Beyond Beethoven

CLEVELAND OH-In partnership with some of Cleveland’s most respected arts organizations, The Cavani Quartet celebrates the emotional refuge and joyful musical revolution of the Beethoven quartets, combining forces with some of our most compelling living composers. At the heart of this endeavor, is our mission to share all of these true and masterful works with an audience of school age students who will then join us in a culminating performance celebrating Beethoven’s birthday in Severance Hall. This concert is made possible, in partnership, and with special thanks to The Cleveland Orchestra/ Education & Community Programs.

We believe this project illuminates the power of music and art to transcend boundaries and barriers, to offer an artistic sanctuary where equity of voices and diversity of ideas is celebrated. We believe this project fulfills Beethoven’s own wish for a better world and a way to reach, affect and ignite future generations through music.

BEYOND BEETHOVEN PROGRAMS

CONCERT 1

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 3 in G Major, Op. 18, No. 3 (1798-1800)
(1770-1827)
Allegro
Andante con moto
Allegro
Presto

ERIC GOULD He Speaks in Shadows (1995)
(b. 1966)

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1 (1798-1800)
Allegro con brio
Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
Scherzo. Allegro molto
Allegro

CONCERT 2

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 5 in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 (1798-1800)
(1770-1827)
Allegro
Menuetto
Andante cantabile
Allegro

GABRIELA LENA FRANK Leyendas: An American Walkabout (2001)
(b. 1972)

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (1808)
Allegro
Molto adagio (Si tratta questo pezzo con molto di sentimento)
Allegretto
Finale. Presto

CONCERT 3

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 18 (1798-1800)
(1770-1827)
Allegro ma non tanto
Andante scherzoso quasi allegretto
Menuetto. Allegretto
Allegro – Prestissimo

DINUK WIJERATNE Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems (2014)
(b. 1978)
‘A letter from the After-life’
‘I will not let thee go’

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor Op. 131 (1826)
Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
Allegro molto vivace
Allegro moderato – Adagio
Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile – Più mosso – Andante moderato e lusinghiero – Adagio – Allegretto – Adagio, ma non troppo e semplice – Allegretto
Presto
Adagio quasi un poco andante
Allegro

CONCERT 4

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18 (1798-1800)
(1770-1827)
Allegro
Adagio cantabile – Allegro – Tempo I
Scherzo. Allegro
Allegro molto, quasi presto

TAN DUN Eight Colors for String Quartet (1986)
(b. 1957)

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 7 in F Major Op. 59, No. 1 (1808)
Allegro
Allegro vivace e sempre scherzando
Adagio molto e mesto
Thème russe. Allegro

CONCERT 5

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No.5 (1798-1800)
(1770-1827)
Allegro con brio
Adagio ma non troppo
Scherzo. Allegro
La Malinconia. Adagio – Allegretto quasi Allegro

CAROLINE SHAW Blueprint (2016)
(b. 1982)

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 (1826)
Adagio ma non troppo
Presto
Poco scherzoso. Andante con moto ma non troppo
Alla Danza tedesca. Allegro assai
Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo
Große Fuge (Op. 133)
Overtura: Allegro – Meno mosso e moderato – Allegro, Fuga – Meno mosso e moderato – Allegro molto e con brio

CONCERT 6

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major, Op. 74 ‘Harp’ (1809)
(1770-1827)
Poco adagio – Allegro
Adagio ma non troppo
Presto – Più presto quasi prestissimo
Allegretto con Variazioni – Un poco più vivace – Allegro

JESSIE MONTGOMERY Strum (2006)
(b. 1981)

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 5 in A Minor, Op. 132 (1825)
Assai sostenuto – Allegro
Allegro ma non tanto
Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der Lydischen Tonart. Molto adagio – Andante
Alla marcia, assai vivace
Allegro appassionato

CONCERT 7

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 ‘Serioso’ (1810)
(1770-1827)
Allegro con brio
Allegretto ma non troppo
Allegro assai vivace ma serioso
Larghetto espressivo – Allegretto agitato – Allegro

OSVALDO GOLIJOV Tenebrae (2000)
(b. 1960)

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat Major, Op. 127 (1825)
Maestoso – Allegro
Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile – Andante con moto – Adagio molto espressivo – Tempo I
Scherzando vivace
Finale

CONCERT 8

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135 (1826)
Allegretto
Vivace
Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo
Grave, ma non troppo tratto – Allegro

JOSH HENDERSON  World Premiere

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 (1808)
Andante con moto – Allegro vivace
Andante con moto quasi allegretto
Menuetto
*Allegro molto

*Featuring students and teachers from Cleveland State University, Cleveland Heights High School (Cleveland Heights, OH), Cleveland School of the Arts (Cleveland, OH), Lakewood High School (Lakewood, OH) and Shaker Heights High School (Shaker Heights, OH), Strongsville High School (Strongsville, OH )

ABOUT THE PROJECT

“No composer has expressed humanity’s deepest emotional states as profoundly as Beethoven. Generations have found in his music the noblest and purest expression of universally shared human values such as Love, Joy, Peace, and Nobility of Character. There is also despair and anger, even rage, but never hate; not a cynical or bitter note. Pain and suffering (which he knew better than most) are beautifully expressed to us as a necessary part of the synthesis of life. “~Cellist, Paul Katz, from the Cleveland Quartet’s first recording of the complete Beethoven quartets.

The Beyond Beethoven project is a Cavani Quartet led initiative which reimagines the “Beethoven Cycle” by intertwining the music of eight of our most dynamic living composers with Ludwig van Beethoven’s complete string quartets. We will use these contemporary works as a galvanizing force to disrupt the traditional model of classical music presentation and music education by bringing together at least eight presenting organizations and educational institutions celebrating the vibrant musical connections in our own community.

21st century composers Eric Gould, Gabriela Lena Frank, Tan Dun, Dinuk Wijeratne, Caroline Shaw, Jessie Montgomery, Osvaldo Golijov, and a World Premiere by Josh Henderson bring this musical vision into the present. With musical roots from around the world, these brilliant composers tell vivid stories of their own culture and experience. We not only hope to captivate audience and student artists with each composer’s uniquely gifted voice, but to evolve the image of great composers to rightfully include people of all races, ethnicities, and genders.

The Quartet will be partnering with Northeast Ohio presenting and/or educational organizations with long histories of excellence, including, but not limited to, The Music Settlement, Arts Renaissance Tremont, Temple Tifereth Israel, Music at the Western Reserve, The Cleveland Chamber Music Society, Cleveland State University, Shaker Heights High School (Donna Jelen) Lakewood High School (Dr. Elizabeth Hankins), Strongsville High School( Andrew Hire) and The Cleveland School of the Arts (Dianna Richardson). We will collaborate with each of these highly respected music orchestral program directors to develop a curriculum that both introduces the music to students and supports their learning process.

Through workshops held in public schools each month, we will provide programs for a multiplicity of communities focusing on elementary through high school string students and their instructors and hope to attract audiences from their peers, friends, and families to our bimonthly concerts. These concerts, free and open to the public, will serve communities throughout Cuyahoga County, including the far Eastern suburbs, the communities of Shaker Heights, Beachwood, and Pepper Pike; the Downtown and Tremont Neighborhoods; and the West Side cities of Lakewood and North Olmsted.

Through two targeted initiatives, we will be actively reaching audiences that may find it challenging to attend our main concerts. We will be performing all eight concerts at Senior Living Centers around Cuyahoga County including Judson Park, and Rocky River Senior Center. Additionally, we will be providing a concert experience specifically designed for non-neurotypical audiences and their families. Audiences will be able to move, draw, sing, and respond freely to the music.

With the support of our partnering organizations and by creating a safe, relatable, and engaging atmosphere for audiences and young student musicians, we will realize our goal to embolden all individuals to find their artistic voices and to use music to build bridges between communities across perceived boundaries.