BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS

After our return from China in January 1982, an intense period of international touring, combined with the obligations associated with our residency at the VPI, took their toll on members of the Quartet.   In the end, three members of the ensemble came to the conclusion that it would be in their best interest to find a replacement for our first violinist.   As the months of summer concerts in Mt. Gretna drew nearer, we began a national search for someone who could step in quickly and help us continue with our existing performing and teaching obligations.

We were all relatively young.  Two continuing members were still in the their late 20s, and I was just over 30, but expectations for our ensemble were high.  In only six years, the Audubon had won top prizes at three international string quartet competitions, gained a college residency, performed at the White House by Presidential invitation, been featured on the nationally televised show CBS Sunday Morning, and become the first American string quartet ever to be invited by the  Chinese Ministry of Culture to perform and teach on the Mainland.  Having established ourselves as an innovative ensemble, Doris, Sharon and I ultimately made a creative decision to think outside the box in our search for a new member.

One of the many phone calls we made to colleagues in the string world seeking advice was to violist Toby Appel.  Toby had been a member of the Lenox String Quartet, the resident ensemble at SUNY-Binghamton, which presided over the Young Artist program that gave birth to Audubon Quartet in 1974.  When the Lenox Quartet, which was founded at Tanglewood in 1957, disbanded after 22 years, Toby had turned his artistic efforts toward the chamber music ensemble Tashi and other guest appearances.

In one conversation between Doris and Toby about prospective violinists, she asked Toby, “how about you?”  Doris and Toby were both violists, both had attended the Curtis Institute, and both had spent summers at the Marlboro Festival in Vermont.  Ironically, it was Toby who had given me the name of Doris Lederer back in 1976 when the Audubon Quartet was searching for a new violist.  It turned out that Toby had an old French violin in his possession and must have thought it would be fun to learn a few standard works for string quartet, music obviously already known to him as a quartet violist.  So Toby volunteered to come down to Virginia for an extended reading session and discussions on whether joining us as a violinist was a workable idea.  After several days of reading quartets together in Blacksburg, we three unanimously agreed that Toby Appel should be invited to join the Audubon Quartet

“Thinking outside the box” is an unconventional approach to problem solving, but there were several immediate and pressing problems to solve, including the ten coming 1982 summer festival concerts scheduled at Mt. Gretna, PA.  Knowing that Toby had previous commitments with Tashi which would interfere with the Gretna dates, we reached out for help to Toby’s Lenox Quartet colleague, violinist Delmar Pettys, for help.  Delmar was happy to join us for a couple concerts at Mt. Gretna, so Toby could honor his previous commitments.

After the first two Gretna concerts of the 1982 season, Delmar had to leave us, and we invited violinist Eliot Chapo to fill in for the remainder of our summer season.  Eliot was a former concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez and then concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, as well as violinist of the New York based ensemble An Die Musik.  Finally, in September of 1982, the newly “rearranged” Audubon Quartet began the next stage of its career, with fourth member violist-violinist Toby Appel.

Unfortunately, the first season of “outside the box” thinking was not as successful as we all had hoped for.  Toby moved to the Blacksburg area of Southwest Virginia and we began rehearsing in earnest.  Our manager, Joanne Rile, had arranged several concerts, despite having expressed concerns about the effectiveness of selling a newly re-formed ensemble.  Still, we remained enthusiastic about our quartet and what we believed we could bring to the stage.

Most of the traditional “Town and Gown” concerts were sponsored by presenters at nearby colleges and universities in Virginia, but the Audubon Quartet had purchased a Chevrolet van, allowing us to expand our musical presence to states such as Ohio, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8 in C minor (1960), Op. 110 // Audubon Quartet in  live concert in 1982 / Toby Appel and Sharon Polifrone, violins – Doris Lederer, viola – Clyde Shaw, cello

However, things other than relationships are susceptible to breakage, and the next one was the middle finger of Sharon Polifrone, one of our Quartet violinists, just a week before a concert at the Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia.  Now we had to find yet another emergency substitute!

