They offer various programs including the Quintets of Mozart and Brahms, Francaix, Paul Hindemith, Ben-Haim and featuring, among other works of American composers, a new Quintet, “The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind” by the Jewish-American composer Osvaldo Golijov. (The complete repertoire for the Ciompi Quartet can be viewed at www.ciompi.org.)
As an ensemble clarinet with string quartet enjoys a most privileged position in the chamber music world. Its large repertoire spans music from classical to modern. It is not by chance that this repertoire contains some of the greatest masterpieces ever written. Contemporary composers continue to be inspired by the huge palette of tonal and stylistic possibilities this ensemble offers.
“It was quite a display--glorious music-making with no apparent effort!” Spectator, Raleigh, NC
Allan Ware and the Ciompi String Quartet have been performing together in the USA, Europe and elsewhere for 20 years, performing the major clarinet quintets to critical acclaim. Over the years Allan Ware and the Ciompi Quartet of Duke University have performed concert programs to the acclaim of US and European audiences and critics
“Carl Maria von Weber’s Quintet (with the Ciompi Quartet) ...was one of those performances to stand up and shout about. The normally staid Durham chamber music crowd didnĚt exactly shout, but demonstrated its enthusiasm by demanding five curtain calls.” DURHAM HERALD
