Our season closing program expresses bittersweet nostalgia for the past, deep yearning for the future, and an awareness that we are present together in this very moment. Lyatoshynsky’s heartfelt Fourth Quartet (a “Suite on Ukrainian Themes”) and Mendelssohn’s optimistic and youthful First Quartet join the latest new work in our 5-year commissioning project, by Reena Esmail. This new quartet is not only written in the present, but also comes in the context of her philosophy of writing music with the express purpose of bringing people together to share a specific moment in time. ~ Megumi Stohs Lewis

PROGRAM

String Quartet No. 4 in d minor, Op. 43 | Boris Lyatoshynsky (1895—1968) ~ 20 minutes

World premiere commissioned by Sheffield Chamber Players | Reena Esmail (b. 1983) ~ 15 minutes

Quartet No. 1 Op. 12 in Eb Major, Op. 12 | Felix Mendelssohn (1809—1847) ~ 24 minutes