Elias String Quartet

String Quartet in C minor Op.18 No. 4
String Quartet in E flat major Op. 74 ‘The Harp’
String Quartet in B flat major Op. 130

As the culmination of its Festival residency, the Elias Quartet’s closing concert spans the extremities of Beethoven’s career as a composer of string quartets. In the early Op. 18 quartet, Beethoven reaches back to material from his younger years. Ten years later, 'The Harp' quartet, named for the jaunty pizzicato (or plucked string) passages in the first movement, is serene testament to his mastery of the form.

The Elias Quartet leaves us at the finale to Beethoven’s career: the Op. 130 quartet is his longest; performed with its original ‘Grosse Fuge’ ending, its depth and complexity provide profound climax of this year’s installment of the Beethoven Project.