Music for the Future: The Beethoven Cycle - Part V: Op. 135

NOTE: PLEASE JOIN US RIGHT AT 4PM PT/7PM ET FOR OUR PRECONCERT ZOOM WITH THE ARTISTS: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2020743980?pwd=NlNYeFdBWmw4S2JGSER1UCtVemVGZz09

THE CONCERT WILL BEGIN PROMPTLY AT 4:15PM PT/7:15PM ET.

PROJECT: MUSIC HEALS US is proud to present the fifth of a 16-part digital concert series based on the college-accredited, Beethoven-inspired music composition course being created for incarcerated students. This course, named MUSIC FOR THE FUTURE, is an expansion of our previous 5-day intensive workshops which PMHU teaching artists have given in state and federal prisons for the past five years.

For the fifth installment of this Groupmuse Centerstage series, you will have the opportunity to take part in the ongoing creation of this exciting new digital composition course, experiencing all sixteen of Beethoven's String Quartets in a new and up-close way, and learn how our students compose using the same tools Beethoven used. We hope you'll join us to take a deep dive into the beauty, inspiration, pain, and redemption that are contained within Beethoven's music, while learning how to craft original works through breaking down Beethoven's compositional process.

In this week's episode, we will tackle Beethoven's final work of the genre, his String Quartet in F major, Op. 135, which presents us with an especially intriguing case. After the previous four gigantic, complex and serious string quartets (including the world-shattering Grosse Fugue) one might expect the very last string quartet to be the climax of a big crescendo, the monster of them all. But in reality, it is not. It is of smaller size and much lighter character. Still, by no means is it a piece of lesser value. We will delve into its nuts and bolts, its placement within the composer's overall output and its most striking features, including the riddle that Beethoven left us in the manuscript, writing "Muß es sein?" (Must it be?) and "Es muß sein!" (It must be!) under two of the final movement's themes. All that with the question in mind, how does the piece sum up one of the greatest achievements in Western music history, Beethoven's String quartet cycle.

The full MUSIC FOR THE FUTURE course will launch in Fall 2022 led by PMHU's lead teaching artist and course developer Brad Balliett.

Performers:
Abigel Kralik & Brian Hong, violins
Molly Carr, viola
Andrew Janss, cello

What's the music?

Abigel Kralik Violin

Brian Hong Violin

Molly Carr Viola

Andrew Janss Cello

Attendees

James J. Emcee

Nancy M.

Martin B.

David H.

Andrea F.

Denise S.

Wendy S.

Laraine L.

Natalia P.

Ben G.

Ed Boesel (he/him)

Marney W.

Sheri R.

Aliza S.

Bill and Sharon

Lynne C.

Brad R.

James L.

Jean H.

Yael M.

Sally K.

Judith S.

Marion S.