Brentano String Quartet

Viennese Contrasts: The Drama of Opera, The Intimacy of the Quartet

The acclaimed Brentano String Quartet explores a more intimate and contemplative side of Ludwig van Beethoven in a program shaped by themes of loss, reflection, and quiet drama. Beethoven’s String Quartet in F major, Op. 18, No. 1, written early in his career, contains a deeply expressive slow movement inspired by the tomb scene from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

At the center of the program is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor, K. 421, one of the composer’s most emotionally searching chamber works, often noted for its operatic intensity and dramatic depth.

The program concludes with Beethoven’s String Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1, part of the celebrated “Razumovsky” set, in which the composer expanded the scale and expressive possibilities of the quartet. Together, these works reveal how composers used the string quartet to explore some of music’s most profound emotional landscapes.

Viennese Contrasts
Beethoven — String Quartet in F major, Op. 18, No. 1
Mozart — String Quartet in D minor, K. 42
Beethoven — String Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1 (“Razumovsky”)