The Emerson String Quartet returns to Memorial Chapel for David Finckel’s final appearance at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 28 as part of the Union College Concert Series.
The quartet will begin the program with Mozart’s Quartet in D Major, K. 499 “Hoffmeister” followed by Alban Berg’s difficult Lyric Suite. They close the program with Dvořák's fiery Quartet in D Minor, Op. 34.
The Emerson String Quartet stands alone among string quartets with a long list of achievements over three decades: more than 30 recordings since 1987, nine Grammy Awards (including an unprecedented two for Best Classical Album), three Gramophone Awards and the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize—a first for a chamber ensemble. The group has performed cycles of the complete Beethoven, Bartók, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich string quartets in the world’s musical capitals, from New York to London and Vienna. Formed in 1976, they took its name from the poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The Emerson String Quartet is comprised of violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer who alternate in the first chair position, with Lawrence Dutton on viola and David Finckel on cello. Appearing at the series annually for over 25 years, they are making its final Union performance with Finckel, who is leaving the group in May 2013. British cellist Paul Watkins will join them in the fall.
Individual tickets are $25 or $10 for students. Subscription packages offer significant savings. For information, call (518) 388-6080 or click here.