Belcea Quartet

Late string quartets by Mozart and Mendelssohn frame a new work by Joseph Phibbs, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall. Mozart’s penultimate quartet is noteworthy for its refinement and free-flowing melodies. Mendelssohn’s final quartet intensely churns in its first two movements, reflecting his grief over the death of his sister Fanny. Its slow movement is a beautifully tender song that may well be an elegy for both Fanny and, with his own health failing, himself—it is an unforgettable moment of calm before the anguished finale.

Jeremy Denk and Friends

Mozart was a virtuoso pianist and a superb violinist. The best of both worlds will be served in an eclectic feast that features the composer’s inventive sonatas for violin and piano, as well as some additional treats selected by pianist Jeremy Denk and his virtuoso violinist friends. Denk—praised by The Guardian for his “piquant, meaningful programs” and called by The Baltimore Sun “one of the most interesting pianists on today’s scene”—brings his engaging stage manner and stunning musicianship to an evening of favorites and surprises.

Hagen Quartet

Great string quartets engage in many different ways, from the brief, tightly connected motifs of Webern, to the epic scale of Beethoven, to the lyrical expressiveness of Schubert. There's a melancholy mood throughout much of Schubert's quartet—a work that features the famous songlike second movement. Beethoven’s quartet is a stupendous display of craftsmanship, with each of the work’s seven sections flowing one to the other without pause. The epic journey leads the listener to new tonalities, fugal writing to rival Bach’s, and Beethoven’s quintessential shifts from fury, to tenderness, to jollity.