Program: Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18 No. 2 (with commentary)

Tickets: $25 per person
LIMITED SEATING: There will be a maximum of 40 seats available. We suggest that you purchase your tickets today!

About the Music (notes by David Brickman):
    Beethoven's String Quartet Opus 18, No. 2 (1798-1800) is perhaps his sunniest and is firmly rooted in the classical traditions of Haydan, who was Beethoven's composition teacher for a short time in Vienna. The work's nickname is the "Komplimentier-Quartet" which may be translated as the "Quartet of Bows and Curtsies" for the Old World elegance of the first movement, Allegro. The second movement, Adagio cantabile, is a slow song, mostly sung by the first violin. Surprisingly, it is interrupted by a rapid section based on a melody fragment from the slow music, which returns and closes the movement. The third movement is a Scherzo: Allegro which affords the first violinist the chance for bird-like twittering, punctuated with commentary by the rest of the aviary. The Finale is all virtuosity and humor. Haydn must have approved!

Tonight's performance in an intimate space at the Rochester Brainery will include a lively discussion of Beethoven's quartet cycle, with particular emphasis on this quartet from his "early period." You'll be up close to the musicians as they present personal insights and music examples to bring this work to life!