Quatuor Terpsycordes & Cédric Pescia & Nurit Stark

There are those composers who, for no apparent reason, fall through the mesh of history. Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) is one of them. He is unknown and unloved - wrongly so, in our opinion. In the area of chamber music, this Jewish-Swiss composer left us a highly impressive oeuvre that is every bit as imposing as that of such contemporaries as Schoenberg and Bartók. He studied the violin as a young man, and his teachers included Eugène Ysaÿe, who inspired him to pursue composing. Bloch's musical idiom contains stylistic traits that are typical of Jewish music, such as lengthy pauses, modal harmonies, frequent changes of tempo and irregular, gliding rhythms. In 1916, he emigrated to the United States, where he soon enjoyed success with his 'Hebrew style' music. Although Bloch was aware of passing trends, he continued to pursue his own path. His two violin sonatas are neo-classical at heart. In his monumental 1923 First Piano Quintet, he employed quarter tones. Many of his works are an expressionist manifestation of the horror and despair of the two world wars, with vehement outbursts of feeling. Nevertheless, he always sees a light shining somewhere through the darkness. Quatuor Terpsycordes, violinist Nurit Stark and pianist Cédric Pescia will be delighted to share their passion for Ernest Bloch with you. Join them and discover this intriguing composer.