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Ciompi Quartet Event
The Ciompi Quartet: Memories and Aspirations
Saturday, February 21,
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Join the Ciompi Quartet, Duke's internationally respected resident ensemble, for an evening of profound reflection and radiant musical expression in Memories and Aspirations. This thoughtfully curated program honors the recent passing of American composer Paul Schoenfield, whose vibrant and deeply human music has long resonated with performers and audiences alike.
At the heart of the concert is Memoirs, the second of Schoenfield's two string quartets-a work the Ciompi Quartet commissioned in 2003. Written in memory of the composer's father, Memoirs blends poignancy, warmth, and Schoenfield's signature rhythmic vitality. Its emotional immediacy and expressive depth make it one of his most personal and affecting chamber works, and the Ciompi Quartet's close relationship with the piece gives this performance special resonance.
The program opens with a dramatic transformation of J. S. Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, originally composed for organ during the young Bach's years in Arnstadt. In this virtuosic string quartet transcription, Bach's monumental architecture becomes all the more striking-its driving bass line, intricate variations, and powerful fugue emerging with fresh clarity and intensity.
The evening concludes with another youthful masterwork: Franz Schubert's String Quartet No. 4 in C Major. Written when the composer was just fifteen, the quartet brims with energy, ambition, and glimpses of the lyrical voice that would shape his mature style. Its bright spirit and melodic generosity offer a luminous counterbalance to the program's more introspective moments.
Together, these works trace a moving arc from memory and tribute to aspiration and early artistic promise, beautifully illuminated by the Ciompi Quartet's expressive precision and depth.
This is a free event but tickets are required!
At the heart of the concert is Memoirs, the second of Schoenfield's two string quartets-a work the Ciompi Quartet commissioned in 2003. Written in memory of the composer's father, Memoirs blends poignancy, warmth, and Schoenfield's signature rhythmic vitality. Its emotional immediacy and expressive depth make it one of his most personal and affecting chamber works, and the Ciompi Quartet's close relationship with the piece gives this performance special resonance.
The program opens with a dramatic transformation of J. S. Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, originally composed for organ during the young Bach's years in Arnstadt. In this virtuosic string quartet transcription, Bach's monumental architecture becomes all the more striking-its driving bass line, intricate variations, and powerful fugue emerging with fresh clarity and intensity.
The evening concludes with another youthful masterwork: Franz Schubert's String Quartet No. 4 in C Major. Written when the composer was just fifteen, the quartet brims with energy, ambition, and glimpses of the lyrical voice that would shape his mature style. Its bright spirit and melodic generosity offer a luminous counterbalance to the program's more introspective moments.
Together, these works trace a moving arc from memory and tribute to aspiration and early artistic promise, beautifully illuminated by the Ciompi Quartet's expressive precision and depth.
This is a free event but tickets are required!
