Archived Programs

AMERICAN VOICES
Samuel Barber | String Quartet Op. 11 (20’)
Derek Bermel | Intonations (20’)
Florence Price | String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor (30’)

Three giants of American composition are featured in this program exploring vocal influences on the medium of string quartet. Samuel Barber’s iconic Adagio, from his String Quartet Op. 11, draws upon the influences of ancient Gregorian chant in its breathtaking exploration of longing and heartache. Award-winning composer Derek Bermel uses cutting-edge techniques in Intonations to give voice to the sounds of 1950’s Harlem with evocations of harmonicas, gospel singing, and hip-hop cadences. The program ends with Florence Price’s epic String Quartet No. 2, which brilliantly blends influences of African American spirituals and dance with early twentieth-century classical conventions.

REFLECTIONS
Antonín Dvořák | selections from Cypresses (18’)
Grażyna Bacewicz | String Quartet No. 4 (23’)
Robert Schumann | String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 41, No. 1 (27’)

Grażyna Bacewicz, celebrated in her time as both a violinist and composer, wrote seven string quartets that are steadily becoming cemented in the canon of string quartet literature. Her lyrical String Quartet No. 4 draws upon European folk melodies and highlights the unique dynamism and textures of her quartet writing. The program opens with selections from Antonín Dvořák’s Cypresses, set for string quartet by Dvořák from a set of love songs he wrote 23 years prior, and ends with Robert Schumann’s idiosyncratic and masterful first string quartet.

TRANSCEND
Osvaldo Golijov | Yiddishbbuk  (14’)
Reena Esmail | Ragamala  (16’)
Ludwig van Beethoven | Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132 (45’)

In ways both intimate and profound, music gives voice to the presence of the sublime within the human experience. This program illuminates our search for spiritual nourishment in the face of personal and historical turmoil as well as in the context of our everyday lives. Osvaldo Golijov’s arresting Yiddishbbuk, written in part to commemorate three young victims of the Holocaust, is a cry for salvation in the face of horror, while Reena Esmail’s Ragamala explores the meditative beauty of Indian raags. The program closes with Ludwig van Beethoven’s seminal Opus 132, featuring the transcendent Heiliger Dankgesang, the composer’s song of thanksgiving for his recovery from a grave illness.

RADIANCE
Samuel Barber | String Quartet, Op. 11 (20’)
Ingrid Arauco | String Quartet commissioned by the Jasper String Quartet (15’)
Felix Mendelssohn | String Quartet No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op.  44 No. 3 (30’) 

The iconic Adagio movement of Samuel Barber’s String Quartet, Op. 11, has become a signature work of American classical music. Hear it alongside a newly commissioned work by American composer Ingrid Arauco, whose dramatic and lyrical voice inspired the Jasper String Quartet’s latest commission. The program concludes with Felix Mendelssohn’s warm-hearted and virtuosic String Quartet Op. 44, No. 3.