Sault Star
February 8, 2008

Penderecki String Quartet fiddles from four corners of the world
By Brandon Walker

Christine Vlajk is an international traveler of a different sort. The violist and her fellow Penderecki String Quartet players perform contemporary works from all over the world, including Poland, Israel, Lithuania, Italy and China. The group has given more than 100 world premieres of new works by composers such as Randolph Peters, Alice Ho, Omar Daniel and Glen Buhr.

"We feel that it's important to give a voice to contemporary music," said Vlajk in a recent interview from Waterloo, Ont. "The more music you play, the more music you premiere, you realize that there's this whole body of textures and languages in music that different composers are influenced by so that sometimes infuses their music, too." The quartet brings Chinese composer Tan Dun's Eight Colours to Algoma's Water Tower Inn Saturday. "Some pieces you like more than others. This one I love," said Vlajk. "This one I think we play because we really, really love it."

The "quite difficult" work features a series of short movements including Pink Actress, Black Dance and Zen. "It's like an eight-course meal," said Vlajk. "A little taste of this, you know it, you digested it and you're on to the next course."

Dun also scored the films Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Fallen. Saturday's program also includes Haydn's String Quartet in C Major and Mendelssohn's String Quartet in D Major. Penderecki String Quartet is presented by Algoma Conservatory of Music.

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