The Chaira String Quartet performs two Washington concerts featuring music by Debussy, Beethoven, Prokofiev and Webern.
Performance 1: National Gallery of Art; 12:10 p.m. Oct. 14; free, seating on first-come, first-served basis; 202-842-6941; nga.gov/programs/music
Performance 2: Strathmore Mansion, Shapiro Music Room; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16; $28; 301-581-5100; strathmore.org
Drop into a favorite bar or club, and you may be entertained by the Chiara String Quartet. Nothing pleases the award-winning ensemble more than opportunities to spark enthusiasm among skeptics of chamber music. Equally at home in more formal settings, the artists in residence at Harvard University and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln debut at the National Gallery of Art and the Music Center at Strathmore.
Violist Johan Sirota speaks for his colleagues, violinists Rebecca Fischer and Julie Yoon and cellist Gregory Beaver, when he confirms their passion for performing both classical and contemporary works in public spaces. All met at the Juilliard School of Music where they studied, taught and were mentored by the illustrious Juilliard String Quartet.
“Even though our teachers were committed to a classical music tradition that goes back hundreds of years, we’ve learned that people today are ready for new experiences,” he says. “This interesting journey began when we were doing outreach concerts in places like schools and nursing homes and became disillusioned by the schism that divides the audience from the musicians on stage.
“Some people come to concerts prepared, while others may have anxiety in a concert setting, but they all come to bars and clubs to relax, hang out with their friends and enjoy the serendipity. Our goal is to break down the proscenium by talking with the audience and playing a variety of music that invites conversation.”
Their program for the National Gallery of Art focuses on the exhibition “The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850-1900.” In contrast to the bright and merry artistic works typical of those associated with Paris, London and Berlin during the last half of the 19th Century, the collection of prints, drawings, book illustrations and small sculptures encompasses melancholic and ominous subjects often hidden in grim, ghoulish recesses.
“Although Debussy is known as an impressionist and his ‘String Quartet in G minor’ is a beautiful, light-filled piece, we chose it because it reflects his association with symbolist poets like Charles Beaudelaire whose work deals with the dark interior landscapes of the soul,” Sirota says. “Prokofiev’s ‘String Quartet No. 1’ delves into the interior human emotions while Webern’s ‘Five Pieces for String Quartet’ was his attempt to take expressionism to a personal and intimate level. His world was that of Arnold Schoenberg’s 12-tone Viennese School. Each section is a short, well-crafted vignette that speaks to the small expressionist miniatures in the collection.”
For their Strathmore concert, the Chiara String Quartet replaces the Webern work with Beethoven’s “String Quartet No. 4” as part of the ensemble’s two-year Beethoven cycle. Throughout this and next season, they will perform the complete 16 string quartets in multiple venues, take “Beethoven in Bars” around the country, start a Subway Series in New York City boroughs and add to their discography by recording the complete Brahms string quartets.
“In Washington and wherever we perform, we want people to come out with an open mind,” Sirota says. “We’re friendly and we care about providing a concert that’s not watered down. Our music is fun, challenging and engaging.”
