I wonder what Joseph Haydn and Ludwig Van Beethoven would have thought about finding themselves on the same chamber music program as the young American composer Caroline Shaw. After all, both men were innovators who enjoyed challenging audiences. Haydn was the “father of the string quartet”, and Beethoven claimed his last quartet introduced "a new manner of part-writing and, thank God, less lack of imagination than before". Schubert and Schumann agreed with Beethoven’s appraisal of his Quartet No.14, the former complaining, "After this, what is left for us to write?" And the latter declaring that the quartet stood “on the extreme boundary of all that has hitherto been attained by human art and imagination."
Yet human imagination is limitless and is inspired by what came before. The Miró Quartet believes that the young American Pulitzer and Grammy© Award winning composer, Caroline Shaw “challenges the audience to hear these two more familiar voices [Haydn and Beethoven] in a deeper and more complex way.”
Caroline Shaw’s Microfictions Volume 1 is another creative gift from the pandemic lockdown. Written in collaboration with the Miró quartet by teleconference, this set of 6 miniature musical stories was inspired by the paintings of the quartet’s artist namesake, Joan Miró and the short science fiction of T.R. Darling. The composer tells us that “each movement is brief but vivid, with a distinct sonic profile...one’s interpretation of the stories and of the music can be varied—there is no one right way to connect the sounds or images or ideas. Rather I hope that the words create an environment for curious listening, and an invitation to the imagination.“ There’s that word again—imagination—our own is sure to be stirred by this program.
The Miró Quartet is based in Austin Texas and is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025. They gave the world premiere of Microfictions Volume 1 in 2021.
Program:
Haydn: String Quartet in B Major
Caroline Shaw: Microfictions (Vol 1)
Beethoven: String Quartet No.14 in C-sharp minor
The Fortas Chamber Music Concerts
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Thursday, December 19 at 7:30 p.m.
WETA Passport
Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.