Cuarteto Casals
Performers
Cuarteto Casals
·· Vera Martínez Mehner, Violin
·· Abel Tomàs, Violin
·· Jonathan Brown,Viola
·· Arnau Tomàs, Cello
Program
J. S. BACH Selections from The Art of Fugue
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA Reflections on the Theme of B-A-C-H
BRAHMS String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2
Encore:
FALLA Danza del molinero ("The Miller's Dance") from El sombrero de tres picos ("The Three-Cornered Hat")
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately 90 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.Listen to Selected Works
At a Glance
J. S. BACH Selections from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
One of the outstanding virtuosos of his age, J. S. Bach composed music for organ and harpsichord throughout his life. The magisterial Art of Fugue, which he had not quite completed at the time of his death in 1750, was conceived as a didactic work illustrating Baroque contrapuntal technique. The eight fugues on tonight’s program attest to the sophistication of his technique as both composer and performer.
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA Reflections on the Theme B-A-C-H
Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina acknowledges Bach and Anton Webern as seminal influences on her work. Based on the unfinished final fugue from the Baroque master’s The Art of Fugue, Reflections on the Theme B-A-C-H also reflects her conception of music as a vehicle for “spiritual renewal.” In the words of violinist Mark Steinberg, this short but densely packed piece “amplifies and sheds new light” on Bach’s “deeply spiritual and enigmatic music.”
BRAHMS String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2
In the second of his three string quartets, Brahms the Classicist meets Brahms the Romantic. The two Op. 51 quartets are dedicated to Brahms’s friend Theodor Billroth, a Viennese surgeon. Although the mercilessly self-critical composer dismissed his music as “mean and paltry,” Billroth knew better. “These dedications will keep our names known longer than our best work,” he predicted to a fellow dedicatee.