ShIMMERING SUBSTANCE

Wednesday, October 30, 7.30PM

Bohemian National Hall
321 E 73rd St, New York, NY 10021

Cremona Quartet

Schumann Quartet in A minor, Op. 41 No. 1
Ravel String Quartet in F major, M.35

Illustrated talk by Stephen Johnson

If one views music as painting in tones, then its canvas is time. The form of music is never present in a single moment: we have to infer it from what we’ve already heard. Sometimes the form we hear seems static, like the structure of a building or a Mondrian abstract painting. At other times it’s like hearing a story told in sounds, always adding up to more than the sum of its parts. Robert Schumann, the image of wild, eccentric, volatile German Romanticism and Maurice Ravel, the epitome of elegant Gallic containment and fine manners, seem to embody opposite extremes here. Schumann’s Op. 41 No. 1 is so wildly lateral it can feel like two very different quartets have somehow become entangled together. Ravel’s Quartet, despite presenting an image of ordered, balanced perfection, is haunted by ghostly voices that whisper of something else – something more enigmatic. Just when we think we have the form in our minds, another possibility presents itself. Join us to find out why the title Shimmering Substance seems so appropriate for this program!

No refunds, no exchanges. Artists, programs, dates, and prices are subject to change.

Programs and artists are subject to change. If an event presented by Aspect Chamber Music Series is cancelled or postponed, we will announce the change—if time permits—by email, phone, a letter sent to your home, and on www.aspectmusic.net.