Program

Anton Webern – Langsamer Satz
W.A. Mozart – String Quartet No. 14 in G major, K. 387
*Franz Schubert – String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887

One of the hallmarks of Schubert’s music is his ability to slip almost imperceptibly between major and minor tonalities. His final string quartet, No. 15 in G major, inhabits a multitude of harmonic worlds almost simultaneously, and the breadth of the work creates a space to take in the vast expanse of the composer’s imagination. While the quartet has many of the melodically mellifluous qualities of his other works, it also features outbursts of starkly contrasting harmonies that border on disorienting, begging the question, is the work really in G major, or G minor?

Mozart’s G major Quartet, K. 387, by contrast, is unabashedly sunny and playful. One of a set of six quartets dedicated to Haydn, the work’s themes are quirky and effervescent and feel designed to elicit giggles from the listener. More brooding is the single-movement Langsamer Satz of Anton Webern that opens the program. This darkly lyrical work is one of only a few lush Romantic pieces by the composer better known for his terse serialism of the Second Viennese School.

*We are also offering an alternate version of this program that includes the Schubert Cello Quintet with Tommy Mesa, cello.