Embarking on an exciting three-year partnership with The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as the school's visiting string quartet in residence, the Ehnes Quartet launches its eagerly anticipated Beethoven Quartet Cycle—a comprehensive six-concert chronological exploration of Beethoven's complete string quartets.
This concert marks the second installment of this ambitious six-concert series, offering audiences an immersive journey through Beethoven's early mastery of the string quartet medium. As the ensemble brings its signature interpretive depth, seamless collaboration, and profound musical insight to campus, this series celebrates Beethoven's confident assertion of equality with Haydn and Mozart while unveiling the innovative transformational processes—motivic evolution, variation, and interconnection—that foreshadow his revolutionary later works. With 2027 approaching as the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's death (March 26, 1827), this cycle arrives at a poignant moment, highlighting the enduring power and timeless relevance of his quartets as the world prepares to honor his legacy.
Drawing on Professor William Kinderman's seminal study The String Quartets of Beethoven, the cycle highlights how these youthful quartets refine classical forms with emerging dramatic intensity, metrical nuance, and expressive contrasts, laying essential foundations for the composer's monumental contributions to the genre.
The Ehnes Quartet, hailed as “an important new force in the chamber music arena” with a “dream-team line-up” (Strings), is comprised of four internationally renowned string musicians: violinists James Ehnes and Amy Schwartz Moretti, violist Che-Yen Chen, and cellist Edward Arron.
Program II – The second concert of the cycle
Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 7:30pm
String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
Turbulent and dramatic, its restless Allegro ma non tanto and eccentric Andante scherzoso reveal Beethoven's early flair for minor-key tension.
String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5
Warm and songful, highlighted by the tender, variation-rich Andante cantabile.
String Quartet in F Major, Op. 14, No. 1 (Beethoven's own string arrangement of his Piano Sonata in E Major)
An intimate, transparent transcription showcasing his adept reworking of material across media.
String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6
A crowning achievement, culminating in the haunting "La Malinconia" Adagio prelude—brooding and introspective—before exploding into an exuberant Allegretto quasi Allegro, foreshadowing Beethoven's later psychological profundity.