Free Concert at National Gallery of Art

It is uncommon for the line to start at 5pm. Please make sure to arrive early for a good program such as this one draws out a large audience. It's free...

Concert Program

Hayden's String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 64 No. 3 / Hob III:67
The lively first movement of the third quartet, in B flat major, has a principal subject followed by an insistent repeated rhythm introduced by the cello and at once taken up by the other instruments. The E flat major slow movement has a central section in E flat minor, followed by the return of the opening section In varied form. The repeated Minuet frames a Trio with unusual syncopation and the succeeding Finale again demonstrates the infinite variety of which Haydn is capable, within the restrictions of the established form. [

Chia Patino's string quartet "Wild Swans"
This is inspired by a short poem of that name by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The poem contrasts the speaker's "tiresome heart, forever living and dying" with a flock of swans "trailing legs and crying."

Patino's quartet interpreted the poem's images vividly, beginning with bird-call glissandi against quiet, static chords at the top of the instruments' registers, followed by a silvery melody with an undulating accompaniment that sounded like wings flapping gracefully. This was swept away by a fierce, churning counterpoint that piled up into wrenching climaxes. [Washington Post]

Intermission

Schubert's String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804
Schubert's A minor Quartet was one of three major chamber works composed in spring 1824, the first for over three years. Along with the D minor Quartet Death and the Maiden and the Octet for wind and strings, the A minor quartet marked a return to success and good health. The previous year had been difficult; the failure of Rosamunde, a play to which Schubert had composed incidental music, compounding the misery of serious illness.

In common with the other two pieces, the A minor Quartet makes use of an earlier work: the second movement's melody is based on an entracte from Rosamunde. Schubert wrote at the time of 'a ray of sunlight from past sweet days' and there is much good humour in this work, especially in the finale.

The piece was first performed by its dedicatee, Ignaz Schuppanzingh, and his Quartet on the 14th March 1824. Moritz von Schwind, one of Schubert's friends, described the performance as one of 'great purity and tenderness'. [Classical Musicl Library]

Public Transportation
The nearest Metro stops are Judiciary Square on the Red Line, Archives on the Yellow/Green Lines, and Smithsonian on the Blue/Orange Lines. Metro bus stops are located on 4th Street and 7th Street NW. DC Circulator bus stops are located at 4th Street and Madison Drive and at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.

Parking and Accessibility
Public parking is limited to the surrounding streets and commercial garages. Parking spaces, ramps, and elevators provide access to public areas and galleries for visitors with disabilities at the East Building entrance on 4th Street NW and the West Building entrance on Constitution Avenue at 6th Street NW.