Emerald City Music: The Aizuri Quartet
$45 / $40 / $10
Lembit Beecher — These Memories May Be True
Rhiannon Giddens — At the Purchaser's Option
Jean Sibelius — Voces intimae, Op. 56
Komitas — Armenian Folk Songs
Emma Frucht, violin
Miho Saegusa, violin
Ayane Kozasa, viola
Karen Ouzounian, cello
Antonín Dvořák – Selections from Cypresses, B. 152
Lembit Beecher – These Memories May Be True
Rhiannon Giddens – At the Purchaser’s Option
Jean Sibelius – Voces intimae, Op. 56
Komitas – Selections from Armenian Folk Songs
The Aizuri Quartet has taken the classical music scene by storm, garnering top prizes at the prestigious M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition (2018) and receiving a Grammy nomination for their album, Blueprinting (2017).
Each selection of this evening's program is used to carefully craft a heartfelt letter addressed to the space deeply nestled within our hearts, minds, and memories we call “home.” Intimate love songs by Dvořák (arranged for string quartet) and the nostalgic, soulful folk songs by Armenian composer Komitas serve as bookends for the program, each containing a deep expression of homeland. Beecher’s These Memories May Be True was inspired by fragments of Estonian culture, songs and stories passed down to him by his grandmother that create, according to the composer, a “sense of something beautiful that has been lost in the wash of time.” Rhiannon Giddens depicts the visceral tragedy of a young woman and her child being sold as slaves in her work At the Purchaser’s Option, and is juxtaposed by Sibelius’ expression of psychological anguish and longing for serenity in Voces intimae.
Ticket price includes open bar (age 21+) and general admission seating in our very intimate 415 Westlake venue. Under age 21 tickets available. Order online or by phone (206) 250–5510.
Tickets: $45 ($40 senior, $10 student)