Projects
It all begins with a piece of music we want to bring to life. To see what we’re planning for future seasons, please take a look at some of our sample programs for the upcoming seasons.
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Mozart : String Quartet in D minor, K. 421 [25']
Britten : String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 [26']
--intermission--
Schubert : String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, “Death and the Maiden” [35']
Total: 86 minutes
This program is a journey through the key of D, in which the D Major Britten Quartet stands between two of the most revered, dramatic and poetic explorations in D minor.
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Haydn: String Quartet Op. 76 No. 5 [21']
Augusta Read Thomas: “Celebration” from Magic Gardens [4']
--intermission--
Beethoven: Op. 59 No. 3 [32']
Total: 57 minutes
This program showcases how celebration can come in many forms - the celebration of life, of art, or just the act of celebrating itself can inspire awe, bring comfort, or even spark overwhelming joy.
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Maddelena Casulana: Madrigals [5']
Britten: String Quartet No. 3 in G Major [27']
--intermission--
Beethoven: Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132 [45']
Total: 72 minutes
Introduced by Maddelena Casulana’s madrigals for string quartet, this program pairs Britten’s third and final string quartet with Beethoven’s monumental Op. 132 quartet - these two pieces share many similarities, both written late in the composers’ life, and both drawing from Renaissance influences.
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Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 71 No. 2 [20']
Benjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 2 in C Major [30']
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 80 [25']
Bernard Rands: String Quartet No. 3 “Islands of Repose” [17']
Maurice Ravel: String Quartet [30']
Programs may be subject to changes and substitutions.
Benjamin Britten Project
String Quartet No. 1 in D Major — String Quartet No. 2 in C Major — String Quartet No. 3 in G Major
with Purcell, Beethoven, Frank Bridge, and more
Britten’s music has always felt very personal to us for reasons difficult to explain. His music has the ability to transport us to an otherworldly and spiritual place, safe from the trepidations of war, political turmoil, and injustice. (Britten himself was a pacifist and a conscientious objector.) At the same time, his music also channels the most raw and unfiltered of human emotion, and it allows us to express feelings of fear, loneliness, nostalgia, or sorrow in the most vulnerable but cathartic of ways. We will be performing Britten’s three string quartets throughout the course of the upcoming season, pairing them with pieces that relate closely to his life, compositional process, and inspirations.