The Arianna String Quartet (ASQ) celebrates their 20th year in St. Louis at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) with another exciting concert series for 2019-2020. Presenting stalwart giants of the chamber music literature along with seldom heard gems, works written by rising stars, and coupled with world-class guest artists, the ASQ’s 20th year promises to be another memorable one.
On Friday, March 6, 2020 | American Fantasy
Fredrick Tillis: Spiritual Fantasy No.12
Reena Esmail: String Quartet (Ragamala) (2013)
Antonín Dvořák: Quartet in F Major, Op. 96, “American”
In a program dedicated to the boundlessness of the American spirit, the Arianna Quartet performs three quartets that showcase distinct and diverse soundscapes inspired by American experiences. The ASQ leads this program with Frederick Tillis’ Spiritual Fantasy No.12, an exultant and contemplative jazz and spiritual inspired work that embodies the sound of Tillis’ unique American perspective. American composer Reena Esmail’s mesmerizing string quartet “Ragamala” follows, exploring the layered textures of the Indian tradition of raags, where free explorations and elaborations of singular musical ideas evolve into transcendent expressions of time and space. Dvorak’s celebratory “American” Quartet rounds out the evening with a fusion of sounds inspired by Native American drumming traditions, African American spirituals, twittering birdcalls from the American Midwest, and Czech folk music tradition.
