Edward T. Cone Concert Series Continues at Institute for Advanced Study in February and March

PRINCETON, N.J. - January 3, 2008  - The Institute for Advanced Study has announced the spring schedule for its 2007-08 season, the inaugural Edward T. Cone Concert Series, organized by Artist-in-Residence Paul Moravec, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer.  The series, Tradition Redefined, explores the wide variety of aesthetic perspectives in art music, especially of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Enso String Quartet Photo by David Mehr

On February 8 and 9 at 8:00 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall on the Institute campus, the Enso String Quartet (Maureen Nelson and John Marcus on violin, Melissa Reardon on viola and Richard Belcher on cello) will perform the music of Franz Joseph Haydn, Hugo Wolf, Maurice Ravel, and IAS Artist-in-Residence Paul Moravec. 

In a concert talk at 4 p.m. on February 8 in the Dilworth Room, Terry Teachout, music and drama critic at Commentary magazine and the Wall Street Journal, will present "Confessions of a Critic."

The recorder collective Quartet New Generation will perform on March 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall.  The Berlin-based group performs on upwards of 20 different recorders of varying sizes and shapes during the course of a typical performance.  The concert will feature the world premiere of Mortal Flesh, a work by Paul Moravec, along with the music of Bach, Bruckner, Petros Ovsepyan, Gordon Beeferman, Thomas Tompkins, John Dowland, Samuel Scheidt and Chiel Meijering.

A Concert Talk, "The High Male Voice: Castrato, Countertenor, and Male Alto," will be presented by legendary countertenor Russell Oberlin on Friday, March 7 at 4 p.m. in the Dilworth Room.  No tickets are needed for this event.  In 2004, Oberlin's performance career was the subject of a Canadian film, Russell Oberlin: America's Legendary Countertenor.  He was a pioneer in the early music revival in America, and those attending the talk will hear some of his classic recordings from the 50s and 60s.  This presentation, which will have a question-and-answer period, may touch on subjects including Oberlin's performance career, his role as a founding member of the New York Pro Musica Antiqua, and his work with  such musical giants as Leonard Bernstein, Glenn Gould, and Robert Shaw.

Concert tickets are free but must be reserved in advance; no tickets are necessary for the talks.  For ticket information, or for further information about the Institute for Advanced Study's Artist-in-Residence Program, call (609) 734-8228 or visit www.ias.edu/air.

Quartet New Generation Photo by David Pape

As of October 2007, the series carries the name of the late Edward T. Cone, who was a distinguished composer and musical scholar with long-standing ties to the Institute.  The Artist-in-Residence program organizes and presents a concert series each year that bring outstanding musical artists to the Institute campus to perform free-of-charge for the Institute community and the general public.  These concerts are now known as the Edward T. Cone Concert Series.

About Edward T. Cone

Noted composer, teacher, pianist and author Edward T. Cone earned his undergraduate and MFA degrees at Princeton University, and was on the faculty of the Princeton music department for more than 50 years.  A Founding Friend of the Friends of the Institute for Advanced Study, he had a close and long-standing relationship with this institution.  During his lifetime, he was a tireless supporter of the arts and humanities at the Institute and elsewhere.

About the Artist-in-Residence Program

The Artist-in-Residence program was established at the Institute for Advanced Study in 1994 to create a musical presence within the Institute community and to have in residence a person whose work could be experienced and appreciated by scholars from all disciplines.   Pianist Robert Taub was the first Artist-in-Residence from 1994 to 2001, followed by composer Jon Magnussen, who served as Artist-in-Residence from 2000 to 2007. 

Artist-in-Residence Paul Moravec, whose term began in July 2007, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2004 for Tempest Fantasy, a thirty-minute "musical meditation" on Shakespeare's play scored for clarinet, violin, cello and piano.  He is University Professor at Adelphi University and is currently working on new works for Santa Fe Opera and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. 

About the Institute for Advanced Study

The Institute for Advanced Study is one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry.  The Institute exists to encourage and support fundamental scholarship - the original, often speculative, thinking that produces advances in knowledge that change the way we understand the world. 

Founded in 1930, the Institute is a private, independent academic institution located in Princeton, New Jersey.  Its more than 5,000 former Members hold positions of intellectual and scientific leadership in the United States and abroad. Some twenty-two Nobel Laureates, and thirty-four out of forty-eight Fields Medalists, have been Institute Faculty, Members or Visitors. Many winners of the Wolf or MacArthur prizes have also been affiliated with the Institute.