Melbourne Chamber Orchestra – Inspirations

26 Mar 2:00pm

Meet Melbourne Chamber Orchestra’s quartet for its “Inspirations” coming to The Wedge!

Artistic Director Sophie Rowell (violin) leads Karla Hanna (violin), Merewyn Bramble (viola) and Charlotte Miles (cello) for magnificent quartets by Haydn, Caroline Shaw & Beethoven. Come + enjoy an hour of beautiful classical music at the tempting matinee time of 2pm.

Beethoven was surely inspired by Haydn, but could Haydn have been inspired by Beethoven? By the time Haydn wrote his Op 77, Beethoven was establishing himself as the formidable voice of his generation, not least as Haydn’s worthy successor in the field of string quartet writing. In the Haydn, it’s possible to hear, if not the direct competition with the iconoclastic young Beethoven, his influence on the tastes of the time, with adventurous harmonies and dynamics, and a minuet that’s clearly too fast for dancing.

Beethoven’s Op 95 is a favourite of quartets and audiences alike: impetuous, dramatic, and simply overflowing with astonishing musical ideas. While it fully earns its moniker of “Serioso”, the stern Beethoven stereotype evaporates in the quartet’s final moments in a burst of joy.

An Entr’acte is a piece to be played in between other larger works. Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning American composer Caroline Shaw’s intermezzo was directly inspired by the Haydn quartet in this program, refracting and riffing on its musical language.

The three pieces that will be performed are:

Josef Haydn
String Quartet No 67 in F major

Caroline Shaw
Entr’acte

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No 11 in F minor

Buy Tickets
Prices
Adult Senior Concession Member Group 10+ Under 30
—  $27 —  $25 —  $19 —  $19 —  $17 —  $15
Show times
2:00pm, Sunday 26 March 2023
Venue
John Leslie Theatre 100 Foster Street Sale, 3850
Run time
1 hour 10 minutes, no interval
Facebook