The Orion Ensemble. Photo by Ed Ingold.

Preview: Farewell to the Orion Ensemble after 35 Years

This and next weekend, the Orion Ensemble will be performing their last concerts together. For 35 years, this quartet of clarinetist Kathryne Pirtle, violinist Florentina Ramniceanu, cellist Judy Stone, and pianist Diana Schműck have entertained audiences in and around Chicago and elsewhere. For these three concerts, they will be joined by longtime guest musicians violist Stephen Boe and violinist Mathias Tacke.

With an unusual configuration for a chamber quartet that includes a clarinet, the Orion Ensemble has performed works that are rarely heard. In the upcoming concerts, they will be offering the Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano by Aram Khachaturian and the Overture on Hebrew Themes for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Piano by Sergei Prokofiev. The concert will close with a classical music chestnut that is always worth traveling to hear: Piano Quintet in F-Minor by Johannes Brahms.

Performances in the Chicago area will take place at the New England Congregational Church in Aurora on May 3, the PianoForte Studios in downtown Chicago on May 4, and the Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston on May 10, where Orion is a Resident Ensemble.

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Since it started publishing in 2016, Third Coast Review has regularly covered the Orion Ensemble. They will be missed. For ticket information, click here.

#Diana Schműck#Florentina Ramniceanu#Judy Stone#Kathryne Pirtle#Mathias Tacke#Orion Ensemble#Stephen Boe#Top Teasers
Louis Harris

A lover of music his whole life, Louis Harris has written extensively from the early days of punk and alternative rock. More recently he has focused on classical music, especially chamber ensembles. He has reviewed concerts, festivals, and recordings and has interviewed composers and performers. He has paid special attention to Chicago’s rich and robust contemporary art music scene. He occasionally writes poetry and has a published novel to his credit, 32 Variations on a Theme by Basil II in the Key of Washington, DC. He now lives on the north side of Chicago, which he considers to be the greatest city in the country, if not the world. Member of the Music Critics Association of North America.