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Ivalas Quartet: Fate and Longing
October 17 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Free
Fate and Yearning
Shortly before the end of his extraordinarily productive life, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote a question on the score of the final movement of his last completed major work: “Muss es sein?” or “Must it be?” Later, on another page in the same movement, he answered his own question with “Es muss sein!” — “It must be!” What did Beethoven mean with this enigmatic question and its answer?
Brooklyn-based composer Alvin Singleton’s quartets are known for their curious, often provocative titles, like Secret Desire to be Black, and Hallelujah Anyhow. Singleton’s 3rd string quartet, Somehow We Can, was written shortly after the death of Marian Anderson, a champion and icon for black musicians in classical music. Dedicated to her, the quartet musically evokes the kind of speculation Beethoven sparked with his question. Often sparse and filled with speech-like interjections and figures, Singleton’s quartet offers the listener a complex and compelling experience. While Singleton does not explicitly offer a written question like Beethoven, after hearing the quartet (Somehow We Can) and its conclusion, one may pose the question “Can we?”
Shortly after Beethoven’s death, his budding young contemporary, Felix Mendelssohn, posed his own question in a similar manner with “Ist es wahr?” or “Is it true?” also written on a musical score. Was Mendelssohn making a connection with Beethoven’s final quartet and its similar musical question? As with Beethoven’s musical query, Mendelsohn responds with a three-note answer at least twice: in the main theme of the first movement and again at the very end of the quartet. Taking into consideration Mendelssohn’s admiration for Beethoven, the connection seems undeniable.
About the Artists
The Ivalas Quartet has been changing the face of classical music since its inception in 2017. Composed of violinists Reuben Kebede and Tiani Butts, violist Marcus Stevenson and cellist Pedro Sanchez, Ivalas seeks to enhance the classical music world by consistently spotlighting past and present BIPOC composers.
Recently, The Ivalas Quartet served as the Graduate Resident String Quartet at The Juilliard School, where they studied with the Juilliard String Quartet. They were previously in residence at the University of Colorado-Boulder under the mentorship of the Takács Quartet.
Performing on concert series all throughout the USA, the quartet has been presented by the Austin Chamber Music Center, Newport Classical, Schneider Concerts, Community Concerts at Second in Baltimore, Friends of Chamber Music Denver and CU Presents where they collaborated with the Takács Quartet in 2020 and 2022. In May of 2023, they presented their first full program at Carnegie Hall, titled First Light. In 2022, Ivalas won the grand prize at the Coltman Chamber Music Competition, as well as first prize at the 2019 WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition.
In 2021, they created the first recording of Carlos Simon’s Warmth From Other Suns for string quartet under Lara Downes’ digital label Rising Sun Music.
The members of the Ivalas Quartet have a shared dedication to their roles as educators. The quartet has nurtured students from the early stages of their musical journey to the collegiate level, with coaching experience including residencies at the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Central Arkansas, Madeline Island Chamber Music, and the MacPhail Center for Music. In New York City, they have coached student groups at The Juilliard School in both preparatory and undergraduate divisions. The quartet is also greatly enjoying working with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on their Chamber Music Beginnings program.
Details
- Date:
- October 17
- Time:
-
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
- Cost:
- Free
- Event Category:
- Community Partner
- Website:
- https://5bmf.org/ivalas-quartet/
Venue
- Sugar Hill Children’s Museum
-
898 St. Nicholas Avenue
New York, NY 10031 United States + Google Map - Phone
- 212-335-0004
- View Venue Website