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Jupiter String Quartet

Music can provide a profound lifeline for those struggling through times of unrest. The composers in this program grapple with the realities of a world full of upheaval and uncertainty, attempting to provide a path to greater understanding. The Irish-English composer Elizabeth Maconchy was an avowed socialist who supported the Republican forces fighting off Francisco Francoin the Spanish Civil War. Her hauntingly beautiful third quartet emerged out of the shadows of 1930s Europe. Carlos Simon’s heartbreaking Elegy memorializes the Black American victims of police violence, while Nathan Shield’s new quartet, Medusa, composed for the Jupiter Quartet for Shields’ Guggenheim Fellowship, uses the paintings of Caravaggio as an inspiration for exploring the effects of various types of political and social violence. Benjamin Britten, a pacifist who went to America during the War, returned to England afterwards only to embark on a redemptive tour of Europe with Yehudi Menuhin, performing for the victims of the Holocaust in the newly discovered concentration camps. His String Quartet No. 2 was written in response to these experiences. Beethoven’s epic eighth quartet is one of the many works he wrote during a time of immense political turmoil.

Upheaval

Elizabeth Maconchy: String Quartet No. 3

Carlos Simon, An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave

Nathan Shields, Medusa

Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2

Patron Underwriters

  • Carol & Willis Colburn

Patron Sponsors

  • Beverly & Michael Friese, in Memory of Avis & Dean Hilfinger
  • Marilyn & Don Krummel

Patron Co-sponsors

  • Anonymous
  • Anne Mischakoff Heiles & William Heiles

With deep gratitude, Krannert Center thanks all Patron Sponsors and Corporate and Community Sponsors.

If you believe in the life-affirming experiences that Krannert Center and the performing arts at Illinois make possible, please make a gift: advancement@krannertcenter.illinois.edu, KrannertCenter.com/Give, or faa.illinois.edu/giving.

Event Details

Foellinger Great Hall
Tu Oct 03, 2023 - 7:30pm CT
Advocate 60 / Standard 25 / SC 20 / STU 15 / UI & YTH 10 Choral Balcony: 15 / UI & YTH 10

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