DelawareScene: Coastal Concerts presents Curtis on Tour @ Coastal Concerts

Coastal Concerts presents Curtis on Tour

Curtis On Tour: The Erinys Quartet with

Roberto Díaz, Viola and Peter Wiley, Cello

ABOUT CURTIS

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. Since 1924, Curtis has provided each member of its small student body with an unparalleled education alongside musical peers, distinguished by a “learn by doing” philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty of world-class musicians and educators. With admissions based solely on artistic promise, no student is turned away due to financial need. Curtis invests in each admitted student, ensuring no tuition is charged for their studies and they enter the profession free from educational debt.

Curtis students hone their craft through more than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings each year in addition to collaborative projects within the community to provide arts access and education. This real-world training empowers these extraordinary young artists to become inspiring performers, composers, conductors, creators, and musical leaders, making a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities. To learn more, visit Curtis.edu.

ABOUT CURTIS ON TOUR

Curtis on Tour is the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. Embracing the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, ensembles are infused with the energy and passion of extraordinary emerging artists performing alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In addition to performances, musicians engage with local communities through educational and community engagement activities. For 15 years, Curtis on Tour has maintained a presence at top international concert halls, performing more than 450 concerts in over 120 cities, from New York to Berlin and Hong Kong to Santiago.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Erinys Quartet

Named for the Erinyes (a.k.a. the Furies) from the Greek tragedy Oresteia by Aeschylus, and with roots in Estonia, Lithuania, Greece, the United States, and Finland, the Erinys Quartet was founded in 2018 at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where they worked closely with cellist Marko Ylönen. Since the autumn of 2023, the Erinys Quartet has been the Nina von Maltzahn String Quartet-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music.

The Erinys Quartet has performed throughout Finland, Europe, and the United States. They have been featured at festivals and concert series, including the Indiana University Summer Music Series, the Mimir Chamber Music Festival in Fort Worth, Texas, and Festival Groba in Ponteareas, Spain. They have also taken part in the inaugural Dover Quartet Workshop at Curtis as well as the Professional String Quartet Seminar with the Pacifica Quartet and Atar Arad (Cleveland Quartet) at Indiana University.

At the Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition in 2023, they were awarded the Audience Prize Award of the City of Bad Tölz, as well as the Esterházy Foundation Special Prize for best interpretation of a Haydn string quartet.

Since 2021, Erinys Quartet has been supported by Le Dimore del Quartetto, where they are also a part of the European Union-sponsored MERITA platform. In the 2023-2024 season, the Erinys Quartet will present concerts in Philadelphia, Madrid, Eisenstadt, and Helsinki. In addition to their studies at Curtis with the Dover Quartet, the members of the Erinys Quartet are pursuing a diploma in chamber music at Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain, under the tutelage of Professor Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartett).

Roberto Díaz, Viola

A violist of international reputation, Roberto Díaz is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, following in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Josef Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist, and Rudolf Serkin.

As a soloist, Mr. Díaz collaborates with leading conductors of our time on stages throughout the world. He has also worked directly with important 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki—whose viola concerto he has performed numerous times with the composer on the podium and whose double concerto he premiered in the United States—as well as Edison Denisov, Jennifer Higdon, Ricardo Lorenz, and Roberto Sierra.

A frequent recitalist, Mr. Díaz enjoys collaborating with young musicians, bringing a fresh approach to the repertoire and providing invaluable opportunities to artists at the beginning of their careers. In addition to performing with major string quartets and pianists in chamber music series and festivals worldwide, he is a member of the Díaz Trio. His recordings include a Grammy-winning performance of the Jennifer Higdon Viola Concerto, a Grammy-nominated disc of viola transcriptions by William Primrose for Naxos, and releases on the Artek, Bridge Records, Dorian, Nimbus, and New World labels.

In addition to his decade-long tenure as principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Díaz was also principal viola of the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich, and was a member of the Boston Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he continues to serve on the faculty, holding the James and Betty Matarese Chair in Viola Studies and the Nina von Maltzahn President's Chair. Mr. Díaz plays the ex-Primrose Amati viola.

Peter Wiley, Cello

Peter Wiley, a 1974 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, has played at leading festivals including the Marlboro Music Festival, for which he also tours and records. As a recitalist he has appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. A member of the Beaux Arts Trio from 1987 to 1998, Mr. Wiley also succeeded his teacher, David Soyer, as cellist of the Guarneri String Quartet from 2001 to 2009. He is a member of the piano quartet Opus One, with Curtis faculty members Ida Kavafian and Steven Tenenbom and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott.

Mr. Wiley entered Curtis at age thirteen. At twenty he was named principal cello of the Cincinnati Symphony, after one year with the Pittsburgh Symphony. He made his concerto debut at Carnegie Hall in 1986 with the New York String Orchestra conducted by Alexander Schneider.

A past recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Wiley joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1996. He also teaches at the University of Maryland and Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Tickets for individual concerts will be available for purchase online at our web site after September 1st, 2024. A limited number of discounted season subscriptions are available for premium and general seating online. Discounted admission for students, active military and first responders are available.

Coastal Concerts is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.