Angeles String Quartet prepares for final bow

Jennifer K Mahal

Stephen Erdody is late for his phone interview. The cellist for the

Angeles String Quartet calls from his car, rushing on the way to pick up

his almost 4-year-old son Daniel. A studio session went overtime, he

explains. Time seems to be what it’s all about.

So it’s not too surprising when asked why the quartet is breaking up

after 14 years together that the culprit is, in part, the passing days.

“For me, it was just that I want to spend more time with my family,”

the 48-year-old said. “I feel like there’s hardly any time as it is.”

Travel and economic concerns also have taken their toll on the

quartet, which plays its final Orange County performance Sunday at the

Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa.

“The last few years, it has become more difficult to travel with the

cello than it’s almost worth,” Erdody said. “We almost end up losing

money by playing across the country.”

The quartet -- which is comprised of Erdody, violinists Kathleen

Lenski and Sara Parkins and violist Brian Dembow --

is best known for having recorded all 68 of Joseph Haydn’s string

quartets into a 24-CD collection. The project took five years and was

released in 2000.

“Of all the things we did, our proudest achievement was being able to

record all of them and still be proud of the record,” Erdody said.

However, he said he wouldn’t do it again.

“It was a difficult project. We put our lives on hold for five years,”

said the Altadena resident who served on UC Irvine’s faculty from 1978 to

1992. “Everyone thought we were nuts at the time.”

The group’s final O.C. concert will end with Haydn’s String Quartet,

Opus 77, No. 2.

“We happen to love the last Haydn quartet, so we’ve decided to program

it for O.C.,” Erdody said. “It’s a little backward. Most start with

Haydn. We end with Haydn because it’s so overlooked.”

The concert will start with Bernard Herrmann’s “Echoes,” appropriate

for a group whose other claim to fame is performing the concert works of

Hollywood film composers.

Herrmann is best known for his score for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.”

“Echoes” can be heard in any Hitchcock film, Erdody said.

“You can picture the scenes . . . Jimmy Stewart in thecornfields or

Mt. Rushmore. It’s that sort of effect,” he said.

When asked who will continue their legacy of playing the little known

works of film composers, Erdody points to the New Hollywood Quartet.

“They’re all very good players,” he said. “If there is a void, they’ll

still filling it.”

With the Angeles String Quartet coming to an end -- their last

performance is scheduled for May at the Esterhaza Palace in Eisenstadt,

Austria -- Erdody said he plans to continue working on making music for

the movies. He has played solos on John Williams tracks and was principal

cellist for Barbra Striesand for eight years.

The former Pacific Symphony and Opera Pacific cellist also plans to

find a project that involves bringing classical music to young children.

He said he feels strongly that young people should be exposed to music.

Playing an instrument “is something that everyone should be able to

do, even badly,” Erdody said. “I know how difficult it is, but also how

wonderful it can be.”

FYI

What: Angeles String Quartet

Where: Founders Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town

Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $40

Call: (714) 740-7878 or (213) 365-3500