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Verona Quartet Winner, 2015 Concert Artists Guild Competition Verona Quartet Winner, 2015 Concert Artists Guild Competition Uncensored Dmitri Shostakovich: Quartet No. 9 in E Flat Major – 26 mins Bright Sheng: String Quartet No. 4 - Silent Temple - 17 mins —Intermission— Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat Major, Op. 130 (with Grosse Fugue) – 40 mins The censorship of expression remains a motif throughout history, sometimes stemming from a seemingly innocuous desire for progress, other times borne out of malicious intent. Uncensored highlights the works of three composers whose lives were touched by the issue of censorship: Dmitri Shostakovich, whose creative output was constantly held hostage to the watchful eyes of the Soviet authorities; Bright Sheng, who, moved by the ravages of the Cultural Revolution on an abandoned temple in Northwest China, penned his Fourth String Quartet; and Ludwig van Beethoven, who at his publisher’s urging, removed from his Op. 130 String Quartet what is now undeniably one of his greatest masterpieces - the Grosse Fugue. Roots Program A (with piano) Gabriela Lena-Frank: Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout (21 min) - based on Andean Folk Music Amy Beach: Quartet for Strings Op. 89 in One Movement (13 min) - based on Inuit folk music Jessie Montgomery: Strum (8 min) - based on American Folk Music —Intermission— Grazyna Bacewicz: Piano Quintet No. 1 (25mins) - based on Polish folk music Program B (one hour program, string quartet only) Reena Esmail: String Quartet (Ragamala) (18 mins) - derived from Indian classical music Jessie Montgomery: Strum (8 min) - based on American folk music Amy Beach: Quartet for Strings Op. 89 in One Movement (13 min) - based on Alaskan Inuit folk music Gabriela Lena-Frank: Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout (21 min) - based on Andean folk music NB: This program is possible to present without intermission. If a pause is required, the program may be split following Jessie Montgomery’s Strum. In step with our recent debut album (Diffusion), Roots continues our exploration of the global diffusion of folk cultures and their profound and beautiful intersection with the classical string quartet. Through the persuasive voices of four scintillating female composers, we lead our audience on a global “walkabout”; from Incan chasqui (messengers), indigenous Inuit singers, Polish oberek dancers, Indian classical musicians and American bluegrass bands, we are offered a glimpse into the deep and abiding roots that unite us as one global community. The Roaring 20’s (one hour program) Igor Stravinsky: Concertino (1920) (8 mins) Peter Myers: Dance Suite (18 mins) Franz Schubert: Quartettsatz (1820) (9 mins) Béla Bartók: Quartet No. 3 (1927) (15 mins) One hundred years since the “Spanish” influenza pandemic, The Roaring 20’s celebrates the ingenuity and break with tradition that fueled the vibrancy of the 1920’s, as we begin our first steps towards normalcy from the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is set against a backdrop of Schubert’s Quartettsatz (1820), representing the traditional classical sonata form. A break with tradition, Stravinsky’s Concertino (1920) explores the sonata form with renewed vigor for the changing world of the 1920’s. In 1927, dedicated to the Musical Society Fund of Philadelphia, Quartet No. 3 by Bartok, is his most concise work for string quartet and expands upon expressive capabilities of the medium. The Verona Quartet has commissioned a new suite of arrangements for string quartet which explores the soundscapes of America in the 1920’s including Duke Ellington’s Cotton Club Stomp. What is left for us to write? Franz Schubert: Quartettsatz (9 mins) Gabriela Lena-Frank: Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout (21 min) —Intermission— Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No.14 Op. 131 (37 mins) Composed during a time when he suffered from near-complete hearing loss, Beethoven’s revelatory Op. 131 is arguably the zenith of his late string quartets, unprecedented in its originality and scope. Upon hearing it, Schubert famously exclaimed, “After this, what is left for us to write?” This enduring question continues to be answered by the composers of today; notable amongst them is Gabriela Lena-Frank (b. 1972) who - born with moderate to profound hearing loss - employs a similar compositional approach to Beethoven, retreating into her inner world of silence for musical inspiration. This introspective style of composing has produced works of both spiritual and intellectual profundity - hallmarks of Beethoven’s late compositional style. .
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