The Valley Concert Society presents the Isidore String Quartet at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium on Thursday, April 18.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., followed by a pre-concert talk at 6:50 p.m. and the concert at 7:30 p.m.
The quartet won first prize at the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition, and last year they were granted an Avery Fisher Career Grant. They are now in demand around the world.
The four American musicians came together at The Juilliard School, where they began to play as an ensemble and were mentored by talented instructors.
For the group’s concert in Abbotsford, they have drawn from two of the pinnacles of the string quartet repertoire.
The program will open with Haydn’s String Quartet No. 25, one of the famous Sun Quartets. It was this collection of works that earned Haydn the nickname Father of the String Quartet and defined the characteristics of the form for generations.
The second half of the program will feature Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 15, one of his legendary late quartets. It includes the famous third movement titled Heiliger Dankgesang, which he wrote as a thanksgiving to the Deity after recovering from a serious and potentially life-threatening illness.
Between these two famous works is a piece by Billy Childs, the famous pianist, composer, and conductor of both jazz and classical music. Just two months ago he won another of several Grammy Awards.
His string quartet is titled Awakening. Like Beethoven’s, it is a reflection on a serious illness – that of his wife. The three movements depict the shock of the initial news, the difficult emotions he felt at her bedside, and gratitude at her recovery.
The quartet is named after Isidore Cohen, legendary former violinist of the esteemed Juilliard String Quartet.
Tickets are available online at valleyconcertsociety.com at $32 for adults/seniors and $20 for students. For more information, call 604-289-3377.
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