Mr. Quint, whose unusual surname is of Italian origin, was born of a rich musical heritage in St. Petersburg, Russia; his mother, Lora Kvint, is celebrated as one of Russia’s most well known popular composers. Mr. Quint left the former Soviet Union in 1991 and is now an American citizen who harbors a strong commitment to the music of his new country, frequently performing works by William Schuman, LukasFoss, Leonard Bernstein, Ned Rorem, John Corigliano, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and Lera Auerbach.

Mr. Quint has been in wide demand, both domestically and internationally; recent concert engagements include the Detroit, Indianapolis, Minnesota, Houston, Omaha, Alabama, Nashville, and Virginia Symphonies, Buffalo, Louisiana, and Oklahoma Philharmonic Orchestras, Bournemouth and the Royal Liverpool (UK). the China National Symphony; the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; and the Mostly Mozart Festival. His has appeared under the batons of renowned conductors including Marin Alsop, Andrew Litton, Klauspeter Seibel, Kurt Masur, Hans Graf, Maxim Shostakovich, JoAnn Falletta, Jorge Mester, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Kirk Trevor, Carl St.Clair and Kenneth Schermerhorn.

An active chamber musician, he has appeared in recitals and performances at the Rome Chamber Music Festival, Lincoln Center (NY), Caramoor (NY), Ravinia (IL), Aspen (CO), Lukas Foss's Hamptons Music Festival (NY), Kravis Center (FL), UC Davis Presents (CA), and most recently at the National Gallery in Washington (DC).In the 05-06 season Mr. Quint was the featured soloist at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in the world premiere of Lera Auerbach’s Concerto No.1, a piece written and dedicated to him.

Having won a myriad of awards since his days as a student, Quint has amassed top prizes at the Juilliard Competition ('98), Spain's Pablo de Sarasate International Violin Competition ('97), where he also received the Special Audience Prize, and the Salon de Virtuosi Award ('97). He has been a Career Grant recipient of the Clarisse B. Kampel Foundation since 1996 and the Bagby Foundation since 2002.


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Program Notes

BERNSTEIN'S OVERTURE TO CANDIDE

Leonard Bernstein wrote his musical Candide in 1956, loosely based on a story by Voltaire. Voltaire's novel is a biting satire, fast paced and punchy, the action moving from country to country and from one disaster to another with comic-strip brevity. It ends with the famous phrase “one must cultivate one's garden” – but this is ultimately quite cynical, because Voltaire means that there is nothing else in life worth while. Bernstein makes the ending much more positive and hopeful, even though his stated aim in writing the musical was to take a swipe at the smug complacency of post-war America.

Candide is problematic to stage, because the cartoon-like nature of the story line and huge number of different locations make for a fragmented, not integrated, work of musical art. But musically it displays Bernstein's huge intelligence and skill, and includes sly references to other styles of opera and operetta. Dance forms like the waltz, polka, gavotte and mazurka crop up frequently, and overall the music is superb.

The overture is very short and fast paced, and even in this short span he manages to imitate a Rossini overture! ~Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra


CORIGLIANO'S THE RED VIOLIN

For Joshua Bell, Corigliano composed Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: The Red Violin (2005.) Developed from the themes of the score to the François Girard’s film of the same name, which won Corigliano an Oscar in 1999, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was introduced by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under Marin Alsop and recorded by them in 2007.

This four-movement concerto is a terrific piece of music and a great showpiece, as well. Part of it originally appeared in a film of the same name, but make no mistake--this is no "pop" violin, concert-like exercise; this is a work that should become a repertory staple. After an opening chaconne (recorded elsewhere as a solo piece), the hushed, fascinating sound world of the scherzo is riveting, and the lush "andante flautando" bathes us in the Romantic sensibility.

But it's the startling and glittering "accelerando finale," with its manic forward propulsion, that suddenly makes the listener realize that we are in the presence of a masterwork. ~Robert Levine


DVORAK'S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY

In September 1892, Antonin Dvorak arrived in New York to take up the post of Director of the National Conservatory of Music. One of his first jobs was to judge the prizes for a composition competition: the patron of the conservatory had put up over $4,000 in prize money for six classes of composition. Dvorak found much talent, "mostly in the German school, but here and there another spirit, other thoughts, other colouring - in short, Indian music".

Quite what made him think he was hearing the influence of native Indian music is doubtful. He certainly had very little chance to hear any real Indian or Negro music before he began sketching a new symphony in January 1893. Work on it occupied him for about five months, and he completed the work on 24th May.

The title page is interesting: written in both Czech and English it says "From the New World, Symphony (E minor), No.8, Opus 95". The '8' was later crossed out and '7' substituted, only to be crossed out in turn. Dvorak seems to have been oddly unsure as to how many symphonies he had written! The confusion was made worse when Dvorak's first four symphonies were lost, and for most of the early 20th century the New World Symphony was known as number 5.

After a slow introduction the first movement has three main tunes: the bold opening horn call, the folksy tune heard later on flutes and clarinets, and a happy melody on the solo flute The whole opening section is repeated before a development of all three themes in increasing complexity and excitement leads to a reprise of the opening theme and a triumphant coda.

The slow movement, after a solemn procession of chords lowers the key from E to D-flat, introduces the famous tune on cor anglais. (If only Dvorak had received royalties every time this tune has been used in an advertisement ..!) A long central section includes references to two of the themes from the first movement, and the movement ends with a peaceful memory of the cor anglais theme and the opening chord sequence.

The scherzo is a vigorous dance, whose tunes sound very Czech (not American) in origin - especially the village wind band sound of the trio section. This movement too is haunted by the ghost of the first movement, a reference made explicit in the coda.

The finale sweeps along with great energy, built on the bold theme proclaimed by horns and trombones. A calm second theme on solo clarinet offers contrast, and then Dvorak includes references to several themes from earlier movements as he builds the symphony to its powerful and triumphant conclusion. ~Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra