Cascade Quartet presents “The Harp”
The Great Falls Symphony’s Cascade Quartet will present The Harp, a program which features Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 74, No. 10, which is also known as The Harp. Concerts are on Sunday, December 9, 2pm at the First Congregational UCC, and Tuesday, December 11, 7pm, at the University of Providence’s Trinitas Chapel. Single admission is $15 for adults and $5 for students. Family passes are $15 and include admission for one student and one adult. Bring-a-friend packages are available online only at gfsymphony.org and include two adult admissions for $25. Four-ticket passes are available for $45 (adults) and $16 (students). Season passes grant seven admissions and may be purchased for $75 (adults) and $25 (students). All tickets, packages, and season passes may be purchased online at here or at the door. For more information, contact the Symphony office at 406-453-4102.
The program begins with some elegant Waltzes by the Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak. These will set the mood for the romanticism of the Holiday, or may make you want to get up and dance!
Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 7 follows in the dark key of F# Minor. After a slow dreamy middle movement, the last movement features a virtuosic cannon introduced by the viola and passed through all the instruments in the group. The piece ends with a quirky, limping waltz melody in the violin and viola.
A light and fun piece titled Crowdambo (by Jeremy Cohen from the San Francisco Quartet) ends the first half of the program.
The second half of the program features the piece for which the program theme was chosen, Beethoven’s famous Op. 74 Quartet in E-Flat Major, The Harp. Beethoven’s quartet received this nickname from a section of the first movement where the strings pluck arpeggios imitating the sound of a harp. The first violin then takes off in a virtuosic arpeggiated passage using the bow which is joined by an exquisite melody in the second violin. “We are excited to share one of my favorite Beethoven quartets of all time, The Harp, alongside the darkness of the Shostakovich and the lighthearted musical treats by Cohen and Dvorak. Our new violist, Alyssa Roggow is fitting herself in very smoothly giving the Cascade Quartet a new flavor. Please do come give yourself a holiday treat to the sounds of these classics. We look forward to visiting with you there.” says Mary Papoulis, concertmaster of the Great Falls Symphony.
Holiday beverages will be shared at a reception where audience members may meet the artists at both performances: Sunday, December 9, 2pm (First Congregational UCC, 2900 9th Ave South) and Tuesday, December 11, 7pm (Trintas Chapel, University of Providence, 1301 20th St S).
The Harp with the Cascade Quartet
2pm, Sun, Dec 9, First Congregational Church UCC, 2900 9th Ave S
7pm, Tue, Dec 11, Trinitas Chapel, University of Providence, 1301 20th St S
ADMISSION:
Individual tickets $15 Adults / $5 Students
Season Pass $75 Adults / $25 Students (7 admissions)
Four-Ticket Pass $45 Adults / $16 Students (4 admissions)
Family Package $15 (1 student + 1 adult admission)
Bring-a-Friend Package $25 (2 adult admissions) available only online at gfsymphony.org.
With its depth of sound, insightful interpretations, and genre-bending performances, the Cascade Quartet has enriched communities across Montana and the Northwest for over three decades. They are praised for their cross-discipline collaborations and have worked closely with multi-media artists, dancers, choirs, world percussionists and jazz artists. Noted past collaborations include Yo Yo Ma, the Ying Quartet, and Grammy nominee Philip Aaberg.
The Cascade Quartet is the resident string quartet of the Great Falls Symphony and its personnel serve as principal players in the orchestra. Each quartet member is a strong advocate for music education and outreach. They tour extensively throughout the year providing concerts, multi-day residencies and interactive school activities for communities large and small. The Cascade Quartet includes violinists Mary Papoulis and Megan Karls, violist Alyssa Roggow, and cellist Thaddeus Suits.
