Jupiter String Quartet
Announces Future Programming
"an ensemble of eloquent intensity ... one of the mainstays of the American chamber-music scene." -
The New Yorker
“Like the planet which inspired their name, the Jupiter String Quartet, or the Jupiters as they are often called, inspire us to grow, expand and take risks.” –
Smile Politely
For more information, contact Gina Meola:
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The Jupiter String Quartet is pleased to announce new concert programming for future seasons, offered for 2021-22 and beyond.
The group also remains strongly committed to making music during these challenging times, and can offer high-quality virtual livestreamed or pre-recorded performances with live Q&A sessions. In addition, the Jupiter is available to perform live concerts for socially distanced audiences within a 3-hour drive of Urbana, IL throughout the 2020-2021 season.
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Upcoming Livestream Concerts:
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Renewal
In times of great uncertainty, unrest, and isolation, the Jupiter Quartet offers
Renewal
.
Renewal
takes inspiration from a few basic humanitarian ideas that we crave in these trying times: conversation, inclusion, diversity, and hope. The program begins with the final quartet from the Op. 20 set by Haydn. Some of the earliest and most inspired examples of conversational part-writing can be found in Haydn’s quartets. The strikingly soft fugal finale captures this democratic sharing of ideas best of all. Following Haydn, the Jupiter Quartet features fresh and often underrepresented voices. Michi Wiancko’s
To Unpathed Waters, Uncharted Shores
is a new commission for the Jupiter Quartet that explores humans’ relationship with the natural world. About her new work, Wiancko writes, "I believe that a musical work that engages with regeneration, resilience, and collective humanity has the potential to be a powerful and unique contribution to the string quartet repertoire." The second half of the program offers Ben Johnston's tender and unique set of variations on "Amazing Grace" and the intricate and rhythmically charged second quartet of Jamaican-born composer Eleanor Alberga. The program closes on a contemplative note, with the achingly beautiful "Lyric" movement from Black-American composer George Walker's first string quartet.
Haydn
: String Quartet in A Major, Op. 20 No. 6
Michi Wiancko
:
To Unpathed Waters, Uncharted Shores
*
Ben Johnston
: String Quartet No. 4, "Amazing Grace"
Eleanor Alberga
: String Quartet No. 2
George Walker
: “Lyric” from String Quartet No. 1
*co-commissioned by Bay Chamber Concerts and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts for the Jupiter Quartet
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American Prism - A Community Experience
American Prism
is a continuous, evening-length presentation by the Jupiter String Quartet, inspired by America's wonderfully diverse and unique musical traditions as they are brought to life in the string quartets of some of the country’s most beloved composers from the last 125 years. The performance begins at the turn of the twentieth century with Charles Ives, and journeys through contemporary re-imaginings of popular music from the 1910s and 1920s, the pioneering string quartet (1931) of Ruth Crawford Seeger, the gorgeous “Lyric” from George Walker’s first string quartet, and Ben Johnston's beautiful and inventive variations on “Amazing Grace.” Then, the audience experiences the upbeat dances from John Adams, and the tragedy and shared grief embodied by Joan Tower's 9/11 tribute,
In Memory
, and Barber's
Adagio for Strings
. Finally, the Jupiter Quartet features voices from the current generation of musicians, including works from Jessie Montgomery, Michi Wiancko, and Judd Greenstein.
This program can be offered as a quartet-only performance or as a collaboration with pianist
Gloria Chien
performing Amy Beach’s piano quintet.
(Program subject to change)
Charles Ives
: selection from String Quartet No. 1, "The Salvation Army"
William Bolcolm
: selections from
Three Rags for String Quartet
Dan Visconti
: “Humble Pie” from
Ramshackle Songs
**
Listen >
George Walker
: “Lyric” from String Quartet No. 1
Ruth Crawford Seeger
: String Quartet
Ben Johnston
: String Quartet No. 4, "Amazing Grace"
John Adams
: selections from
John's Book of Alleged Dances
Joan Tower
:
In Memory
Samuel Barber
:
Adagio for Strings
Jessie Montgomery
: selections from
Break Away
Michi Wiancko
: selection from
To Unpathed Waters, Uncharted Shores
*
Judd Greenstein
:
Four on the Floor
Amy Beach
: Piano Quintet, Op. 67 (with pianist Gloria Chien)
*Commissioned by Bay Chamber Concerts with the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts for the Jupiter Quartet
**commissioned by Jupiter Quartet
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The Jupiter String Quartet's 20th Anniversary: From Our Beginnings
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their formation, the Jupiter Quartet comes full circle, performing works that they programmed during their first season in 2001-2002. Mozart’s “Dissonance” quartet is referred to as such because of its divergence from the standard rules of harmony followed by composers of the Classical era. It is the last of Mozart’s six quartets dedicated to Haydn. Shostakovich also veered from traditional string quartet structure by composing five moments for his third string quartet. He originally gave titles to each of the five movements, commonly viewed as a reflection on WWII, but retracted them for unknown reasons immediately after the premiere in 1946. These titles, “Calm unawareness of the future cataclysm;” “Rumblings of unrest and anticipation;” “The forces of war unleashed;” “Homage to the dead;” and “The eternal question: Why? And for what?” contribute to the overall character of the work. Brahms’ Second Quartet was inspired by his good friend Joseph Joachim’s motto, “frei, aber einsam,” or, “free, but lonely.” To counter the melancholy character, Brahms adapted the motto to “frei, aber froh,” or, “free, but glad,” and used the corresponding pitches F-A-E and F-A-F in the work’s motif.
