Escher Quartet Plays Brahms & Mendelssohn at Bohemian National Hall

Thursday, November 3, 7.30 pm

Bohemian National Hall
321 E 73rd Street

Ticket Info Can Be Found Here…

ESCHER STRING QUARTET

Adam Barnett-Hart, violin
Brendan Speltz, violin
Pierre Lapointe, viola
Brook Speltz, cello
Illustrated talk by Per Tengstrand

Brahms – String Quartet in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1
Mendelssohn – String Quartet in F minor, Op. 80

On November 3, Aspect Chamber Music Series presents the second concert of the season, “Love & Loss: Brahms & Mendelssohn” featuring the internationally acclaimed Escher String Quartet at Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side. 

For both Brahms and Mendelssohn, it is their chamber works rather than their sweeping symphonic music which are the most revealing into their psyches. As Brahms started composing his C minor Quartet, he still wrestled with two major personal demons: his mentor, Robert Schumann, at the end of his life and mental lucidity; and, his profound (and profoundly complicated) love for Clara Schumann, Robert’s widow. Mendelssohn’s F minor quartet reflects the overwhelming grief he felt following the sudden and early death of his beloved sister, Fanny. While his own death at the age of 38 technically remains a mystery, he outlived his sister by just 174 days, and his despair is often believed to be the culprit of his passing. Despite this, Op 80 remains one of the truest expressions of pure, simple love in the string quartet repertory.