There are still tickets available for next week’s show at Rosehill Cemetery! They are going fast, though, so head to the link in our bio and grab yours today.
We’re featuring our good friend Luis Fernando Amaya on this program with his beautiful, intimate work Dialecto de Árbol No. 4.
The temple bell stops
but I still hear the sound
coming out of the flowers.
— Matsuo Basho
“This work is the fourth of a series of imaginary ‘tree dialects’ inspired by the following questions: What if plants also communicated through sounds as they do through volatile chemical signals and their roots? And, if they did, what would it sound like? How would languages and dialects work? Would they vary depending on the species, the geography, or the environment (wild vs. urban)? Would humans relate differently to plants if we could hear them?
These ‘dialects’ are part of my attempts to challenge the idea of “personhood” as understood in Western thought, opposing it to various Indigenous philosophies (from all over the world) in which this category is not restricted to humans but includes other animals, plants, ideas, stories, rivers, among other types of ‘persons’.” - @luisongolilongo
Photo by Ana María Bermúdez.
🚨World Premiere Alert 🚨
Five Miniatures for String Quartet, written for VSQ by our good friend Jonathan Hannau, is “a quaint little piece that explores the beauty and surrealism of a lush, green forest. Also it’s got 2 CRAB CANONS because of Halloween. (no relation)” - @jahannau
Get your tickets at the link in our bio to catch the premiere performance of Five Miniatures at the May Chapel of Rosehill Cemetery on October 30!
What do you know about Papa Haydn? We polled some friends, students, and colleagues for their best Haydn facts!
“He was divorced.” - Student, age 14
“Stop Haydn The Truth - Classical Music Is Awesome was the name of my senior project!” - @carmenabelson, VSQ violinist
“I’ve never heard of him.” - Professional orchestra musician, employer redacted
“Who is that, should I listen to him?” - Student, …old enough to know better
“Spent a lot of money on wigs. Bankrupted his family. That sounds plausible?” - Piano pedaling technique enthusiast
“[His] skull was stolen shortly after his death in 1809.” - Wikipedia, page entitled “Haydn’s Skull”
We hope these facts and falsehoods* enhance your enjoyment of our upcoming performance of Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 20 No. 2., which you should definitely listen to. Get your tickets now at the link in our bio and we’ll see you at the cemetery 🪦
* (Haydn was not divorced, nor to our knowledge did he bankrupt his family by buying wigs)
@carmenabelson and Pagliacci are here to remind you to grab your tickets for our return to the May Chapel of Rosehill Cemetery on Oct 30! There are just a few discounted tickets left, get yours before Oct 1 to lock in early bird pricing. Link in bio
Works by Ligeti, Haydn, @jahannau, and @luisongolilongo
✨✨Website Launch✨✨
www.varostringquartet.com
After a season of operating via Instagram and our newsletter, we spent the summer working on our website so all of your VSQ info is in one place! Head to the shiny new link in our bio to check it out and pay special attention to our updated calendar, which has dates for the rest of the 2024-2025 season 👀👀 (While you’re there, you can also pick up tickets to our upcoming Rosehill Cemetery show - early bird discount still in effect!)
Collage by @alissavoth
🪦VSQ Returns to Rosehill Cemetery🪦
October 30, 2024 7pm
We’re heading back to the May Chapel of Rosehill Cemetery for our second annual smorgasbord of spooky sounds! The first 20 tickets sold before Oct 1 are discounted automatically so head to the link in our bio ASAP to lock in early bird pricing of $10, otherwise tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door.
Haydn, String Quartet Op. 20 No. 2
@luisongolilongo, Dialecto de Árbol No. 4
@jahannau, 5 Miniatures for String Quartet (world premiere)
Ligeti, String Quartet No. 1 “Métamorphoses nocturnes”
Poster by @carmenabelson
📍@constellationchicago September 1, 8:30pm
VSQ couldn’t be more thrilled to be preparing for our ✨first ever✨ world premiere, what it means to fall apart by @_kris_b_kreme_ ! Show up to Constellation on time to hear our pals @ritualaction throw down on the first set, stay for our romp with vocalist @molly.bendrick through this multi-movement work, which draws on a hodgepodge of text including poetry, blogs, and safety manuals to create a postmodern absurdist experience that grapples with the humor and terror of “falling apart.”
