The Musicians of Ma'alwyck—Concert Intime: Exploring the Legacy of the Zoellner Quartet

The Musicians of Ma'alwyck — Concert Intime: Exploring the Legacy of the Zoellner Quartet

Musicians of Ma’alwyck brings history to life with an unforgettable musical journey, reviving the legacy of the trailblazing Zoellner String Quartet. Take a step back in time to experience the music, stories, and adventures of this remarkable early 20th-century ensemble — a trip to the music of the time when The Glove Theatre first opened in 1914!

The quartet, composed of the Zoellner family members, toured actively throughout North America, presenting concerts in venues from New York’s Aeolian Hall and great performing stages of Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, to train depots and outdoor concerts. 

The quartet democratized classical music. Instead of limiting themselves to the exclusivity of concert halls, they performed in train stations, granges, and outdoor spaces. With Antoinette Zoellner as the quartet’s first violinist - a rarity at that time - was a groundbreaking figure. The quartet became a symbol of the women’s suffrage movement and gained recognition extending beyond music - they became cultural ambassadors, performing for figures like suffragist Avery Coonley Ward and disability rights advocate Helen Keller. Keller, who could feel their music through vibration, so enjoyed it that she invited them to spend two summers with her at her summer residence in Wrentham in 1915 and 16. 

Through Helen Keller, the quartet met Lydia Avery Coonley Ward, an important suffragist and philanthropist, who split her time between her home in Chicago and her summer retreat in Wyoming, New York. In 1917, she invited the quartet to be in residence in Wyoming. The quartet spent more than two months there, performing for the summer school, giving weekly concerts in the Village Hall, and playing together on the grounds of her estate Hillside.

The Musicians of Ma’alwyck will recreate the musical programming of the Zoellners, which contained a substantial repertory of American composers of the time, as well as American premieres of new works by European composers. Stepping in for the Zoellners will be Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, violinist, and Founder & Artistic Director of Musicians of Ma’alwyck, MofM core member André Laurent O’Neil, cello; and guest artists Fritz Krakowski, violin; and Katrina Smith, viola. 

Join Musicians of Ma’alwyck for Concert Intime and step back in time with the Zoellner String Quartet!

Musicians of Ma'alwyck's and The Glove Theatre's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional support for Musicians of Ma'alwyck is provided by the W.G. Broughton Foundation and Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region.

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