Haydn Voyages

Two works that explore folk music of their native lands in extraordinary ways anchor this concert: Bela Bartok’s Third String Quartet (1927) is his shortest, yet packs incredible power and variety in its use of raucous dance rhythms and haunting melodies. The afternoon’s two Haydn Quartets (opus 17/6 and 64/6) both feature creative use of popular idioms and tunes, with Haydn’s characteristic blend of the most fashionable trends of the time and more rustic, everyday folk material. Shelley Washington‘s Middleground (2016) is a celebration and reminiscence of places and feelings from the composer’s upbringing, “the space grounded, the between, the center[…] Home of the heart, hear of the home.”

Joseph Haydn – Quartet no. 20 in D Major, Op. 17, No. 6 (1771)

Shelley Washington – Middleground (2016)

Haydn – Quartet no. 52 in E-flat Major, Op. 64, No. 6 (1790)

Bela Bartok – Quartet no. 3 (1927)