At our Chamber Series III on April 24th we are thrilled as always to offer committed and passionate performances as the Apple Hill String Quartet returns to perform a superlative chamber version of Haydn’s Symphony no. 102, the “Miracle” Symphony, with Peggy Pearson. Ms. Pearson and the Apple Hill Quartet will also be giving the world premiere of Yi Yiing Chen’s quartet for oboe and strings, Sailing Against Time. Finally, the Apple Hill Quartet will take the spotlight in their performance of Beethoven’s “Harp” Quartet.

Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 was originally scored for two flutes, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. A year after the completion of the nicknamed “Miracle” Symphony in 1794, it gave its premier at the King’s Theatre, London. As the concert advertised that Haydn himself would conduct the new piece, the audience pushed forward, clearing out rows of seats so that when a chandelier came crashing down during the premier performance, it miraculously hit only empty seats. At this, the audience cried out “miracle, miracle!” giving the magnificent symphony its notorious name.

Yi Yiing Chen is a composition major at New England Conservatory pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree as a student of John Heiss and Michael Gandolfi. She is a recipient of the Elliott Carter Memorial Composer Fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center, and will have a new work premiered this summer at Tanglewood for the Center's 75th anniversary. Yi Yiing Chen has been noted as a young composer with versatility and a breadth of range and influence, which can be heard in her quartet for oboe and strings, Sailing Against Time, a reflection on her family’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease. This reflective 4-movement journey begins with a bright depiction of her grandmother’s youth and travels through the dim moments of her illness, evoked through the juxtaposing themes of her past and present life by her heartrending condition.

In 1809, Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major, Opus 74, commonly called the “Harp” quartet, was published. During this time, Beethoven completed three major works, all in the key of E-flat major. This string quartet was dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, one of Beethoven’s three primary patrons. It has a slow introduction, but the main portion of the movement and its coda contain pizzicato figures, which have given the work its “Harp” nickname.

If you haven't heard our dear friends from Apple Hill before, you are in for a treat! Since its founding in 2007, the Apple Hill String Quartet has earned praise around the world for its concerts presenting interpretive mastery of traditional repertoire -- including Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Beethoven, and Ravel -- as well as for world premieres and commissioned pieces. As resident musicians at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, the Quartet is featured in the summer concert series held every Tuesday night at the Center in Nelson, N.H. These concerts attract hundreds of visitors and have become a mainstay of the Monadnock area summer music offerings. Education is an integral part of the Quartet's mission. For three months in the summer, the Quartet comprises the core faculty for five separate 10-day summer workshops held at Apple Hill and attended by 300 participants. During the regular concert season, the Quartet conducts mini-residencies in embassies, communities, schools, and universities from the Monadnock region to major U.S. cities and around the world as part of Apple Hill's Playing for Peace program.

Purchase your tickets now to experience these exceptional, evocative works.

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