert will be presented by the Cypress at the Green Room of the War Memorial Building on June 26, 2016.
As a culmination of the group’s work together, the Cypress’s recording of the complete Beethoven String Quartets will be released on AVIE Records in May 2016. This release will be in conjunction with a month-long Beethoven celebration in the city of San Francisco, during which the quartet will present all 16 quartets at public venues in every district as a gift to their hometown that has supported and nurtured the ensemble for the past two decades.
Additional highlights of the Cypress Quartet’s celebratory 20th anniversary season include performances of the complete Beethoven Quartets cycle in Prague, Budapest, and Vienna in fall 2015; a tour of Germany with an all-American program including concerts recorded for radio broadcast by WDR (Westdeutche Rundfunk) in Cologne and SWR (Südwestrundfunk) radio; the group’s 17th Annual Call & Response program at Herbst Theatre in March 2016; an inspired set of Salon Series programs taking place in October, February, and May in intimate venues in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Palo Alto; a concert at Sonoma State’s Green Music Center in February 2016; a Farewell Concert at the Green Room of the War Memorial Building in June 2016; and collaborations throughout the season with cellist Zuill Bailey and violist Barry Shiffman culminating in a live recording in spring 2016 of the two String Sextets of Johannes Brahms with Bailey and Shiffman. This Brahms Sextets recording, as well as an album of music by Elena Ruehr, will be released on AVIE Records in the late fall of 2016 and spring of 2017, respectively.
The Cypress Quartet’s decision comes after a great deal of reflection and discussion, and the quartet agrees that it is the right time for them to move on to explore new artistic territories as individuals. The members of the quartet are deeply grateful to vast numbers of fans, donors, fellow musicians, and presenters for all of their support of the Cypress Quartet.