"New Beginnings: First Quartets"
String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18, No. 1 (1801)
Ludwig van Beethoven
- Allegro con brio
- Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
- Scherzo: Allegro molto
- Allegro
-Intermission-
String Quartet No. 1 in D major (1941)
Benjamin Britten
- Andante sostenuto – Allegro vivo
- Allegro con slancio
- Andante calmo
- Molto vivace
From Christine Lee:
"We are featuring two string quartets that were the first published quartets by each composer. We thought this could be an ode to new beginnings, (like our series!), to new eras, to the genius of artists like those featured at the National Nordic Museum who pave the way for a new standard. Beethoven’s string quartets catapulted the string quartet genre into a serious ensemble, and it is almost impossible to extricate Beethoven’s influence on string quartet writing to contemporary string quartets today. That, of course brings us to Britten, another brilliant composer whose very first published string quartet indirectly influences of Beethoven’s but stands on its own in originality and genius. I thought it would be an interesting program to play them side by side, seeing history through the lens of the string quartet."