Tickets at the link in our bio, livestream will be available at that same link if you can’t be in Chicago with us!
Looking for something to do this evening? Listen to @chicagomag and head to the @surgicalmuseumchicago for our micro-portrait concert of Grazyna Bacewicz!
This program is an examination of the transition between Bacewicz’s middle compositional period and her late, avant garde period. We’re zooming in on one of her most popular works, String Quartet No. 4, which sits solidly in her middle period, and one of her lesser-performed works, String Quartet No. 5, which in many ways bridges the gap between styles. We’ve discovered so much on this deep dive and we can’t wait to share the Grazy B love with you all tonight!
Tickets are at the link in our bio, grab ‘em in advance for $20 or snag one at the door for $25. Student pricing is also available.
Our final concert of the season is coming up! Join us at 7pm on June 14 at the International Museum of Surgical Science (@surgicalmuseumchicago) for a micro-portrait of Grazyna Bacewicz, one of our favorite composers. Tickets are at the link in our bio!
Thank you for having us @bienenschoolnu to workshop Kristopher Bendrick’s new work for string quartet and vocalist at Composer Colloquium! We had a blast and we also saw this rainbow!
It’s an important part of our mission as a group to celebrate the existing and incredible literature for string quartet while also expanding that repertoire and working with composers on the creation of new pieces. To that end, we are very excited to formally announce our collaboration with @_kris_b_kreme_ on an evening length worth for string quartet, voice (the delightful @molly.bendrick ), and fixed media! “what it means to fall apart” will premiere in September. Get ready for a wild ride!
Catch us next week at the @northbrookpl Northbrook Public Library! Reserve your free ticket at the link in our bio - and while you’re there, sign up for our newsletter to get all of our concert announcements directly to your inbox
New logo by @carmenabelson
New year, new concerts! Mark those 2024 calendars ✨
January 21 📍Northbrook Public Library @northbrookpl 3pm, works by Shostakovich, Hyla, @carolineadelaideshaw, and Debussy. Free admission, reserve your seat at the link in our bio!
We had the absolute delight of going to the Remedios Varo exhibit at @artinstitutechi this week for a walk through with Alivé Piliado and Lara Balikci, who both had so much to share with us about Varo and about constructing the exhibit! The exhibit ended on Nov 27 but one of our girl’s works will remain at the Art Institute on loan for the next year and we can’t recommend highly enough that you go check it out.
We had a blast presenting this program for a sold out (!!!) crowd at the May Chapel in Rosehill Cemetery last night! Thank you all so much for making our debut such a memorable one 🥰
Our next concert will be January 21st, 3pm at the Northbrook Public Library @northbrookpl on their Classical Concert Series! Save the date for reprisals of the Shostakovich, Hyla, and Shaw from last night and the addition of Debussy’s String Quartet in G Minor.
@lena.vidu can’t wait for tonight - it’s finally concert day! There are just a few tickets left - get yours at the link in our bio! There will be a limited number of tickets for sale at the door as well, but bring cash ($10) as we are cash or Eventbrite only. And keep an eye on our stories today for directions to the chapel from the cemetery gate as well as parking instructions.
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📸 Sean Keenan Recording
Cellist @instidora_ is all smiles because our debut show is 3/4 sold out! Make sure to get your ticket at the link in our bio before Friday!
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📸 Sean Keenan Recording
Why are @carmenableson and @hannahlartin so happy? Because our concert is in one week! Get your tickets at the link in our bio and we’ll see you soon!
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📸 Sean Keenan Recording
Why Varo String Quartet?
We’ve taken our name from one of the three witches of Surrealism, the painter Remedios Varo, whose vibrant creativity and unexpected combinations of themes we are inspired to emulate in musical form. Swipe through to see some of our favorite examples of her work and if you’re in Chicago, get yourself to the @artinstitutechi to see their current exhibit of her work!
1. @carmenabelson’s pick: El Gato Helecho (The Fern Cat), 1957
2) @instidora_’s pick: Encuentro (Meeting), 1959
3) @lena.vidu’s pick: El Flautista (The Flutist), 1955
4) @hannahlartin’s pick: Ojos Sobre La Mesa (Eyes On The Table), 1935