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Acclaimed for “wonderful, selfless music-making” (The Times, London), the virtuosic Brentano Quartet graces the stage at Caramoor once again. Revel in the timeless elegance of Haydn and Brahms alongside the debut of a masterpiece by the esteemed Chinese American composer, Lei Liang, in honor of his teacher Chou Wen-chung. Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has performed worldwide and achieved critical acclaim for its passionate, uninhibited interpretations and luxuriously warm sound that promise an afternoon of musical enchantment.

The Brentano String Quartet, whose name refers to Beethoven’s »immortal beloved« Antonie Brentano, is known for its brilliant ensemble playing, technical perfection and remarkable vibrancy. In 2025, the American quartet, which looks back on several acclaimed performances at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele, returns with a work commissioned from Lei Liang, a composer born in China, but now living in the USA and considered one of the most astonishing voices in New Music.

One of our favorite ensembles and Yale’s quartet-in-residence returns for a special extended program traversing one of Haydn’s seminal sets of quartets. The Brentano’s signature elegance and refined musicianship will illuminate the composer’s genius in the six masterworks.

In this special two-part concert, the “passionate, uninhibited, and spellbinding” (London Independent) Brentano Quartet and master violist Hsin-Yun Huang illuminate the complete string quintets of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In these six remarkable works, Mozart achieves a tour de force of classical perfection, from the first quintet—in which one senses a brilliant young composer just starting to test his wings—to the later works, in which he reaches his most breathtaking heights of inspiration.