Earlier that fall, I had received an invitation from Arminda Villa-Lobos to come to Brazil and judge the international cello competition being held in Rio de Janeiro.  Excited about the honor of participating as a judge in Brazil, I had reached out to our “Arts America” contacts at the US State Department to see if there would be a possibility for the Audubon Quartet to do a tour in Brazil.  Knowing that there might be such a possibility, and because I would already be in Brazil for the competition, we had organized a special program at Wolf Trap that included the 17^th String Quartet of Villa-Lobos.  The hope was that someone from the State Department would attend our concert.

Now that Sharon had suffered a broken finger and could not play that concert, it seemed appropriate to invite Janet Brady to fill in for Sharon, it occurred to us that that our former violinist,  Janet Brady would be especially appropriate to fill in for Sharon.  Janet, now living and teaching in Binghamton, NY, was second violinist in the Audubon Quartet in 1977, when it won the first prize gold medal at the Villa-Lobos international string quartet competition in Brazil.

A representative from the State Department did in fact attend the Wolf Trap performance concert on November 7^th and informed us backstage after the concert that we would be asked to make a tour of several major Brazilian, including some other South American cities once I had completed my duties on the competition jury.  I left for Rio de Janeiro on November 17^th, followed by Doris, Janet and Toby ten days later.

Because I had arrived in Brazil before the others, I was able to acclimate to the gut flora found in Brazilian food and drink.  I mention this only because of the “singing tummies” that accompanied several of the first AQ concert performances – concert intermission breaks were well received by some of our members!

The stress of an international tour without Sharon, and the expectations placed on this relatively newly re-formed Audubon Quartet were overwhelming, and upon our return to the United States it became obvious that the Quartet was once again on unstable ground.  Toby announced to us shortly thereafter that this was not an enterprise he wished to continue being part of.

At the beginning of 1983, with Sharon’s hand healed, several concerts already contracted by the Rile Management.   We were obliged to honor those dates, but at all the same time we felt the need to reassess whether the Audubon Quartet should continue at all.

Concerts had been scheduled in Florida, including the Chamber Music Society in Melbourne, and the University of Central Florida.  Other concert dates that season included several at Ivy League institutions.  At Cornell, we played a string quartet composed in 1964 by Polish composer Witold Lutosławski.  This was especially exciting because the composer himself was present at that performance!  It is always thrilling to perform live for the composer of a work!  Composed in aleatoric style, it had been premiered 13 years earlier by the LaSalle Quartet that included cellist Richard Kapuscinski, with whom I had studied at Oberlin College.  A month later, at Yale, we performed with guest cellist Aldo Parisot, who was the cello professor there, and with whom I had been a private student in earlier years.  The chamber music world is indeed interconnected in so many ways.

One particular concert that Toby could not play that spring, and for which we asked Delmar Pettys to serve as a substitute violinist, was in Little Rock, AR for the Chamber Music Society.  This had to be one of the most memorable experiences I can ever recall.  Our program included the Shostakovich Quartet No. 8.   After the concert, our presenter, a colorful character named William “Billy” Moore Clark, drove us to a dinner in his huge Lincoln Continental, chuckling all the way, and “singing” the quick eighth note DSCH motif from the third movement played by the 1^st violinist.  He loudly proclaimed Delmar Pettys to be “Shostakovich incarnate”, exclaiming, “come on – play it again for me Shostakovich!” over and over.

When preparing for these 1983 spring concerts, we were not only burdened with making arrangements for a substitute player, but were also searching for a possible replacement for Toby.

During our search, we came into contact with a violinist named Lawrence (Larry) Shapiro, who had recently left the Fine Arts Quartet, then in residence at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Larry was in the market for another position, so we invited him to Blacksburg to spend a few days reading quartets.  One consideration that was important to us, other than how he played and fit in musically, was whether he would be free for the summer concerts at the Mt. Gretna Festival.

Besides being a fine violinist, Larry was an exceptionally agreeable person, soft, gentle, and with a great sense of humor.  After a few days of sharing music and life-stories, we decided to take a chance and invite Larry to join us for the summer.

