Celestial Strings In A Heavenly Setting

"Chamber music is ultimately a conversation without words. As musicians, we talk to each other through our dynamics and articulations, and we give voice to composers whose music inspires us to gather in the same room and play." - Caroline Shaw 

Our program explores how different composers influence each other, from 18th century Viennese composers Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven, to contemporary American composer Caroline Shaw. 

In Shaw's own words, her work Blueprint “began its life as a harmonic reduction — a kind of floor plan — of Beethoven's string quartet Op. 18 No. 6." Both Beethoven's Op. 18 No. 6 and Haydn's Op. 77 No. 2 were written between 1798 and 1800 and commissioned by the same patron, Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz. Beethoven's final Op. 18 quartet pays homage in both texture and theme to "Papa" Haydn, who is often thought of as “the father of the string quartet." Haydn's Op. 77 No. 2 was also the composer’s final string quartet, and has inspired Shaw's other string quartet compositions. Be sure to catch how each composer playfully pays tribute to the others through humorous quotations imbedded within their own music.

Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 18, No. 6
Haydn: String Quartet Op. 77, No. 2
Shaw: Blueprint