January 27, 2024 | 8:00PM
Mandel Hall
The acclaimed Pacifica Quartet – the 2023-24 Don Michael Randel Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Chicago – joins the University Symphony to present Stephen Paulus’ rarely heard Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra entitled Three Places of Enlightenment. Commissioned by the Cleveland Quartet in 1995, this three-movement work is both evocative and inspiring, and showcases the composer’s exceptional gift for orchestration as well as his accessible but serious musical language, along with his predilection for extended tonality that is often reminiscent of Shostakovich. The program opens with the orchestral version of Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, a multidimensional soundscape that features “a play on imagery of rapidly changing musical colors.” The program concludes with Josef Suk’s brilliantly orchestrated and melodically memorable Scherzo fantastique, which builds on the tradition of Mendelssohn, Berlioz, and Dukas with its innovative approach to both formal and sonic parameters.
Free admission. Donations accepted at the door, suggested: $10 general, $5 students/children.
This concert will be livestreamed here on our website and on the Department of Music’s YouTube channel.