May 2001
From left to Right:
Joseph Macerollo - accordion
Cynthia Steljes - oboe, English horn
George Meanwell - cello, guitar, mandolin
and below:
Peter De Sotto - tenor, violin, mandolin |
During the end of May 2001, in the midst of a busy international spring-summer
tour, two members of Quartetto Gelato, Peter De Sotto and George Meanwell
took a break to talk to Maireid Sullivan about their music, sharing insights
on the life of this brilliant quartet. With their breathtaking virtuosity,
irrepressible energy and charming wit, Quartetto Gelato has won the hearts
of audiences around the world, across their native Canada and the U.S.
since their remarkable 1994 debut season.
Their 2000-2001 season includes recitals and workshops throughout the US
and Canada, as well as in Korea, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Taiwan, China
and Macao. The following interviews took place while the group was touring
upstate New York, just before leaving for Juneau, Alaska.
AMP's exclusive interviews with the group's prima bello, Peter
De Sotto, who also plays mandolin and violin in
the quartet, and with composer George Meanwell,
who plays cello, guitar and mandolin, give us a rare insight into the
inner workings of this spectacular ensemble.
Peter De Sotto interview
George Meanwell interview
Official Biography
 With
their breathtaking virtuosity, irrepressible energy and charming wit,
Quartetto Gelato has won the hearts of audiences across their native Canada
and the U.S. since their remarkable 1994 debut season. Their West Coast
debut at the Oregon Bach Festival in June 1995 elicited a rave typical
of virtually every Quartetto Gelato performance to date: "Part Peter
Schickele, part Mozart in Brazil...but all musician.... They play together
without scores, and with the conversational ease of old friends. Very
funny old friends.... There's a reason we call this 'playing' a concert,
and that sense of play was never clearer than in Beall Hall on Monday
night." Since then Quartetto Gelato has played to sold-out halls
from coast to coast, including Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville,
New York, Palm Springs, Santa Fe, and San Francisco, where they were immediately
re-engaged for the following two seasons.
In programs featuring an exciting mix of classical favourites, operatic
arias, traditional melodies, tangos and gypsy fiddling, Quartetto Gelato's
members perform on multiple instruments, including oboe, English horn,
violin, cello, accordion, guitar, mandolin and a show-stopping tenor voice,
which are featured in various combinations. In the quartet's own words, "Eclecticism is an inescapable part of Quartetto Gelato's approach.
In this we do not pretend something new, but rather a renewal of a European
tradition of bringing together the best of many idioms in a concert experience.
Our repertoire might be described as a collection of music that, while
travelling to different destinations, finds itself staying overnight in
the same hotel."
In recent seasons, Quartetto Gelato has performed in recital around the
world, quickly becoming a favourite of presenters in North America, Europe
and Asia. The ensemble has enjoyed return engagements on such prestigious
concert series as New York's Metropolitan Museum Concerts & Lectures,
Washington (DC) Performing Arts Society, San Francisco Performances, UCLA
Performing Arts Series and the Houston Society for the Performing Arts,
as well as at Kioi and Oji Halls in Tokyo. Their 2000-2001 season include
recitals and workshops throughout the US and Canada, as well as in Korea,
Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Taiwan, China and Macao.
Quartetto Gelato also performs regularly with symphony orchestras, and
the quartet recently made their debut with the Cincinnati Pops at Riverbend,
in a special program featuring the music of the Italian Cinema. They have
also appeared with such major symphony orchestras as the Toronto Symphony,
Vancouver Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and in 2000-2001
they will collaborate with the Calgary Philharmonic, among others.
Active in the recording studio, Quartetto Gelato has just released Neapolitan
Café (April, 2001), which is their first CD with their newest member
Joseph Macerollo on accordion. This disc features a range of joyous and
introspective pieces that transport the listener through a Mediterranean
afternoon of Italian and English song, rustic instrumentals, virtuosic
showpieces and original compositions. Their previous recordings, which
have played a significant role in the group's increasing popularity, are
Aria Fresca; Rustic Chivalry; and their debut recording, simply entitled
Quartetto Gelato. The latter two CD's have literally been heard around
the world, since they accompanied Canadian astronaut, Dr. Robert Thirsk,
during his NASA flight on board the space shuttle Columbia in 1997.
Quartetto Gelato can also be heard on the soundtrack recording of the
major motion picture Only You, starring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey
Jr., on the Sony label. Additionally they have appeared on the hit CD
recording of Ashley MacIsaac Hi, How are You? on the A & M record
label.
