Beethoven – String Quartet, Op.59 no.1
Jonathan Dawe – String Quartet, world premiere, based on Beethoven sketches Op.135
Beethoven – String Quartet, Op.135
Ruisi Quartet:
- Alessandro Ruisi, violin
- Oliver Cave, violin
- Luba Tunnicliffe, viola
- Max Ruisi, cello
This programme tied together pivotal elements of Beethoven’s creative processes and brings them – literarily – into the present; it consisted of two Beethoven String Quartets – the mighty Op.59 no.1, and the last quartet Op.135 – as well as the world premiere of a new work crafted from Beethoven’s sketches of Op.135, composed by the internationally acclaimed composer Jonathan Dawe.
Earlier events in the festival examined the fundamental importance of Beethoven’s sketchbooks, in which he worked assiduously and often obsessively on all manner of musical ideas. Some sketches he developed into great works, others he discarded. The sketches for Op.135 are extensive; we commissioned composer Jonathan Dawe to delve into them and develop a work that shares a common thread with Beethoven’s Op.135, but is built by exploring new musical implications of the sketches themselves. This programme featured the premiere performance of this new work within the context of two Beethoven quartets – a fitting celebration of the extraordinary Beethoven String Quartets.
Venue: Upper Theatre, Sherwell Centre, University of Plymouth
Date: Saturday 2 October 2021
Time: 19:00 – 21:00
