Germany’s Auryn Quartet, whose recordings of the complete Beethoven string quartets were called “the set to beat” by a reviewer for Gramophone, returns to Bates College to finish its three-year survey of the Beethoven cycle in performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11-12, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.

The ensemble also offers an open rehearsal followed by a reception at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 12. Tickets for the performances cost $10/$4 and are available at www.batestickets.com. Attendance at the rehearsal is open to the public at no cost, but seating is very limited and must be reserved by calling 207-786-6163.

For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu.

Founded 30 years ago, the Auryn Quartet consists of violinists Matthias Lingenfelder and Jens Oppermann, violist Stewart Eaton and cellist Andreas Arndt. One of the most sought-after and respected ensembles in the world, the quartet has not changed its personnel over this long period, and continues with its fresh and pioneering approach to all genres of music.

Here are the programs for the Bates concerts:

Feb. 11: string quartets Op. 74, E-flat major (“Harp”); Op. 18, No. 2, G major; and Op. 131, C-sharp minor.

Feb. 12: Op. 18, No. 6, B major; Op. 130, No. 13, B-flat major; and Op. 133, B-flat major (“Grosse Fuge”).

Feb. 13: Op. 18, No. 4, C minor; Op. 135, F major; and Op. 59, No. 2, E minor (“Razumowsky”).

This quartet based in Cologne, Germany, reflects a “European tradition that blends elegance of sound with seamless phrasing and clarity of detail,” in the words of a writer for Cleveland’s Plain Dealer.

Describing the quartet’s recording of the complete Beethoven quartets, a reviewer for Gramophone wrote: “There is no shortage of great and famous Beethoven cycles, but there are no performances such as these. For me, this is now the set to beat.”

The Auryn’s main mentors were the Amadeus Quartet and the Guarneri Quartet, with Claudio Abbado another important influence. The quartet won its first prizes at the London International Competition and the ARD Munich competition, both in 1982, only one year after the group’s inception. The ensemble also won the main prize at the European Broadcasting Competition in Bratislava in 1989.

Recent tours have taken the quartet to Lincoln Center in New York, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Wigmore Hall in London, where they performed the complete Beethoven cycle.

The quartet runs its own annual chamber music festival in the Venetian town of Este in Italy (Incontri Internazionali) and does the artistic direction for the Musiktage Mondsee in Austria.

The Auryns have a compelling discography, working exclusively with the Tacet company since 2000. The most recent and ambitious recording project is the edition of all 68 Haydn quartets, which was finished in September 2010.

Learn more at www.aurynquartet.com.

The Auyrn Quartet performance, postponed from Saturday, Jan. 30, will take place today, Sunday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall at Bates College, 75 Russell St.

Tickets for Saturday’s postponed show will be honored today, Jan. 31.

Tickets are also available at www.batestickets.com, and 100 free tickets for Bates students will be available with I.D. today.

The concert is presented by the Bates Concerts Committee.

Recently celebrating 28 years of continuous membership, this quartet based in Cologne, Germany, reflects a “European tradition that blends elegance of sound with seamless phrasing and clarity of detail,” in the words of a writer for Cleveland’s Plain Dealer.

Having presented the complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets in Germany, Italy and Washington, D.C., the quartet continues a three-year Beethoven cycle for Bates, offering two concerts per season.

Describing the quartet’s recording of the complete Beethoven quartets, “Auryn’s Beethoven,” an eight-CD set released by Tacet in 2005, a reviewer for Gramophone wrote: “There is no shortage of great and famous Beethoven cycles, but there are no performances such as these. For me, this is now the set to beat.”

The ensemble has developed into one of the most important quartets of its generation, touring extensively and performing regularly in the major concert halls of Europe, The Middle East, The Americas, Australia and Asia, including London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Wiener Konzerthaus in Austria, and New York’s Frick Collection and Weill Recital Hall. Auryn’s Beethoven programs provide selections from each of the composer’s periods within each concert.

The Auryn Quartet series coincides with a season-long effort by renowned pianist and Bates artist in residence Frank Glazer, who resumed his performances of the complete Beethoven sonata cycle at Bates on Jan. 17, with subsequent performances on Feb. 7, Mar. 19, and Apr. 9.

Here is a preview of public events for January 2010. Click “Print this post” at the bottom of the page for a version especially formatted for printing.

For up-to-date information throughout the month, see our Upcoming Events list, updated daily [intlink id="10234" type="page"]here[/intlink].

Except as noted, these events are open to the public at no charge.

