Referred to as “one of the miracles of 19th-century music,” Mendelssohn’s brilliant Octet for eight stringed instruments amazed its first audiences in 1825 and continues to thrill audiences of the 21st century. Whether you’re hearing this work for the first time or it has the status of an old friend, a rare treat is in store when our own Jupiter Quartet meets the dynamic Aris Quartet onstage for the first time to present the Mendelssohn masterwork.

Formed at Frankfurt am Main in 2009 when they were students, the Aris Quartet earned first prizes at prestigious competitions (Chamber Music Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation, BBC New Generation Artists, ECHO Rising Stars, and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award) and quickly achieved an international standing as “one of the most sensational ensembles of the young generation” (ARTE). The Aris Quartet created its name from the last letters of each member’s first name: violinist Anna Katharina Wildermuth, violist Caspar Vinzens, violinist Noémi Zipperling, and cellist Lukas Sieber. In addition to their quartet performances, all four musicians are active chamber music and orchestral performers as well as educators.

The New Yorker has proclaimed the Jupiter String Quartet an “ensemble of eloquent intensity” and “one of the mainstays of the American chamber music scene.” The particularly intimate group consists of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). The quartet chose its name because Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at the time of its formation in 2001, and the astrological symbol for Jupiter resembles the number four.

Program

Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel:String Quartet in E-flat Major
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110

Intermission

Felix Mendelssohn: Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 (with Jupiter String Quartet)

Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 7:30PM in the Foellinger Great Hall

See the Krannert Center website for more details and to purchase tickets.