Violinist

The “musician as hero” was invented by Beethoven when he chose to triumph over deafness and fulfill his artistic destiny. Beginning in 1803, a decade of masterpieces cemented his reputation not only as the world’s most famous musician, but also as an artist who was unequivocally his own muse. His triumphs over adversity opened the doors of musical imagination to composers everywhere, from the young, awestruck Schubert to the visionary women composer-performers Louise Farrenc and Clara Schumann.

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Concert Program III: From The Heart

Menlo School Campus

Following the death of Haydn in 1809, his sixty-eight string quartets would spur subsequent composers to write some of their greatest music. Violinist Aaron Boyd explores not only the Beethoven quartets inspired by Haydn's genius, but also the historic ensembles—from the nineteenth century's Schuppanzigh and Joachim Quartets to the dynamic ensembles of our own day—who have brought them to life.

Encounter Lecture II: Quartets For The End Of Time With Aaron Boyd

Music from the Baroque era stimulates the senses, lifts the spirits, and inspires faith in all things good. The evolution of everything in music—from the art of counterpoint to the invention of new forms—transformed Baroque composers into unstoppable creators as they experimented with new musical styles and combinations of instruments. In this opening concert, we’ll experience six trailblazing composers showing their skills in a colorful collection of instruments and ensembles.

Concert Program I: Baroque Splendor

Each instrumentation is unique; one memorable tune is heard after another; uplifting energy abounds; feats of virtuosity for violins, violas, cellos, oboes, trumpet, horns and harpsichord leap from the stage. All this and more can be found in Bach’s miraculous Brandenburg Concertos. CMS’s annual performances of these works, continually evolving with new casts of artists, is simply a New York tradition not to be missed.

Brandenburg Concertos

Lincoln Center

This eclectic program celebrates both a beloved instrument and classical music’s most rigorous contrapuntal form. Arguably the king of musical innovators, Joseph Haydn took from the past and created the future, as in his Opus 20 Quartet which begins with a cello solo (a historical first) and concludes with a lively fugue that could have come straight from the pen of J.S. Bach. From cellist-composers Luigi Boccherini and Michael Finckel (David Finckel’s cousin) to the Frenchman Alexandre Tansman and the Russian Aleksandr Glazunov, we will hear cellos throughout this concert in delightful combinations, even cello quartets, with exhilarating fugues popping up unexpectedly.

CONCERT PROGRAM IV Cellos And Fugues

Haydn’s corpus of nearly 70 string quartets testifies to his standing as the genre’s foundational figure. Without question, the quartets of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and all who have followed over the subsequent two centuries descend from those of Haydn. At this summer’s second Encounter, violinist Aaron Boyd gets under the hood of Haydn’ string quartets, illuminating the compose’s singular ingenuity in this form. This event features live musical illustrations performed by a quartet of festival artists.

This Encounter lecture is preceded by a free afternoon Prelude Performance at 5 p.m. by the 2022 International Program artists. Prelude programs will be announced in May.

ENCOUNTER II Haydn’s String Quartets

The festival begins on a celebratory note, connecting Joseph Haydn, the father of the Classical style, with the Baroque era’s greatest master, Johann Sebastian Bach. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, son of Johann Sebastian, composed his dashing A major Cello Concerto only three years after his father’s death, setting a new standard of instrumental brilliance. In Haydn’s dramatic cantata, the heroine Ariadne is abandoned during the night on the island of Naxos by her lover Theseus, whom she had saved from the Minotaur. Haydn’s ever popular C major Violin Concerto follows, and the evening closes with Johann Sebastian Bach’s secular cantata Be still, stop chattering (in essence, a short comic opera), which tells the humorous, cautionary tale of a young woman addicted to coffee.

Aaron Boyd

Violinist

Events

Jul 23, 2023

Concert Program III: From The Heart · Music@Menlo

Jul 23, 2023

Encounter Lecture II: Quartets For The End Of Time With Aaron Boyd · Music@Menlo

Jul 15, 2023

Concert Program I: Baroque Splendor · Music@Menlo

16 - 20 Dec, 2022

Brandenburg Concertos · Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Jul 24, 2022

CONCERT PROGRAM IV Cellos And Fugues · Music@Menlo

About

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