2022-23 Repertoire
“Transported”
Friday, Sept. 16
Mozart: Quartet in G Major, K.387
Reena Esmail: String Quartet “Ragamala” (2013)
Schubert: Quartet in G Major, D.887
The ASQ kicks off the 2022-23 season with a journey through three works that are guaranteed to inspire and transport your imaginations and emotions. The evening opens with the genius of Mozart, on resplendent display in his Quartet in G Major, K.387, a piece full of youthful brilliance and compositional prowess. Indian-American composer Reena Esmail’s “Ragamala” follows, carrying listeners into a distinctly boundless sound-world built on the tradition of Hindustani-inspired ragas and layered improvisation. The ASQ closes the evening with Franz Schubert’s last quartet, the epic Quartet in G Major, D.887, a work that captures the complexity, power and fragility of the human experience.
“Genius Unbound”
Friday, Nov. 4
Dvorak: Quartet in E-flat Major, Op.51
Janacek: Quartet No.2, “Intimate Letters”
Beethoven: Quartet in B-flat Major, Op.130
In an evening focusing on three masterworks with distinctly different flavors, the Arianna Quartet opens with Dvorak’s sublime Quartet in E-flat, Op.51. Inspired by the folk and dance traditions of Bohemia, Dvorak creates delicate interlaced textures that conjure intimate utterances and a robust earthiness that makes this quartet a beloved gem in the quartet literature. The ASQ follows with Janacek’s sizzling “Intimate Letters”, shifting the evening into the supercharged world of passion, obsession and unrequited love, and promises a listening experience like no other. The ASQ concludes the evening with Beethoven’s majestic Quartet in B-flat Major, Op.130, one of the final, late quartets by the great master that balances intimacy with expansiveness and power, and that continues to inspire, challenge and nourish audiences and musicians alike.
“Heaven and Earth”
Friday, March 3
Arensky: Quartet in A minor, Op.35
Carlos Simon: “An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave” for String Quartet (2015)
Schubert: String Quintet in C Major, D.956, Op. posth. 163)
Featuring Guest Artist Zuill Bailey, cello
The Arianna Quartet is thrilled to welcome Grammy Award winning cellist Zuill Bailey back to the Touhill for an evening of music among friends! Anton Arensky's rhapsodic Quartet in A minor, Op.35 for violin, viola and two cellos opens the evening with a glowing lyricism and power that captures the essence of romantic expression at the end of the nineteenth century. The ASQ next performs Carlos Simon’s yearning “Elegy” for String Quartet, a piece of raw honesty that wrestles with the anger, fear and anguish associated social injustices that we have witnessed so acutely in recent years. Dedicated to the memory of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown, Simon's "Elegy" is a testament of remembrance that also gives a sense of inspired hope for a better future. The ASQ and Mr. Bailey close the evening with a performance of Schubert’s famous String Quintet in C Major, an unparalleled, masterpiece that many consider to be the greatest piece of chamber music ever written.
“Season Finale”
Friday, May 12
Beethoven: Quartet in A Major, Op.18, No.5
George Walker: Quartet No.1
Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op.44
Featuring Guest Artist, Mieko Hironaka Bergt, piano
The ASQ season finale opens with Beethoven’s ebullient Quartet in A Major, Op.18, No.5, a piece that, while glimpsing a lighter side of Beethoven, also delivers the earthy expressiveness that we cherish in Beethoven’s dramatic soundscapes. The ASQ performs George Walker’s profoundly expressive Quartet No.1, a sublime quartet laden with rich and imaginative textures and sonorities, and riveting expression, that is among the very best of American composition of the 20th century. The Arianna Quartet closes the 2022-23 Touhill season by joining forces with the brilliant pianist, Mieko Hironaka Bergt, for a performance of Schumann’s famed Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op.44, a romantic masterpiece whose power, drama and lyricism makes it one of the most impactful and memorable works in Western classical music.