Saturday, Jan. 9

1pm Swimming vs. Norwich and New England. Merrill Gymnasium, Tarbell Pool

2pm Men’s and women’s squash vs. Williams. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

Sunday, Jan. 10

Noon Swimming vs. Middlebury. Merrill Gymnasium, Tarbell Pool

Tuesday, Jan. 12

12:30pm Noonday Concert: The Bates College Jazz Combo led by Benjamin Smeltzer ’10. For more information contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Wednesday, Jan. 13

6–9pm Figure drawing sponsored by the Bates College Museum of Art. Artists, bring drawing board and supplies! Easels provided. Admission: $7 (free for Bates students). Olin Arts Center, Room 259

Friday, Jan. 15

6pm Exhibition opening: A reception opens the Museum of Art exhibition Collection Project 4: Selections from Alumni Collections (see Museum of Art, below). For more information call 207-786-6158. Bates College Museum of Art

7 & 9:30pm Film: Zombieland (2009, 81 min.) Sponsored by the Filmboard. Admission: $1. Olin Arts Center, Room 104

7:30pm Concert: In a performance rescheduled from last fall, acclaimed German fortepianist Andreas Staier performs sonatas and variations by Haydn. Tickets are $12/$6 and available from www.batestickets.com. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Saturday, Jan. 16

2 & 7pm Film: Zombieland (see Jan. 15). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

Sunday, Jan. 17

2 & 4:30pm Film: Zombieland (see Jan. 15). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

3pm Concert: Frank Glazer, artist in residence, performs the fifth installment in his survey of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas. Program includes Ops. 49, 53, 54 and 57 (“Appassionata”). Free, but tickets required. For more information contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

5:30pm Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service, incorporating music and liturgy from Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant sources. The Rev. William Cutler leads the service with faculty, staff and students speaking. All are welcome. For more information call 207-786-8272. Chase Hall Lounge

7pm Worship service: A sermon by Barbara D. Savage, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, highlights the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Memorial Service of Worship. (Savage also gives the keynote speech during King Day observances at Bates the following day.) The service includes music by Bates students. Sponsored by the Multifaith Chaplaincy. For more information call 207-786-8272. Bates College Chapel

8:30pm Reception: Meet Professor Savage (see preceding item). Multicultural Center

Monday, Jan. 18    Martin Luther King Jr. Day

In observance of the holiday, classes are canceled and special programming takes place throughout the day. (See Sunday, Jan. 17, for related events.) This year’s King Day theme at Bates is Faith and Ethics in the Public Sphere: What Is the Dream? For more information, call 207-786-6400.

9am Reception: Meet the students from Morehouse and Bates colleges and local high schools who will participate in the morning’s debate (see following item). Benjamin Mays Center

9:30am Oratorical event: Members of the debate teams from Morehouse and Bates colleges and local high school orators debate the resolution, “This house believes that religion is a necessary element of a just social change.” Benjamin Mays Center

10:45am Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote address: Benjamin Mays and the Politics of Black Religion in the Age of Desegregation by Barbara Savage (see Jan. 17). Mays, a member of the Bates Class of 1920, was an important figure in the civil rights movement and the longtime president of Morehouse College. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

1:20pm and throughout the afternoon Workshops: In three concurrent sessions (times and rooms TBA), students, staff, guests and faculty lead readings, presentations and discussions on topics connected to the King Day theme, Faith and Ethics in the Public Sphere: What Is the Dream? The afternoon includes a video exhibition in the Perry Atrium curated by filmmaker Craig Saddlemire ’05. For a complete schedule, call 207-786-6400. Pettengill Hall

7:30pm Performance: Bates students, commissioned to create cultural work for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, present music, dance and spoken pieces. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Tuesday, Jan. 19

12:30pm Noonday Concert: Futaba Niekawa, pianist, performs Alban Berg’s Sonata, Op. 1, and other works. For more information contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Wednesday, Jan. 20

5:30pm Women’s basketball vs. St. Joseph’s. Alumni Gymnasium

6–9pm Figure drawing (see Jan. 13). Olin Arts Center, Room 259

7:30pm Men’s basketball vs. St. Joseph’s. Alumni Gymnasium

Thursday, Jan. 21

6pm Women’s squash vs. Colby. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

Friday, Jan. 22

Time TBA Workshops: Suzanne Vega, the renowned singer-songwriter, offers a creative writing workshop and a business-of-the-arts workshop during the day. Watch the Bates Web site for details. Vega performs two shows the following evening. Presented by the College Concerts Committee. Olin Arts Center

6pm Women’s basketball vs. Bowdoin. Alumni Gymnasium

6pm Men’s squash vs. Bowdoin. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

7 & 9:30pm Film: Where the Wild Things Are (2009, 101 min.) Sponsored by the Filmboard. Admission: $1. Olin Arts Center, Room 104

8pm Men’s basketball vs. Bowdoin. Alumni Gymnasium

Saturday, Jan. 23

Noon Men’s and women’s track and field vs. Colby and Southern Maine. Merrill Gymnasium, Slovenski Track