We had several performances left during the spring of 1983, including concerts and classroom appearances at VPI.  After the final Blacksburg concert on May 20^th, the Quartet played a concert at the Appel Farm Music and Arts Center, a 115-acre farm in Elmer, NJ.  The Appel Farm was owned and operated by Toby’s parents, and was where Toby was raised as a child.  There, we spent a few days rehearsing with Toby’s father, Al Appel, who was quite a good amateur cellist.  The concert at the end of that stay included the famous Schubert C-major string quintet that adds another cello to the usual string quartet. That was to be the last concert we played with Toby Appel as our first violinist. 15 years later in 1998, we crossed paths with Toby at a the Marrowstone Music Festival in Washington State. Although we did not play together this time, it was wonderful to be together at the same event.

One month after the concert at Appel Farm, on June 19^th, the Audubon Quartet played its first concert with Larry Shapiro at the 1983 Mt. Gretna Summer Music Festival.  He played 11 concerts with us at Gretna. In this series of concerts, the quartet performed weekly with guest artists, giving us the opportunity to audition Larry (and he us) over an extended period.

At the first Mt. Gretna concert we performed Peter Schickele’s “Summer Trio” (for flute, cello and piano) with pianist David Oei, an old friend of Doris Lederer and also the pianist for one of Peter’s touring “PDQ Bach” programs. He also performed Schubert’s popular “Trout Quintet” with us and double bassist Tim Carter at Mt. Gretna during that summer of 1983.

At some point it occurred to us to ask David if he would consider speaking to Peter about composing a string quartet specifically for the Audubon Quartet.  David returned to New York with a promise that he would call Peter with our proposal.  On August 15^th, we received a letter from Peter’s manager confirming that Peter would write a quartet for us by December 1^st. The amount of the commission was specified, with the provision that copying costs would be the responsibility of the Quartet, but that the parts would be retained by Peter for publication by Theodore Presser Co.  The Audubon was to have exclusive performance rights for a period of one year from the date of the first performance.  Excited about this stroke of good fortune, we immediately set about securing a date in New York for the premiere performance at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, during the spring of 1984.  The first available date during that busy concert season in New York was April 1, and we jumped at it.

By the end of the summer of 1983, we collectively decided that we would play the coming season with Larry as our first violinist, which meant we would need to introduce him to the Virginia Tech (VPI) administration and also to our manager, Joanne Rile.  As usual, this had to be accomplished in the middle of intensive preparation for our coming concert and teaching schedules.

During Larry’s tenure with the Audubon Quartet, he completed almost two entire summer seasons (1983-1984) at the Music at Gretna summer festival, all the while traveling from his home in Akron, Ohio.  Often he spared himself the 12h roundtrip drive by staying at my home in Blacksburg, where the Quartet rehearsed and prepared for its obligations at VPI.  Those obligations included a series of four concerts that included a complete Beethoven cycle, and participation in various classroom curricula.  We also played concerts around the United States under the auspices of Joanne Rile Management.  Throughout all of this, we were in continuing conversation with Larry about his making a decision to move to Blacksburg full-time.  One obstacle was the fact that he had recently moved to Akron with actress wife and two daughters after leaving his position with the Fine Arts Quartet at the University of Wisconsin.  It was clear that the decision to move once again would not be an easy choice for him to make, even though the Audubon Quartet personnel arrangement was working out very well.  At the end of the summer, the Harrisburg Patriot Newspaper published an article announcing Larry’s joining forces with the Audubon Quartet and returning with them to VPI in Blacksburg, VA.

As the 1984 regular season got underway with lots of travel and many concerts, we had become increasingly concerned that we might once again need to search for a new violinist, and pressure mounted on Larry to make a firm decision about committing to the Quartet.  As a matter of prudence, we began to put out feelers to the Assistant Concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony, David Ehrlich, who had expressed interest should our negotiations with Larry not pan out.

In December (1983), we received the score and parts to Peter Schickele’s String Quartet No. 1, “American Dreams”, but were unable to begin rehearsing the piece until early January (1984).

Larry spent most of January and February rehearsing with us in Blacksburg, because of our busy touring schedule.  This was also the time when we started our cycle of the complete Beethoven string quartets, with the first concert at the end of February in Blacksburg.  We were becoming increasingly anxious about whether or not Larry would make a commitment to join the AQ on a permanent basis, and after discussions with David Ehrlich, we arranged for him to come to Blacksburg for reading session with Doris, Sharon and me.

