The Calidore String Quartet undertakes the epic artistic project of performing Beethoven’s entire quartet cycle. These concerts are sold out in person, but Livestream tickets are still available. Livestreams begin at the time of the performance and can be watched for one week. The performances are preceded by “Inside the Quartets” talks by renowned cellist David Finckel, tickets for which are available here: https://musicatmenlo.org/festival/inside-the-quartets.
THE EARLY QUARTETS: OP. 18, NO. 4, 5, 6
With his first string quartets, Beethoven delivered a body of music like nothing heard before: more daring, dramatic, and virtuosic. Amateur aristocrats realized these quartets were beyond their abilities, and professional quartets soon came into existence. The second half of the set of six Opus 18 Quartets, performed in the order composed, constitute an arresting beginning to history’s greatest chamber music cycle.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
String Quartet in A major, op. 18, no. 5 (1798–1800)
String Quartet in C minor, op. 18, no. 4 (1798–1800)
String Quartet in B-flat major, op. 18, no. 6 (1798–1800)