1pm Swimming vs. Colby. Merrill Gymnasium, Tarbell Pool

2pm Women’s basketball vs. Colby. Alumni Gymnasium

2 & 7pm Film: Where the Wild Things Are (see Jan. 22).
Olin Arts Center, Room 104

4pm Men’s basketball vs. Colby. Alumni Gymnasium

4pm Men’s squash vs. Boston University. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

6pm Men’s and women’s squash vs. Northeastern. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

7 & 9:30pm Concert: Suzanne Vega, a renowned singer-songwriter who has made brilliant use of both high-tech and folk settings for her cool observations of city life, is presented by the Bates College Concerts Committee. Tickets are $20/$12 per show and available at www.batestickets.com. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Sunday, Jan. 24

2 & 4:30pm Film: Where the Wild Things Are (see Jan. 22). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

5:30pm Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service (see Jan. 17). Chase Hall Lounge

Tuesday, Jan. 26

12:30pm Noonday Concert: Folk music by Anthony Shostak and friends. For more information contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Wednesday, Jan. 27

6–9pm Figure drawing (see Jan. 13). Olin Arts Center, Room 259

Thursday, Jan. 28

4:15pm Lecture: Wand Me! Assuming the (Subject) Position of the Compliant Body in the Age of Terror by Alan Nadel, William T. Bryan Professor of English at the University of Kentucky. Nadel examines the visual and verbal rhetoric of airport security and the Transportation Security Administration Web site. Sponsored by the English department and the Bates Learning Associates Program. Pettigrew Hall, Room 200

Friday, Jan. 29

6pm Men’s and women’s squash vs. Columbia. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

7 & 9:30pm Film: Paranormal Activity (2009, 86 min.) Sponsored by the Filmboard. Admission: $1. Olin Arts Center, Room 104

Saturday, Jan. 30

10am Workshop: Debating 4 Democracy (D4D) on the Road. Facilitators from Midwest Academy offer a six-hour training workshop designed to help novice and seasoned political activists develop effective strategies to advocate their positions on current public policy issues. Registration required. For more information and to register, visit this site. Chase Hall Lounge

11am Men’s squash vs. MIT. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

2pm Women’s squash vs. Mount Holyoke. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

2 & 7pm Film: Paranormal Activity (see Jan. 29). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

3:30pm Men’s squash vs. Denison. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

5pm Men’s squash vs. Stanford. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

7pm Lecture: The Bates Outing Club celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2010. This inaugural program in the celebration is a lecture and discussion with Tyler Fish ’96, who successfully completed the first unsupported American cross-country ski expedition to the North Pole last April. For more information call 207-786-8344. Benjamin Mays Center

7:30pm Concert: The Auryn Quartet, from Germany, returns for two nights to continue the complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets that it began last year. Sponsored by the Bates Concerts Committee. Tickets are $10/$4 and available at www.batestickets.com. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Sunday, Jan. 31

11am Men’s squash vs. Dartmouth. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

2 & 4:30pm Film: Paranormal Activity (see Jan. 29). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

3pm Concert: Auryn Quartet (see Jan. 30). Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

4pm Men’s and women’s squash vs. Brown. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

5:30pm Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service (see Jan. 17). Chase Hall Lounge

Bates College Museum of Art

Museum hours: 10am–5pm Tuesday–Saturday

Jan. 15–March 27

Collection Project 4: Selections from Alumni Collections: This exhibition, fourth in a series examining works from the permanent collection, focuses on some of the holdings donated by Bates alumni. Not a comprehensive survey of alumni gifts, the exhibition highlights collections that have had a significant impact on the museum, underscoring the importance of alumni gifts to the richness of the permanent collection. The museum has invited student curatorial interns from the art and visual culture department to develop an exhibition from within these collections: seniors Molly Richmond, Emma Scott and Annie Svigals, under the guidance of the museum’s curator, Bill Low, and curator of education Anthony Shostak.

Through March 26

Joel Babb: The Process Revealed: Curated by Bill Low, this exhibition investigates the role of both the act of drawing and the drawings themselves in making a painting. Rather than mere by-products of the act of creating paintings, drawings are engaging, satisfying and instructive in their own right. Pairing preparatory drawings with finished paintings, this exhibition reveals the stages of work that go into a resolved piece of art. Displayed are works from three of Babb’s areas of interest: cityscapes, wilderness landscapes and figural works such as history painting.

Barry Nemett: Drawings from Italy: This exhibition presents landscapes made during travels to Italy. Nemett, a Mellon Fellow at Bates and chair of the painting department at the Maryland Institute College of Art, has received numerous awards including two from the Alfred and Trafford Klots Residency Program to paint in France and a Ford Foundation grant to support his work in Italy.

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