Quartet Canada

Quartet Canada

Quartet Canada. Piano quartet formed in 1975 by Steven Staryk (violin), Gerald Stanick (viola), Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (cello), and Ronald Turini (piano). It made its debut on CBC TV's 'Music to See' in May 1976 and gave its first public recital that summer at the Courtenay Youth Music Camp. During the 1976-7 season it toured Canada, performing in Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg, and several Ontario cities. After its Toronto debut, 31 Mar 1977, John Kraglund (describing the performance of the Fauré Piano Quartet, Opus 15) wrote 'there was the nearly flawless give and take that is an essential characteristic of chamber music ensembles' (Globe and Mail, 1 Apr 1977). It made its Montreal debut 2 Oct 1977, toured Canada again 1977-8, visited the Far East in May and June of 1978, performing in Japan, Korea, and Hawaii, and toured 1979-80 in the USA. It was quartet-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario 1977-81. The ensemble also has performed at the Victoria International Festival during the 1980s. In 1980 Yuri Mazurkevich replaced Staryk, and in 1987 Anthony Elliott replaced Tsutsumi (although the latter did appear again with the Quartet in 1989), and the cellist Eric Wilson has made occasional appearances. It has commissioned and premiered piano quartets from Peter Paul Koprowski (1981), and from Anne Lauber (1989).