The Ying Quartet

Performance at Strong Museum
Rochester, NY
February 26, 2005

February 28, 2005, by David Ross

My five-year-old daughter Madison loves the theater at the Strong Museum. The few children's shows that we have seen there have been good enough, but it's the theater itself that attracts her; it holds the promise of things new and exciting. Even when the place is clearly closed, my daughter is likely to make me ask someone at the desk whether there will be a show later in the day; it'd be just like an adult to miss something wonderful out of laziness.

So this past Saturday, she was gleeful to find the theater's doors open, its bright lights on, and enthusiastic ushers urging us to take seats for the show. The Ying Quartet was playing, and my daughter's conviction that the theater should hold delight was well supported.

The Ying Quartet is a string quartet of four siblings: violinists Timothy and Janet, violist Philip, and cellist David. On Saturday, they were joined by pianist Elinor Freer, David Ying's wife. The Yings are the String Quartet in Residence at the Eastman School. They are fine musicians, and they play concerts in Rochester often; go see them when you can. This performance was the kick-off event to a wonderful series being presented by the Eastman School of Music, called Music for All; see more information about upcoming performances below.

In particular, be sure to take your kids to see the Ying Quartet when they next do a show like the one they did at Strong on Saturday. The well-constructed program, combined with the Yings' dignified charm and keen sense of child psychology, made this the best classical music show for children that I have ever seen.

They opened the show with a rag, short and happy and unexpected. This they followed with an introduction to the Ying family, and to the family of stringed instruments. They built on the theme of family to provide a simple and clever child's introduction to the idea of a musical theme in general, and to the theme of the first movement of Beethoven's first string quartet in particular. They played this piece and a Brahms piece. Both pieces were clearly chosen because they are accessible to children, and both were made more accessible by the Yings' guidance. The Yings entertained questions from the very enthusiastic children in the audience before they played their last piece, the concert's only piece with a gimmick aimed at kids: Leroy Anderson's The Waltzing Cat. The children in the audience barked, as they'd been instructed to, on cue, the musical cat fled, and a perfect half hour was over.

Visit the Ying Quartet web site where you will find much fun and interesting information about the family, their history, and their upcoming work, or see their faculty page at the Eastman School of Music.

Music for All is a chamber music program designed to take classical music out of the concert hall and into the community. Two Spring 2005 concerts in this series for children will be held in March 2005: one at Barnes & Noble in Pittsford on March 18, 7pm and the other at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 19 at 11am. Click the Music for All link for more details!

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David Ross is Research Professor of Mathematics at the Rochester Institute of Technology and father of two bright, happy, musically-inclined girls.

©2005, David Ross. All rights reserved.