March was a busy and consequential month for the Quartet.   We had arranged for Peter Schickele to come to Virginia to work with us on American Dreams. At the same time, this was a month that David Ehrlich could get time off from the Indianapolis Symphony.  Peter arrived on Friday, March 2^nd and spent two days working with the AQ, in preparation for the
“preview” we had planned for our VPI concert on March 4^th.  While all this was going on, David Ehrlich arrived in Blacksburg to see if we should further pursue a professional relationship!    It was quite the weekend.  David attended the Schickele “preview’ at VPI on Sunday.  After Peter left on Monday, Doris, Sharon and I turned our attention to reading with David.  That night, David drove with us to an Audubon Quartet concert at nearby Hollins College in Roanoke.  Upon returning to Blacksburg, we continued our reading sessions with David all day on Tuesday, March 6^th.

Larry spent most of January and February rehearsing with us in Blacksburg, because of our busy touring schedule.  This was also the time when we started our cycle of the complete Beethoven string quartets, with the first concert at the end of February in Blacksburg.

We were becoming increasingly anxious about whether or not Larry would make a commitment to join the AQ on a permanent basis, and after discussions with David Ehrlich, we arranged for him to come to Blacksburg for reading session with Doris, Sharon and me.

March was a busy and consequential month for the Quartet.   We had arranged for Peter Schickele to come to Virginia to work with us on American Dreams. At the same time, this was a month that David Ehrlich could get time off from the Indianapolis Symphony.  Peter arrived on Friday, March 2^nd  and spent two days working with the AQ, in preparation for the
“preview” we had planned for our VPI concert on March 4^th.  While all this was going on, David Ehrlich arrived in Blacksburg to see if we should further pursue a professional relationship!    This was quite the weekend.  David attended the Schickele “preview’ at VPI on Sunday.  After Peter left on Monday, Doris, Sharon and I turned our attention to reading with David.  That night, David drove with us to an Audubon Quartet concert at nearby Hollins College in Roanoke.  Upon returning to Blacksburg, we continued our reading sessions with David all day on Tuesday, March 6^th.

One week later, on our Florida tour, where we reunited with Peter Schickele for 2 concerts Florida.  After that experience, with three “preview” concerts under our belts, we did not see Peter again until we met in New York for the world premiere on April 1^st, “April Fool’s Day”.

Peter’s contract letter had stated that the balance of the commission would be paid on or before April 1, 1984, which, as it turned out, was one of the earliest dates we could secure for the world premiere.  So we booked that date.  In arranging the concert at Lincoln Center the previous year, the thought had not crossed our minds that an audience might attend our concert expecting musical hijinks, as opposed to the serious program we created, including Beethoven’s Quartet Op. 18/3, Schubert’s “Quartettsatz”, and ending with Quartet No. 2 by Ernst von Dohnanyi, all of which surrounded and highlighted the world premiere of Peter’s “American Dreams”, a captivating and lyrical evocation of the American spirit of optimism.

The review of that concert was not notable and long since lost to time.  However, the “American Dreams” quartet gained popularity in the quartet world, and as a result Peter composed five published string quartets. The Audubon Quartet recorded nos. 1 and 5, as well as his first of two Quintets for piano and strings. Peter performed with us, as pianist of his Quintet.

As April passed, tensions mounted in the Quartet and it became clear that Larry would not be able to commit to the joining us on a permanent basis.  In May, three of us without Larry, met David in Indianapolis, where we had additional reading sessions.

Larry returned to Blacksburg in mid-May, so we could conclude our obligations at VPI. He   played his final VPI series concert with us on May 20^th, and his last Beethoven quartet series concert with us on May 31^st.  Being more than generous by nature, Larry agreed to continue with the Quartet until the time when we no longer needed his services.  He stayed on well into the summer season at Mount Gretna, until David Ehrlich finished his obligations with the Indianapolis Symphony.  David joined us on August 5^th for a combined concert with the Colorado Quartet. The program consisted of the Tchaikovsky string sextet “Souvenir de Florence” and the string octet by Mendelssohn.