Haydn Voyages

An early Haydn quartet starts our exploration of the art of transformation. György Ligeti’s First Quartet, Métamorphoses nocturnes, is a literal metamorphosis—a single motif twisted into endless variations in a gripping, Bartók-inspired journey through the absurdity and mystery of the night. In Alexandra du Bois’ Behind Rainbows (2019) sound refracts like light through a prism, constantly shifting its emotional color. This program concludes with Dvořák’s beloved E-flat Quartet, Op. 51, an example of the composer’s masterful ability to transform the dances and songs of the Czech countryside into the Romantic string quartet.

Joseph Haydn – Quartet No. 15 in B♭ major, Op. 9, No. 5 (1769)

György Ligeti – Quartet No. 1 (1954)

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Alexandra du Bois – Behind Rainbows (2019)

Antonin Dvořák – Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major, B. 92, op. 51 (1879)