Beethoven Quartet Cycle Concert I

× Beethoven’s first string quartets fired a warning shot across the bow of the ship previously commanded by Haydn and Mozart. Finishing the customary set of six in the opus, Beethoven delivered a body of quartets like nothing heard before: more daring, dramatic, and virtuosic. Amateur aristocrats realized these quartets were beyond their abilities, and by necessity, professional quartets soon came into existence. The year 1800 was a game-changing moment for the string quartet, and the Opus 18 Quartets, performed in the order composed, constitute an arresting beginning to history’s greatest chamber music cycle.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
String Quartet in D major, op. 18, no. 3 (1798-1800)
Allegro
Andante con moto
Allegro
Presto

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
String Quartet in F major, op. 18, no. 1 (1798-1800)
Allegro con brio
Adagio affettusoso ed appassionato
Scherzo: Allegro molto
Allegro

INTERMISSION

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
String Quartet in G major, op. 18, no. 2 (1798-1800)
Allegro
Adagio cantabile
Scherzo: Allegro
Allegro molto quasi presto

Calidore String Quartet: Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, violins; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello