Ithaca College's 1997-98 concert series, "It's All Relative," will feature artists that have special relationships; relationships that translate into some of the world's most beautiful music.

The season opens September 29 with a recital by sisters Ani Kavafian, violin, and Ida Kavafian, violin/viola. The Ying Quartet, one of the finest young string quartets on the scene today, will arrive in October, and in February, one of today's foremost guitar duos, S‚rgio and Odair Assad, will visit. The season concludes in March with a performance by Frederic Chiu, the native son pianist who first gained international attention during the ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1993.

Set for 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall Auditorium, the performance by the Kavafian sisters will feature Handel's Sonata for Two Violins and Piano; Hartke's "Oh, them rats is mean in my kitchen" for two violins; Martinu's Duo for Violin and Piano; Moszkowski's Suite for Two Violins and Piano in G Minor, op. 71; Mozart's Duo for Violin and Viola in G Major, K.424; and Sarasate's Navarra for Two Violins and Piano, op.33. A pre-concert lecture will be offered by a member of the music faculty at 7:30 p.m., room 201, Ford Hall.

The Kavafians have distinctive, highly individual styles, yet as a duo they are a stellar match possessing a powerful musical presence. In their special limited appearances together, the sisters have graced such stages as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Carnegie Hall. They have toured the Far East and have performed at the White House on three separate occasions. Ida, who is internationally acclaimed as one of the few artists to excel in viola as well as violin, earned her master's degree with honors from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of Oscar Shumsky. Ani studied with Ivan Galemian and received her master's degree with top honors from the Juilliard School. Both are in demand as soloists, chamber musicians, and teachers. They perform jointly and individually at renowned music festivals such as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Spoleto, Bravo! Colorado, and Mostly Mozart. Together, they have recorded Mozart, Moszkowski, and Sarasate on the Nonesuch label.

Tickets are $8 for children, senior citizens, and Ithaca College students; $14 for Ithaca College alumni, Friends of Ithaca College, faculty, staff, administrators, and other students; and $16 for the general public. Tickets go on sale September 12 at the Ticket Center at Clinton House and Rebop Records, Tapes, and Compact Discs, Collegetown. For more information call the Ithaca College School of Music at 274-3171.