The history of the Pro Arte Quartet is storied, elaborate and just a bit sensational. Formed in 1911-'12, the inaugural quartet hailed from Brussels, Belgium and found their way to Madison by accident.
On May 10, 1940, the quartet was playing a concert at the Wisconsin Union Theater while the Nazis simultaneously invaded Belgium, essentially stranding the quartet. By October 1940 they became the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s string quartet in residence—the first music ensemble-in-residence at a major university, and they remain the oldest string quartet still performing.
To celebrate their legacy as well as their future, the Pro Arte Quartet is one, performing the premiere of a composition by Belgium composer Benoit Mernier and two, traveling to Belgium in May to attend/perform in the European premiere of Mernier’s piece.
For Suzanne Beia, the quartet’s second violinist for 18 years, her entrance into the group was, if not sensational, than at least involved.
“I heard about the position through first violinist David Perry, whom I had known and worked with previously,” Beia said in an email interview with The Daily Cardinal. “I was encouraged to apply.”
Beia related the lengthy audition process she went through to join the quartet.
“When I was invited to come and audition in person as a finalist, I was asked to prepare various movements from quartets of Mozart, Beethoven, Ravel, Brahms and Bartók. We read and rehearsed the movements together for several hours, after which we performed some of them in an informal public concert.”
She also related how she felt she had no serious chances of being accepted and, subsequently, felt no nervousness through the process.
“It was an amazing moment for me, the morning that I received a call from the quartet, informing me that they wanted me to fill the position!”
Beia began her music career playing viola at the age of 10, before deciding—“for various reasons”—to switch to violin at age 13. By 15, she was dedicated to the violin.
Beia also disclosed how Merner came to write his String Quartet No. 3 for the group.
“I’m not exactly positive about when the idea for this particular commission first came up. I’m going to say, since sometime in 2010. I believe his name came up as various Friends of the Pro Arte Quartet brainstormed composers from whom we might request a commissioned piece. We eventually contacted him, after listening to samples of a few of his previous compositions.”
Beia went on to describe what Mernier’s String Quartet No. 3 will sound like to listeners.
“In the fewest possible words, they should expect to hear a lot of contrasts!” Beia said. “The String Quartet No. 3 is arranged in nine movements ranging in length from 50 seconds to a little over five minutes. A few of the movements flow from one into another without pause. The music is very evocative, each movement seeming to depict a mood, describe a moment in time or capture a quick glimpse of an image.”
Beia punctuated her description with a number of classical terms, with helpful annotations provided in parentheses.
“Listeners can expect to be drawn into the Quartet’s vibrant atmosphere, painted with vivid colors ranging from ‘sul tasto’ (playing over the fingerboard, resulting in a fragile, ‘crumbly’ sound) to ‘sul ponticello’ (playing very near the bridge, producing sounds that are unusually bright and edgy). ‘Pizzicati’ (plucking the string, rather than drawing the bow), ‘tremolandi’ (rapid alternation between two pitches), ‘glissandi’ (sliding between two pitches) and ‘quarter-tones’ (pitches that fall between the traditional twelve tones of the Western scale) are among the ‘special effects’ utilized liberally throughout the Quartet.”
Beia also spoke eloquently on how the piece will come together between the nine movements.
“Certain sections are to be played with the freedom and flexibility of a blade of grass in the breeze, while other sections are hard, angular and unyielding,” Beia said. “All the colors, textures, timbres and characters come together cohesively in the 28 minute work, culminating in an energetic and triumphant finale.”
Beia also touched upon the original quartet, citing both their dedication and perseverance over the years.
“The Quartet’s early members worked extremely hard—and sacrificed a great deal—to achieve a standard of excellence in performance. I am constantly aware, on some level, of my/our responsibility to continue to uphold these standards and traditions.”
She also spoke about her connection with the rest of the Quartet.
“I would say, we are colleagues who have come to know each other extremely intimately over the years we have worked together.”
Beia was quick to qualify, however, that there is a sense of friendship that commingles with the time they spend together performing and rehearsing.
“We care about each other, celebrate each others’ successes, support each other during rough patches, but when you are working so intensely toward the common goal of perfecting a piece of music, sometimes it’s a better thing to ‘keep things professional.’ A simpler thing.”
She ended the interview discussing the trip to Belgium, parts of which are still being planned.
“The exact details [of the trip] are still being finalized, I think, but what I know so far includes concerts in Brussels (at the Royal Palace!), Dolhain-Limbourg and Louvain-la-Neuve.”
Beia spoke about her hopes for visiting Belgium (it will be her first time in the country) and commented on the possibility of visiting a seminal place in the Quartet’s history.
“I hope that I might have a chance to visit the Conservatoire in Brussels, and try to envision what it might have been like for the four young men who decided that it would be a good idea to form a quartet,” Beia said. “I’m fairly sure that none of them would have imagined that the group that they started, would continue for more than a century as it has!”
The Pro Arte Quartet will be playing a free concert at the Mills Concert Hall in the Humanities building at 8 p.m. The concert will be the formal debut of Benoit Mernier’s String Quartet No. 3 and will also feature Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major Opus 20, No. 4 Bruckner’s Quartet in F Major.
