The vast musical repertoire for classical string quartets ensures both challenges and variety of performance. In the case of the Emerson String Quartet, playing this Sunday in the Baird Auditorium at the Natural History Museum, these two components, together with the commitment of four outstanding musicians, have marked a delightful 29-year relationship with the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program.
The quartet, consisting of violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist David Finckel, performs the fourth concert in its 2008-09 series of five for the museum’s Performing Arts Program. The evening’s selected pieces include Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major, Op. 74 No. 1, Ives’ Quartet No. 1 and String Quartet in E Minor, Opus 59, No. 2 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
“There are 16 Beethoven string quartets, and most of them are quite huge in their demands,” Drucker said. “The Opus 59 [is] a major work, a major statement and of these three particular pieces, the most challenging technically and conceptually.”
The four men, together as a quartet for more than 30 years, find themselves up to the challenge and certainly prepared for performance.
The quartet was formed at the Julliard School in 1976, taking its name from the great American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Since its first appearance at the Vermont Music Festival in 1977, the group has performed extensively throughout the world. Of its numerous awards, the group holds eight Grammys and the American Naumburg Award for chamber music in 1978.
In addition to these achievements, the Emerson String Quartet has recorded exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon since 1987. Their current CD, “Intimate Letters,” features String Quartets 1 and 2 by Moravian composer Leos Janacek and Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola by Bohuslav Martinu.
Of their long-standing residence with the Smithsonian Associates, program manager Brigitte Blachere said, “It is a pleasure to present the Emerson String Quartet. Its mastery of the music and their artistry make it a very easy decision to include them every year. But it is also the satisfaction and happiness of the audience after each concert that makes this series so popular.”
If you go
The Smithsonian Resident Associate Program presents the Emerson String Quartet
Where: Baird Auditorium, Natural History Museum, Washington
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
Info: 202-633-3030; residentassociates.org
