Beethoven Quartet Cycle Concert V

× Following an 1822 commission by the Russian cello-playing aristocrat Nikolai Galitzin, Beethoven produced five string quartets, regarded by many as the greatest music ever composed. Filled with incomparable profundity and innovation, they cast a powerful spell on listeners and musicians alike. This performance presents two mammoth works that share a mysterious motivic link of four notes. In a single concert, two of Beethoven’s most unique creations are heard: his futuristic Grosse Fuge of Opus 130 and the Heiliger Dankgesang (Holy Song of Thanks) of Opus 132, a deeply moving account of sickness and recovery.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
String Quartet in A minor, op. 132 (1825)
Assai sostenuto - Allegro
Allegro ma non tanto
Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart: Molto adagio - Neue Kraft fühlend: Andante
Alla marcia, assai vivace
Allegro appassionato

INTERMISSION

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
String Quartet in B-flat major, op. 130 (1825)
Adagio, ma non troppo; Allegro
Presto - L'istesso tempo
Andante con moto, ma non troppo
Alla danza tedesca: Allegro assai
Cavatina: Adagio molto espressivo
Grosse Fuge, op. 133
Allegro - Fuga: Allegro - Meno mosso e moderato - Allegro molto e con brio - Allegro

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