Eastman Showcase 2007
A Little Ying Music
It’s certainly not unusual for the acclaimed Ying Quartet to be featured in Strings magazine, as it is in the October 2007 issue. What is unusual is the composer under discussion – not Beethoven or Bartók, but Broadway’s Stephen Sondheim. At a recent “Wall to Wall” event at New York’s Symphony Space devoted to the composer of Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, and other hit musicals, the Yings premiered Night Waltzes, an arrangement by Michael Starobin of three songs from Sondheim’s 1973 show A Little Night Music.
The Yings’ technical and interpretive insights into Sondheim’s music and Starobin’s arrangement are the subject of the Strings article. “He writes vocal lines that work beautifully for string instruments,” says the quartet’s violist, Phillip Ying, adding that the music contains “many different timbres and textures, which makes a perfect translation for chamber music.” The group is looking for another opportunity to perform Night Waltzes.
Sondheim’s musicals, by the way, are frequently performed at Eastman. The Opera Theatre has presented Passion, Sweeney Todd, Company, and Assassins – and A Little Night Music (without the Yings) is scheduled for November 2007.