fbpx Aris Quartet and Jupiter String Quartet | Krannert Center for the Performing Arts | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You are here

Aris Quartet and Jupiter String Quartet

Referred to as “one of the miracles of 19th-century music,” Mendelssohn’s brilliant Octet for eight stringed instruments amazed its first audiences in 1825 and continues to thrill audiences of the 21st century. Whether you’re hearing this work for the first time or it has the status of an old friend, a rare treat is in store when our own Jupiter Quartet meets the dynamic Aris Quartet onstage for the first time to present the Mendelssohn masterwork. <./p>

Formed at Frankfurt am Main in 2009 when they were students, the Aris Quartet earned first prizes at prestigious competitions (Chamber Music Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation, BBC New Generation Artists, ECHO Rising Stars, and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award) and quickly achieved an international standing as “one of the most sensational ensembles of the young generation” (ARTE). The Aris Quartet created its name from the last letters of each member’s first name: violinist Anna Katharina Wildermuth, violist Caspar Vinzens, violinist Noémi Zipperling, and cellist Lukas Sieber. In addition to their quartet performances, all four musicians are active chamber music and orchestral performers as well as educators.

The New Yorker has proclaimed the Jupiter String Quartet an “ensemble of eloquent intensity” and “one of the mainstays of the American chamber music scene.” The particularly intimate group consists of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). The quartet chose its name because Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at the time of its formation in 2001, and the astrological symbol for Jupiter resembles the number four.

Program

Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

Additional works TBA

Patron Underwriters

  • Carol & Willis Colburn

Patron Sponsors

  • Jayne & Richard Burkhardt Jr.
  • Shirley Soo & Matthew Gorman
  • Anne Mischakoff Heiles & William Heiles
  • Marilyn & Don Krummel

Patron Co-sponsors

  • Beth & David Chasco
  • Melanie Loots & George Gollin
  • Jerald Wray & Dirk Mol
  • Linda & Ronald Roaks
  • Diana Sheets, in loving memory of Stephen Levinson & in memory of Dr. Arthur Chitz, music director of the Dresden Schauspielhaus

Event Details

Foellinger Great Hall
Th Mar 13, 2025 - 7:30pm CT
Advocate 60 / Standard 25 / SC 20 / STU 15 / UI & YTH 10 Choral Balcony: 15 / UI & YTH 10

Event Page Slider