Emerson String Quartet

Saturday, October 20, 2012 | 8:00 pm

Reynolds Industries Theater

The Emerson’s fearless individualism and muscular finesse make it the definitive American string quartet. A highlight of Duke Performances stages since 1983, the Emerson returns for its final local date with longtime cellist David Finckel, who is retiring from the Quartet after more than 30 years. This fond farewell sets Mozart’s Hoffmeister alongside a modern work written for the Emerson by Britain’s Thomas Adés. Later, the distinctly American freedom of expression in Copland’s vibrant Two Pieces for String Quartet is offset by the distinctly Russian discretion of Shostakovich’s dark, daring late opus, String Quartet No. 12.

“… they rivet the attention with the rapt beauty of their playing” —The Times (UK)

Program