The Opal String Quartet presents Beethoven’s monumental Quartet in C# minor, opus 131, at the Masonic Temple in downtown Asheville on Friday, June 8 at 8 pm.
Beethoven’s opus 131 quartet, one of his last and most experimental works, is performed in seven continuous movements without pause. The piece (featured in the film The Late Quartet starring Philip Seymour Hoffmann and Christopher Walken) begins with a brooding fugue and blooms into soaring melodies, an expansive theme and variations movement, a quirky, satirical scherzo, and ferocious finale.
The Opal String Quartet, comprised of four of WNC’s finest professional string players, is the only local ensemble of its kind, performing masterpieces of the string quartet literature with a fiery intensity and voluptuous tonal palette. This rare performance by the Opal String Quartet (well loved by local classical music fans) is the culmination of studying Beethoven’s opus 131 for the better part of a year.
OSQ is dedicated to bringing the art of chamber music to diverse audiences by performing in a wide variety of venues, from schools, bars, and art galleries to street corners and concert halls. They have performed throughout WNC, appearing on several chamber music series and making frequent collaborations with local chamber ensembles Pan Harmonia and AmiciMusic. Quartet members include Mariya Potapova and Karen Pommerich on violin, Kara Poorbaugh on viola, and Franklin Keel on cello, all of whom perform extensively throughout the region, most often with the Asheville, Greenville, and Charlotte Symphonies. The quartet has been featured numerous times on WCQS, and recently recorded an album with the world music trio Free Planet Radio. Opal serves as Artists-in-Residence for the educational outreach programs of the Asheville Chamber Music Series, the Asheville Symphony Guild, and the Brevard Philharmonic. For booking inquiries, fan mail, or existential musings, please contact [email protected].
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