2019 Summer Concert #3: A Day in the Life of Newburyport

Maurice Ravel: Sonata for violin and cello
 
Robert Bradshaw: “A Day in the Life of Newburyport” for string quartet, *World Premiere*
 
Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 4
The Ravel Duo is a virtuosic dialogue between two siblings, one smaller and higher, the other deep and sonorous.  Sometimes in harmony, other times trying to outdo one another, the piece is alternatingly suave, playful, jazzy, and contemplative, yet somehow always so French.
     Contrasting with the urbane sophistication of Ravel, Bartók’s fourth string quartet seems to spring directly from the rough soil of the Hungarian countryside: rocks, roots, bugs, and all. The five movements are written in mirror image with the quartet anchored at the core by the enigmatic middle movement that came to define what we call “Night Music.”
 This concert also features the much-anticipated world premiere of Robert Bradshaw’s string quartet “A Day in the Life of Newburyport.” 
 
    A collaborative effort that also features eight paintings by members of the Newburyport Art Association along with new poems by poets Rhina P. Espaillat and Alfred Nicol, the work's movements correspond to eight iconic locations throughout Newburyport