Originally from New Jersey, Harumi Rhodes was born into a family with Japanese, American, Russian and Romanian roots. After studying at the Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory, she co-founded the Naumburg Award-winning ensemble Trio Cavatina, served as artist member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and performed extensively with Music from Copland House, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Musicians from Marlboro.
Ms. Rhodes is now the 2nd violinist of the internationally renowned Takács Quartet, which performs 80 concerts a year worldwide. Acclaimed by the New York Times as a “deeply expressive violinist”, Ms. Rhodes has gained recognition as a multi-faceted musician with a distinctive musical voice. She is Associate Professor of Violin, Artist in Residence and Ralph E. and Barbara L. Christoffersen Faculty Fellow at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Rhodes combines her performing career with a passionate commitment to guiding young instrumentalists, composers, and chamber ensembles.
Ms. Rhodes answered our questions in anticipation of the Takács Quartet’s upcoming Vancouver performance on Sunday, December 8, 2024.
Q: What are the highlights for you of this season’s schedule for the Takács Quartet?
A: I’m especially excited about our two new albums coming out this season on Hyperion Records. The first is a new piece written for us by Nokuthula Ngwenyama called “FLOW.” The piece is full of drama, humour, and a sense of wonder for the natural world. Thula is not only an extraordinary composer but also a fabulous violist – we first met 25 years ago playing chamber music together. Reconnecting after all these years has been such a joyful part of this process! Then later this spring, we have a second album coming out with pianist Marc-André Hamelin which includes Florence Price’s Piano Quintet in A Minor and Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A Major.
Q: What appeals to you about being in a string quartet?
A: I love being a part of a small village. I enjoy the difficult, gritty work needed to stay healthy and flexible, the hard-earned spontaneity one gains on stage, the tricky balance of individual voice and community spirit. I adore the music. I enjoy “geeking-out” on imagining new sounds and creating new music. I love mentoring young performers and composers. And I also find it appealing that in a string quartet you can’t take yourself too seriously because you always have three other people to keep you in check!
Q: What can you tell us about the music (Haydn: String Quartet in C Major, Op 54 No 2; Britten: String Quartet No 2 in C Major, Op 36; Beethoven: String Quartet No 16 in F Major, Op 135) that you will be playing for us in Vancouver this year?
A: The Haydn opens with a bold statement which quickly turns into a question – it keeps us on our toes! The second movement starts with a somber melody which is then overlayed by an improvisatory first violin soliloquy packed with emotion and longing. After an elegant Minuet, the last movement opens with a slow angelic theme featuring a rising cello line that reaches all the way to the top of the instrument – an extraordinary register for the cello in this style! After a short scurrying “Presto” section, the original slow theme returns and the whole piece ends peacefully in C Major.
The Britten opens with a C Major open-spaced chord, complete with a drone in the viola which is then passed around the group. The fast and wild second movement is full of suspense and mischief. The last movement “Chacony” is a set of expansive variations. The movement opens and closes in unison, but the variations feature all four instruments in every possible combination of timbre and mood.
Ending the program with late Beethoven could seem like a heavy endeavor after the Britten, but Opus 135 feels refreshing in this context – a piece that opens with a sense of playful mystery and includes one of the most expressive and exploratory slow movements ever written.
Thank you for sharing your insights and we look forward to hearing you and your colleagues play this programme for us in Vancouver on December 8, 2024!
Join us to hear Ms. Rhodes and her colleagues in the Takács Quartet at the Vancouver Playhouse at 3:00 pm on Sunday, December 8, 2024. For concert information and tickets please click on the link below.
https://friendsofchambermusic.ca/concert/takacs-quartet-8/
