Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center - Calidore String Quartet

This concert is performed by the Calidore String Quartet, an ensemble acclaimed for its expressive artistry and balance of technical brilliance with warmth. The program opens with a String Quartet in F major long attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the American statesman and inventor. Though its authorship remains uncertain, the piece offers a fascinating glimpse into 18th-century musical life. Haydn’s “Joke” Quartet follows, one of the witty Op. 33 quartets that earned him the title “father of the string quartet.” Mozart’s “Prussian” Quartet in B-flat major, written for the cello-loving King of Prussia, highlights graceful melodies and elegant writing for all four instruments. The Italian Serenade by Hugo Wolf brings lively charm and character, and the evening closes with Wynton Marsalis’s At the Octoroon Balls, a modern work that draws on jazz, blues, and dance rhythms to give the string quartet an unmistakably American voice.
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