AMSTERDAM LOEKI STARDUST QUARTET

[From a recent review of J. S. Bach, “The Art of the Fugue,” by the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet, Channel Classics CCS 12698]

The year 2000 will be a Bach year, and almost everyone is preparing for this event. However, what to do if an instrument or ensemble does not have original Bach repertoire? In that case, there exists the possibility of arrangements.

The Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet has waited for about 20 years before it dared to arrange and record Bach's “The Art of the Fugue.” One reason is that it took time to complete a set of instruments which included a contrabass recorder. But another very important reason is that it took courage. From a technical standpoint, it is extremely difficult to play “The Art of the Fugue” on four recorders and make an interpretative triumph of it. The Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet succeeded in doing just that in their recent recording (Channel Classics CCS 12698). Minimal changes as to the notes, transposing an octave in some places, “but,” says the Quartet, “the fact is that nothing really was changed in the score.”

The recorders used for this recording (17 in total) make the notes come alive by way of differences of sound between the four parts, the articulation used, the (sometimes marked) vibrato, a light rubato, and the natural spaces for breathing; all of this gives the score a very human dimension.

This recording is an important milestone for the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet. There exists no other such recording by a recorder quartet, and I could not name another ensemble that brings so much integrity, dedication, and quality to the recording of “The Art of the Fugue.” “Bach's genius surpasses the mathematical nature of the material,” says Quartet member Daniel Brueggen. But without the enormous experience of the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet, this recording would never have sounded so well balanced. A marvelous document!

N. K. (Luister Magazine, April '99)

Carl Grapentine is the host of the WFMT Morning Program, weekdays 6-10am. Carl joined WFMT in 1986. Previously, he was the morning host of the classical music station in Detroit for thirteen years.

An alumnus of the University of Michigan School of Music, Carl has been the “stadium voice” of the University of Michigan Marching Band for thirty seasons--his voice being heard on national telecasts of thirteen Rose Bowl games and numerous other bowl games.

Carl has hosted or narrated concerts for ensembles ranging from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Pro Musica to numerous community orchestras and bands. He hosts the pre-concert conversations for the Symphony of Oak Park-River Forest, and he is the host for the nationally-syndicated broadcast concerts of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra over the WFMT Fine Arts Network. He has also presented programs for several Lyric Opera of Chicago chapters and for the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

An accomplished conductor and vocalist, Carl is the Choir Director of Pilgrim Congregational Church in Oak Park, and has sung the national anthem for professional and collegiate sporting events at Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park, Tiger Stadium, the Pontiac Silverdome, and the University of Michigan's Chrisler Arena.

Carl lives in Oak Park, a near west suburb of Chicago, with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two children, Jonathan and Annie.

The concert will be presented in the Auditorium of the APS Conference Center (Bldg. 402) at Argonne. The concert is open to the public; no special permit is required to enter the Laboratory site.

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The audience is invited to join the artist at a reception following the performance.