For Immediate Release
Contact: Cohn Dutcher Associates
Lois Cohn, 917.339.7187, lcohn@cohndutcher.com
Dan Dutcher, 917.339.7157, ddutcher@cohndutcher.com
Laura Malick, 917.339.7183, lmalick@cohndutcher.com
David Mayhew, 203.533.5621, david@davidmayhew.net

"The Brentano String Quartet is something special…their music making is private, delicate, fresh..."
- The New York Times

Caramoor International Music Festival
presents
BRENTANO STRING QUARTET
Sunday, July 12th, 4:30pm

Katonah, New York  - The Brentano String Quartet, an audience favorite at Caramoor for more than a decade, returns to the Caramoor International Music Festival on Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 4:30pm in the Venetian Theater.  The Quartet - Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, violins; Misha Amory, viola; and Nina Lee, cello - will present an intricately constructed program exploring polyphony and counterpoint:  Monteverdi's Four Madrigals (from Book VI), (arr. Mark Steinberg); Haydn's String Quartet in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3; and Beethoven's Grosse Fuge for String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 133 and String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 (Razumovsky).

Audiences of all ages may enjoy the Brentano String Quartet in Caramoor's Venetian Theater or from the picnic lawns as the third Caramoor Al Fresco event of the summer.

Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim.  Within a few years of its formation, the Quartet garnered the first Cleveland Quartet Award and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award and, in 1996, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center invited them to be the inaugural members of Chamber Music Society Two, a program which was to become a coveted distinction for chamber groups and individuals.  The Quartet had its first European tour in 1997 and was honored in the U.K. with the Royal Philharmonic Award for Most Outstanding Debut.  In recent seasons the Quartet has traveled widely, appearing all over the United States and Canada, in Europe, Japan and Australia, performing in the world's most prestigious venues.  The Quartet - Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, violins; Misha Amory, viola; Nina Lee, cello - is named for Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars consider to be Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved," the intended recipient of his famous love confession.

Tickets
Tickets for the Brentano String Quartet are $15, $20, $30, and $45 and include seating in the Venetian Theater.  Caramoor Al Fresco tickets are $10 for audiences, particularly family audiences, to hear the concert from the picnic lawns at Caramoor.  Tickets may be purchased at the Caramoor Box Office, 914.232.1252 or ordered online at www.caramoor.org.

Groups of 16 or more may purchase discounted tickets by contacting Matthew Scarella at 914.232.5035 ext. 266 or matthew@caramoor.org.

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road in Katonah, New York.

About Caramoor
Caramoor is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who built their summer home - now known as the historic Rosen House at Caramoor - and filled it with their treasures.  Walter Rosen was the master planner for the Caramoor estate, bringing to reality his dream of creating a place to entertain friends from around the world.  Their musical evenings were the seeds of today's Caramoor International Music Festival.  Realizing the pleasure their friends took in the beauty of Caramoor - the house with artworks spanning the centuries from B.C.E. to the 20th-century, the gardens, and the musical programs on summer evenings - in 1946 the Rosens established a public charity to open Caramoor to the community.

Lucie Rosen survived her husband by seventeen years.  During those years, she expanded the Music Festival: the Spanish Courtyard was used as a setting for musical events, as it is today, and, under her direction, the great stage of the Venetian Theater was built.

Caramoor is often described as "a Garden of Great Music" where audiences are invited to come early, explore the beautiful grounds, take a tour of the Rosen House, visit the gift shop, enjoy a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in the relaxed settings of the Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, Music Room of the Rosen House, and the magnificent gardens.  With its unique heritage, Caramoor remains a place where magical summer days and nights are shared and enjoyed by thousands. "Caramoor is the loveliest Festival of them all." - The New York Times

Concert Venues, Art and Gardens
Concerts take place in two outdoor theaters: the 1,714-seat, acoustically superb Venetian Theater and the more intimate, romantic Spanish Courtyard.  Caramoor is more than just music - there is beauty at every turn.  The Rosens were prolific collectors and the Rosen House contains artworks spanning the centuries from B.C.E. to the 20th-century, including furniture, tapestries, sculpture, paintings, textiles, porcelain, and jade in twenty rooms that are open to the public.  There are entire rooms that were imported from European palaces and villas making the Rosen House one of just five mansions in the country that imported and incorporated entire rooms.  On Thursdays and Fridays, afternoon tea is served in the Summer Dining Room, overlooking the charming Spanish Courtyard.

Caramoor's gardens are also well worth the visit and include nine unique perennial gardens.  Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, a Butterfly Garden, Tapestry Hedge, and Iris and Peony Garden, which may be enjoyed on one's own or seen on a guided tour.

Enjoy a Picnic at Caramoor
Extend your Caramoor experience by arriving for concerts early and enjoying a picnic amidst the beautiful gardens.  Bring your own picnic or pre-order from Great Performances® by calling 212.337.6055.

Caramoor Al Fresco
Introduce your family to Caramoor and enjoy the sounds of the concert from the picnic lawns for only $10.00 per ticket on the following Sunday afternoons at 4:30pm:  June 28 (Tiempo Libre), July 5 (Pacifica Quartet with Jeremy Denk), July 12 (Brentano String Quartet), July 19 (Paquito D'Rivera), and July 26 (Vladimir Feltsman).

Rosen House
Guided tours of the historic Rosen House at Caramoor are provided from Wednesday through Sunday, 1:00pm-4:00pm with the last tour at 3:00pm.  On Saturdays, during the Festival, tours are given from 1:00pm-5:00pm, with the last tour at 4:00pm.  Tickets are $10.00 (children 16 and under free).

GETTING TO CARAMOOR
Caramoor is easy to get to by car and mass transportation.  The Caramoor Caravan is available for Bel Canto at Caramoor performances.

By car from the West Side of Manhattan and New Jersey, take the Saw Mill River Parkway north to Katonah.  Exit at Route 35/Cross River.  Turn right and, at the first traffic light, make a right turn onto Route 22 south. Travel 1.9 miles to the junction of Girdle Ridge Road. Follow the signs to Caramoor.  (For detailed directions call 914.232.5035 and press 2, or online at www.caramoor.org).  Parking at Caramoor is free.

By train, take the Harlem Division of the Metro-North Railroad to Katonah, New York. Taxi service from the station to Caramoor (5 minutes away) is available.

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, New York.

Caramoor International Music Festival
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                              BRENTANO STRING QUARTET

July 12                                                                           Brentano String Quartet
Sunday, 4:30pm                                                               Serena Canin, violin
Venetian Theater                                                            Mark Steinberg, violin
$15, $20, $30, $45                                                            Misha Amory, viola
                                                                                              Nina Lee, cello

                                                     Monteverdi Four Madrigals (from Book VI),(arr. Mark Steinberg)
                                                              Haydn  String Quartet in  G minor, Op. 20, No. 3
                                                    Beethoven Grosse Fuge for String Quartet in B-flat, Op. 133
                                                   Beethoven String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 (Razumovsky)
                               ________________________________________________________________________

TICKETS

Tickets may be ordered by online at www.caramoor.org or by calling the Caramoor Box Office at 914.232.1252. 

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, New York.

ALL PROGRAMS AND ARTISTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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Performances are made possible, in part, by Arts Westchester, with funds from the Westchester County Government

Performances are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts a state agency