Jasper SQ Programs

EARTH AND MEMORY

Ludwig van Beethoven  |  String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95 (20’)
Kaija Saariaho  |  Terra Memoria (20’)
Antonín Dvořák  |  Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Op. 105 (31’)

“I feel when writing for a string quartet that I’m entering into the intimate core of musical communication.” 
–Kaija Saariaho

Though Kaija Saariaho wrote only two string quartets in her lifetime, her love of the medium is unmistakable in her mastery of the writing. Her second quartet, Terra Memoria, carries the dedication “for those departed” and is deeply moving in its hypnotic exploration of memory, loss, and transformation. Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 95 opens the program with its terse meeting of tumult and mystery. Antonín Dvořák’s Quartet Op. 105, his final work in the genre of string quartet, closes the program. Its first notes are a mystical rumination that give way to a landscape that slips from joyous melody and dance to nostalgia and menace with virtuosic fluidity.

FOLK

Joseph Haydn   |  Quartet in D Major, Op. 20 No. 4 (25’)
Gabriella Smith  |  Carrot Revolution (12’)
Jungyoon Wie  |  Saeya, Saeya, Parang Saeya from Han (5’)
Sergei Prokofiev  |  Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 92 (21’)

Folk music has the unique ability to carry generations of meaning and touch our deepest emotions through simplicity. This program explores this rich inspiration from the early classical period to the present day. Josef Haydn’s luminous String Quartet Op. 20, No. 4, opens the program and playfully flirts with the marriage of folk and court dances in its Minuet alla Zingarese. Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution blends eclectic musical influences of Georgian folk songs, Celtic fiddle tunes, Gregorian chant, and Bach into an infectious and joyous tapestry of dance and groove, and Jungyoon Wie leads the listener on a powerful journey of generational grief and sorrow through transformations of the Korean folk melody Saeya, Saeya, Parang Saeya (Birds, Birds, Blue Birds).The program ends with Sergei Prokofiev’s breathtaking String Quartet No. 2, a virtuosic synthesis of material inspired by Kabardinian folk music and Prokofiev’s unique compositional voice.

COLLECTION
William Grant Still | Lyric String Quartette (15’)
Vivian Fung | String Quartet No. 2 (18’)
Ludwig van Beethoven | String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130 (50’)

Three singular voices come together in a program that investigates the idea of collections as a framework for composition. William Grant Still, Vivian Fung, and Ludwig van Beethoven all explore intimate corners of the human experience to create works that find a sense of fulfillment through the collection of eclectic vignettes. Still’s Lyric String Quartette (subtitled Musical Portraits of Three Friends) explores a deeply personal world, while Fung’s String Quartet No. 2 builds a collection of captivating experiences from Asian folk materials. Beethoven’s seminal String Quartet Op. 130 brings together explorations of art, exhilaration, simplicity, dance, and love that culminate in the ground-breaking and monumental Große Fuge.

COMMUNITY CONCERT
Joseph Haydn | Quartet in D Major, Op. 20 No. 4 (25’)
Patrick Castillo | An Inventory of Echoes
Terry Riley | In C

Perform alongside the Jasper String Quartet in this program designed to include musicians and music-lovers of all levels. String players of all levels can share in the joy of rehearsing and performing Patrick Castillo’s An Inventory of Echoes, a string orchestra piece written with parts for beginners, intermediate-level players, and professionals. All audience members are then invited to join for a community performance of Terry Riley’s In C, one of the first masterpieces of minimalism. The Jasper Quartet will lead a brief workshop to prepare participants to perform In C and experience the exuberance and power of communal music-making.