Preview Chamber Arts in the 24/25 Season
Our 24/25 Chamber Arts Series welcomes back friends like the Takács Quartet (pictured above), plus the exciting UMS debuts of Branford Marsalis, the Escher Quartet, and the Rosamunde Quartet. Preview all six programs in Rackham Auditorium:
Escher Quartet
Sun Nov 10 at 4 pm
The Escher Quartet takes its name from the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, inspired by his method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole. Based in New York, Escher opens the Chamber Arts Series with a program featuring Mendelssohn’s last major composition, Béla Bartók’s second string quartet, and Dvořák’s joyful final string quartet, written shortly after he returned to Bohemia after a three-year stint in America.
Program
Felix Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 6 in f minor, Op. 80
Béla Bartók String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17, Sz. 67
Antonín Dvořák String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Op. 105
Ariel Quartet with Alisa Weilerstein, cello
folk•lore
Thu Dec 12 at 7:30 pm
For centuries and across continents, folk music has influenced art music. This program, entitled folk·lore, explores the gray zone between the two styles through a dialogue between solo cello and string quartet, with all five artists performing an uninterrupted suite of traditional folk music from around the world.
The second half features one of the most influential works in the classical music repertoire: Schubert’s Cello Quintet in C Major, the last movement of which skillfully weaves together folk and art music through rhythmic and harmonic patterns characteristic of the Romani music of Hungary.
Program
Original works and transcriptions arranged by the Ariel Quartet and Alisa Weilerstein
Franz Schubert Cello Quintet in C Major, Op. 163, D. 956
Caroline Shaw and Gabriel Kahane
Thu Jan 23 at 7:30 pm
Respected as both performers and contemporary composers, Caroline Shaw and Gabriel Kahane embark on their first large-scale collaboration after working together for more than a decade.
They invite audiences to contemplate the joy, grief, wonder, and bewilderment that spring from a life oversaturated in information in a UMS co-commission inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’s 1939 short story, “The Library of Babel.” In this enigmatic narrative, Borges conjures a captivating and perplexing universe where the notion of infinity collides with the fragility of human understanding.
Program
Caroline Shaw and Gabriel Kahane The Library of Babel (UMS Co-Commission)
Additional works to be announced
Branford Marsalis Chamber Project
Fri Feb 21 at 7:30 pm
Branford Marsalis brings his classical chops to Rackham Auditorium in a concert featuring two members of the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance community: saxophone professor Timothy McAllister and collaborative pianist Liz Ames.
The oldest son of pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis, Branford fully embraces both jazz and Western classical music, in addition to a burgeoning career as a composer. When asked a few years ago whether he finds classical music or jazz harder, the saxophonist said, “Classical is harder. Jazz is like a story that you personalize, but classical is a story where you can’t use your own words. It’s like reading Shakespeare or Chaucer. You have to develop the characters to make them believable, but the words aren’t yours, and you’re not going to change [them].”
Program
Claude Debussy Rhapsodie, L. 98
Sally Beamish “First Light” from Divertimenti for Two Soprano saxophones and Piano
Kelly-Marie Murphy Unstoppable Fear Machine
Additional works to be announced
Rosamunde String Quartet
Wed Mar 12 at 7:30 pm
Founded in 2015, the Rosamunde String Quartet is composed of members from three of the world’s greatest orchestras: Noah Bendix-Balgley, the first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic; Shanshan Yao, a concert violinist and former member of both the Pittsburgh Symphony and the New York Philharmonic; Teng Li, principal violist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and Nathan Vickery, cellist with the New York Philharmonic. By uniting their experiences, they create a distinctive sound and unanimity of expression, sharing their love of chamber music with each other and with audiences worldwide.
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3
Béla Bartók String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85
Franz Schubert String Quartet No. 14 in d minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”)
Takács Quartet
Thu Apr 24 at 7:30 pm
“Classical music doesn’t get much more life-enhancing than this.” (The Guardian, London)
Since their UMS debut in 1984, the Takács Quartet’s nearly annual appearances are always a highlight of the Chamber Arts Series. This year, the cherished ensemble celebrates its 50th anniversary with a program that pairs Haydn and Beethoven, two innovators of the string quartet form, with Benjamin Britten’s rarely-performed String Quartet No. 2.
Program
Joseph Haydn String Quartet in C Major, Op. 54, No. 2
Benjamin Britten String Quartet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 36
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135
24/25 Season Ticket packages are on sale now! You can experience these performances in our 6-concert Chamber Arts for as little as $150. Or, craft a performance season as unique as you and save 10% with Series:You. Either way, you’ll get early access to the best seats in Rackham Auditorium — and at the best prices — before individual event tickets go on sale in August.
Subscribers save up to 17% over individual event prices and receive other great benefits as well, including discounts throughout the year to all UMS events, free exchange privileges, installment billing, and more!