This program is available as a quartet-only performance or as a collaborative performance with pianist
Soyeon Kate Lee.
Mozart
: String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 "Dissonance"
Shostakovich
: String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73
Brahms
: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 51 No. 2
with pianist Soyeon Kate Lee
Mozart
: String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 "Dissonance"
Shostakovich
: String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73
Schumann
: Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44
-OR-
Dvořák
: Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81, B. 155
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Influenced
Influenced
explores the various ideas that shaped the work of composers from several eras.
Haydn’s Op. 20 is considered a beacon of the string quartet form, and each of the six quartets that comprise the opus utilize different compositional techniques that influenced other composers’ approach to the form for over 200 years. The final quartet of the set, the Quartet in A Major, is a whimsical yet expertly crafted work. Many years later, another expert craftsman, Alfred Schnittke, developed his own polystylistic technique, apparent in his third string quartet which employs quotations from Lasso, Beethoven, and Shostakovich. Although more standard in his approach, Tchaikovsky also employed outside influences. When composing his first string quartet, he was inspired by a Russian folk song he heard sung by a carpenter at his sister’s home in the Ukraine. This work alternates between the folk theme and Tchaikovsky’s own earnest theme. Composer Michi Wiancko’s dynamic, virtuosic, and multi-movement work will, at its core, be a celebration of the beauty and vitality of the natural world. Listeners will travel through deserts, over forests, and along coastlines, visiting grand landscapes, colorful birds, and fascinating underwater creatures. Embedded in the work will also be sonic interpretations of extreme weather events related to droughts, fires, and rising sea levels as influenced by climate change.
This program is available as a quartet-only performance or as a collaborative performance with renowned pianist
Soyeon Kate Lee
.
Haydn
: String Quartet in A Major, Op. 20 No. 6
Schnittke
: String Quartet No. 3
-OR-
Michi Wiancko:
To Unpathed Waters, Uncharted Shores
*
Tchaikovsky
: String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11
with pianist Soyeon Kate Lee
Haydn
: String Quartet in A Major, Op. 20 No. 6
Schnittke
: String Quartet No. 3
-OR-
Michi Wiancko
:
To Unpathed Waters, Uncharted Shores
*
Schumann
: Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44
-OR-
Dvořák
: Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81, B. 155
*Commissioned by Bay Chamber Concerts with the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts for the Jupiter Quartet
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Last Quartets
The Jupiter Quartet commemorates the last string quartets by three master composers. Mozart’s momentous final string quartet is the third of the “Prussian Quartets,” dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia, an amateur cellist. Mendelssohn’s sixth and final string quartet was composed in 1847 and is the composer’s last major work completed before his death that same year. Stricken with grief after the loss of his beloved sister Fanny, Mendelssohn wrote this dramatic and heartrending piece as an homage to her memory. Bela Bartók wrote six celebrated string quartets. The last, composed in 1939, employs a lyrical, melancholy theme which ties all four movements together. The theme is believed to be reflective of the dark events Bartók experienced during this period: the outbreak of WWII and his mother’s terminal illness.
Mozart
: String Quartet No. 23 in F Major, K. 590
Bartók
: String Quartet No. 6
Mendelssohn
: String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80
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Watch the Jupiter String Quartet perform Bartók's String Quartet No. 2
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Collaborations
Jupiter String Quartet + Roger Tapping and Natasha Brofsky
Roger Tapping, violist of the Juilliard Quartet, and Natasha Brofsky, cellist of the Peabody Trio, join the Jupiter Quartet for a program spanning the Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras. Mozart’s Fourth String Quintet is colored by a dark and somber tone, which is characteristic of the composer’s other G minor works. Of the work’s particularly melancholic third movement, Tchaikovsky said, "No one has ever known as well how to interpret so exquisitely in music the sense of resigned and inconsolable sorrow." Widely regarded as a chamber music masterpiece, notably by Schumann and Brahms, Schubert completed this Quintet, his final chamber work, two months before his death. Schubert had offered the work to a publisher, but it was refused and it lay forgotten until it was rediscovered and had its first known public performance in 1850. It was finally published three years later. Schoenberg’s
Verklärte Nacht
is a tone poem for a small chamber ensemble, rather than a typical orchestral work. The piece is highly romantic in nature and was written before Schoenberg adopted his signature 12-tone method of composition.
Mozart
: String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516
Schoenberg
:
Verklärte Nacht
Schubert
: String Quintet in C Major, D. 956 “Cello Quintet”
Jupiter String Quartet + the Jasper Quartet
The Jupiter Quartet and the Jasper Quartet collaborate to create an extraordinary musical experience. Osvaldo Golijov’s
Last Round
was composed in response to Astor Piazzolla’s stroke in 1991. The piece is conceived as an idealized bandoneon, and the title serves as a boxing metaphor, prompting Piazzolla’s spirit to fight one last time. Members of the Jupiter and Jasper Quartets commissioned Dan Visconti to compose his 2011 octet,
Eternal Breath
, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Bill and Margaret Freivogel, the parents of three of the quartets’ musicians. The title refers to the breath of life “passed from one generation to the next.” The fourth violinist trades out their violin for the drone-like tones of the shruti box, signifying the movement of the breath. For the second half of the program, the Jupiter Quartet and the Jasper Quartet perform the monumental Mendelssohn Octet.
Osvaldo Golijov
:
Last Round
for double string quartet and bass
Dan Visconti
:
Eternal Breath
Mendelssohn
: Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20
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Watch the Jupiter and the Jasper String Quartets perform Mendelssohn's Octet
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