In March 1996, Quartetto Gelato's growing U.S. presence was recognized
by an award from National Public Radio as Performance Today's "Debut
Artist of the Year." The panel of music critics who made the selection
characterized the quartet as "an amazing ensemble that achieves the
nearly impossible: they play salon music with real style and classical
music with real precision; Great chops and a commitment in all that they
play."
CYNTHIA STELJES (oboe, English horn) was born into a family of
scientists in the small town of Deep River, Ontario. Overcoming a local
reputation as the product of genetic experimentation, Cynthia turned her
back on science and became an oboist. Her main teachers have included
Rowland Floyd at the University of Ottawa, Harry Sargous at the University
of Michigan and Leslie Huggett. She has performed in concert and on radio
throughout North America, Eastern and Western Europe and the Middle East
as both soloist and chamber musician. She was the oboist with the York
Winds woodwind quintet for five years and a member of the Toronto Chamber
Winds. Cynthia is often asked to give master-classes to young oboists
while touring with Quartetto Gelato and as well her playing may be heard
on popular TV and movie soundtracks, only during sad scenes, of course!
Toronto-born PETER DE SOTTO (violin, voice, mandolin) learned to
play the violin by ear. His early musical experiences included jazz, rock
and roll and gypsy music. At the age of twenty, Peter adopted a classical
approach to the violin while studying with Steven Staryk. He later attended
The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee where he studied with the Fine
Arts String Quartet. Peter was a member of the Toronto Symphony for ten
years, and he has appeared as both vocal soloist and violinist with numerous
orchestras. Peter's voice teachers have included Gary Relyea, Mark Dubois,
Louis Quilico and Angela Hawaleshka. In 1997 he founded Canada's "Camp
Rock", an innovative music camp for aspiring rock musicians. In 1998,
the Toronto Musicians' Association voted Peter De Sotto "Musician
of the Year."
JOSEPH MACEROLLO (accordions) is a graduate of the University of
Toronto where he now teaches. He has appeared as soloist with Nexus Percussion
Ensemble, the Orford String Quartet, the Purcell String Quartet, and such
orchestras as the Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra
and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He is a leading exponent of new music
performance and has had over 200 works by Canadian composers written for
him. Joseph has accompanied Luciano Pavarotti and Teresa Stratas and collaborated
extensively with Henry Mancini. When not performing with Quartetto Gelato,
he continues his career as a leading pioneer of the accordion. Solo engagements
last year took him to Italy and Germany.
Before moving to Toronto in 1988, GEORGE MEANWELL (cello, guitar,
mandolin) was an active chamber musician in Winnipeg, as a member of the
trio Music Plus and founding member of Thira, a twentieth-century performance
ensemble. In 1988 he toured Portugal with The Manitoba Trio and was recorded
by Portuguese National Radio. He toured North America for three years
with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet orchestra as principal cellist, in which
capacity he has also appeared with the National Ballet of Canada and Les
Grands Ballets Canadiens. In a previous existence, he was guitarist and
vocalist with the pop trio Short Turn, releasing two albums and appearing
on live national radio and television broadcasts.
Selected Reviews:
"If there were ever a group of musicians that could make anyone feel
at home with classical music, Quartetto Gelato is it." Newsday (NY)
"Quartetto Gelato's performances have a warm, endearing vitality..." The New York Times
"It's hard not to like Quartetto Gelato, the Toronto-based pop ensemble
whose debut album is crammed with deft arrangements and virtuoso performances." The Globe and Mail
"Their versatility would put a chameleon to shame... the performances
are that good." The Toronto Star
"Breathtaking virtuosity..." Chicago Tribune
"Light programming, like comedy, is a serious business. Quartetto
Gelato has the stuff. Dry humor and occasional clowning are part of the
quartet's arsenal, yet first it meets the requisite virtues of skilled
music-making. Its pleasure-giving is consistent." Los Angeles Times
"Charm, musical beauty, subtlety, wit, and sophistication combine
to make this classical cabaret CD by a Canadian quartet a winner." Stereo Review
"Quartetto Gelato plays with both the precision expected of a string
quartet in Beethoven and the abandonment of gypsies improvising around
a campfire." The Tennessean, Nashville
"Flawless musicianship... This group makes music together as easily
as breathing." The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon
"The hottest classical band in Canada right now... De Sotto sings
in that soaring Italian tenor tradition that turned Pavarotti into a superstar.
" Halifax Mail-Star
information:
website: http://www.quartettogelato.com
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