Concert IV: Lydian String Quartet presents Beethoven+

When:
Friday, May 29, 2026 3:00p -
5:00p

Where:
Goethe-Institut Boston
170 Beacon St
Boston, MA 02116

EventScheduled OfflineEventAttendanceMode

Admission:
$10 – 30

Hosted by:
...
goethe_institut_boston Goethe-Institut Boston

Categories:
Music

Event website:
https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/ver.cfm?event_id=26962003

The Lydian String Quartet, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Boston, will present the complete string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven in a series of 8 concerts over two years, culminating with the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death in Spring 2027. Each concert will present two Beethoven quartets framing contemporary works that demonstrate Beethoven’s lasting influence and providing new context for listening and understanding these canonical works in today’s world.


Please get your tickets here: The Lydian String Quartet: Beethoven+ Concert 4 Tickets, Fri, May 29, 2026 at 7:30 PM | Eventbrite


Beethoven+

(2025–2027)


IV.

Op. 18 No. 2

Reena Esmail (b. 1983) – Zeher (Poison) (2018)

Op. 132


Beethoven’s Op. 18 No. 2 is a brilliant demonstration of the young composer attempting to make a name for himself in the Vienna of Mozart and Haydn. In contrast, with its celestial Heiliger Dankgesang central slow movement, Op. 132 represents late Beethoven at his most passionate and profound, transcending traditional form and content. In this program, the Heiliger Dankgesang, Beethoven’s “song of thanksgiving to God for recovery from an illness, in the lydian mode” is the antidote for Indian-American composer Reena Esmail’s Zeher (Poison), her personal response to “the feelings of frustration, defeat, and feeling of complete and literal voicelessness” experienced during an illness. Zeher was commissioned by Brooklyn Rider as a contemporary response to Beethoven’s Op. 132 for their album Healing Modes.


About the Lydian String Quartet

From its beginning in 1980, the Lydian Quartet has embraced the full range of the string quartet repertory with curiosity, virtuosity, and dedication to the highest artistic ideals of music making. In its formative years, the Lydians were awarded top prizes in international string quartet competitions, including Evian, Portsmouth and Banff, culminating in 1984 with the Naumburg Award for Chamber Music. In the years to follow, the quartet continued to build a reputation for their depth of interpretation, performing with "a precision and involvement marking them as among the world's best quartets" (Chicago Sun-Times). From the acknowledged masterpieces of the classical, romantic, and modern eras to the remarkable compositions written by today's cutting-edge composers, the Lydian Quartet approaches music-making with a sense of exploration and personal expression that is timeless.

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