Pro Musica Quartet
First in a series of string quartet performancesThursday, April 22nd, 6pm
Some of the greatest works in musical history were written for the string quartet. In Thailand we don’t have a regular, full time string quartet, so the opportunity to hear a quartet is rare and much of the repertoire has never been performed here. This series hopes to remedy the neglect of the string quartet. It will begin with a survey of early works of some of the most important composers for string quartet: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky.
The early quartets of Mozart, Schubert and Mendelssohn are all the work of childhood geniuses. They will astound you with their sophistication and maturity.
Haydn is regarded as the granddaddy of the string quartet. He did not invent the form but he brought it to prominence. His output of 68 quartets established the quartet as the most important form in chamber music. His quartets are all ingenious, charming, and at times dramatic. Unlike his successors, he didn’t write his first quartet until he was 30. We will begin with a selection from op. 20, which Haydn wrote in 1772, at the age of 40 and opus 33, written nine years later.
Mozart’s early quartets were inspired after hearing Haydn’s quartets. As a teenager, Mozart produced two sets of six quartets, The Milanese Quartets and the Viennese Quartets all of which are brilliant. We will hear two of the latter set, which Mozart wrote in 1773, at the age of seventeen; the first K168 will be performed in the first program.
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