2011-12 Repertoire

“Tribute”
L.v. Beethoven: Quartet in E-flat Major, Op.74 “Harp”
Joan Tower: Quartet No.2 “In Memory”
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet in C minor, Op.60
with guest pianist, Alla Voskoboynikova 

The Arianna Quartet opens their 2011-12 on Friday, September 9 with a tribute concert commemorating the tenth anniversary of 9/11.  The ASQ presents Beethoven’s uplifting “Harp” quartet in E-flat Major, Op.74, a work infused with intimacy and optimism that illuminates the indomitable power of the human spirit.  Following Beethoven, Joan Tower’s stirring Second String Quartet, entitled “In Memory” (2002), captures an affecting array of emotions following the events of 9/11.  The ASQ completes the evening by welcoming acclaimed pianist Alla Voskoboynikova in a performance of Johannes Brahms’s eloquent Piano Quartet in C minor, Op.60, a work known for its rhapsodic beauty and ruminative expression.

“ASQ plus TWO Gala”
Johannes Brahms: String Sextet in B-flat Major, Op.18
Johannes Brahms: String Sextet in G Major, Op.36
Piotr I. Tchaikovsky: “Souvenir de Florence” Sextet, Op.70
with Larry Neuman, viola, and Brant Taylor, cello

“World Premiere”
L.v. Beethoven: Quartet in F minor, Op.95 “Serioso”
David Stock: String Quartet No.9 (2011)   –  World Premiere!
Piotr I.Tchaikovsky: Quartet No.3 in E-flat Minor, Op.30 

The Arianna Quartet opens their third series concert by completing the season-long journey through the middle quartets of Beethoven with a performance of the riveting Quartet in F minor, Op.95, “Serioso”, and ends the evening with Tchaikovsky’s splendid Quartet No.3 in E-flat minor.  The centerpiece of the evening is the World Premiere of David Stock’s Quartet No.9, a work written for the Arianna String Quartet.  Mr. Stock’s award-winning compositions have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, to name a few.  The Arianna Quartet looks forward to sharing Mr. Stock’s newest work with St. Louis!

“Famous Last Words”
Felix Mendelssohn: Andante and Scherzo, Op. 81
L.v. Beethoven: Quartet in F Major, Op.135
Dvorak: String Quintet in E-flat Major, Op.97 “American”
with Victoria Chiang, viola

The Arianna Quartet closes out their 2011-12 Touhill Series with a musical odyssey through final works for string quartet written by three leviathans of the quartet repertoire.  The ASQ begins the evening with Felix Mendelssohn’s dazzling Andante and Scherzo, Op.81, a seldom-heard work full of virtuosic appeal, and follows with Antonin Dvorak’s evocative String Quintet in E-flat Major, “American”.  The season comes to an end with Beethoven’s final composition, the splendid Quartet in F Major, Op.135, which asks the question, “Muss es sein? (Must it be?)”.  Beethoven answers with a resounding, “Es muss sein! (It must be!)”, and with it, the Arianna Quartet’s 2011-12 season comes to a memorable conclusion.  Don’t miss hearing these three giants, together in one concert!