Where Shadows Sing

This program traces a thread through three very different works for string quartet. Haydn’s String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 76 No. 5 opens with characteristic elegance and wit, showcasing the extraordinary expressive possibilities of the string quartet.  The Ottawa-based composer Dinuk Wijeratne’s Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems brings a contemporary voice to the program, blending the intimacy of the string quartet with the rhythms and gestures of popular music. Wijeratne’s weaves quotations from Schubert’s "Death and the Maiden" quartet into his work, creating a musical connection that comes fully into focus in the second half of the concert.  Schubert’s String Quartet in D minor, nicknamed "Death and the Maiden", forms the dramatic heart of the program: a powerful and deeply moving work in which beauty, urgency, tenderness, and darkness are held in constant tension. Heard alongside Wijeratne’s contemporary response, Schubert’s music takes on new resonance, inviting us to hear familiar themes through a fresh lens.

Music:

Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in E-flat major, op. 76 no. 5

Dinuk Wijeratne: Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems

Franz Schubert: String Quartet in D minor, D 810 "Death and the Maiden"