The critically acclaimed quartet, based in Los Angeles, will open their performance at Harris Hall on Thursday with String Quartet in B-flat major, Hob. III/40, op. 33, no. 4, which was written by the great classical composer Joseph Haydn, widely considered to be the “father of the string quartet.”
Eric Byers plays cello with the Calder Quartet.
“I remember learning Haydn as a kid and thinking it was kind of boring. I didn't see what was so great about it,” he said. “And as I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate it so much more — his sense of humor and the way that he structures his compositions are always so interesting. … There's always some kind of unusual thing about it.”
The program is divided evenly between classical and contemporary works. Haydn comes at the top of the show, with Beethoven in the middle.
The Calder Quartet, based in Los Angeles, will close their performance with a 1994 work, Eleanor Alberga’s String Quartet No. 2.
“Her piece is really cool,” Byers said. “She's a Jamaican British composer. … I haven't asked her yet about specific influences, but I feel like I hear some Jamaican influences and perhaps some African influences in terms of rhythmic stuff that she does.”
The program also features the world premiere of a new work from composer Paul Wiancko.
“It's a really cool piece,” Byers said. “His voice is very American, somehow, … there's nothing overt, but there's something about it that just reminds me of, I guess, sometimes like Charles Ives. Other times, there's a little bit of bluegrass or kind of fiddle sounds — just like little hints. But it's a really exciting piece. We're excited to get to play it in Aspen for the first time.”
This isn’t the first time an event hosted by Aspen Music Festival includes a new composition.
“Yeah, it's something we're committed to,” said Alan Fletcher, CEO and president of the Aspen Music Festival. “And we have been since 1949, when we began — and that is presenting brand-new work.”
“It's creating the future of classical music,” he said, pointing to the long list of notable alumni from the composition program — including the likes of Philip Glass and Joel Thompson.
The Aspen Music Festival’s impact on “the future of classical music” extends from composition to performance.
On March 3, 25-year-old violinist Simone Porter will perform at Harris Hall. Porter, an alumnus of the summer program, has debuted in recent years with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
“Simone was a standout from the first summer she was with us,” Fletcher said. “We got to the point where we said, ‘Simone, you're ready to be a guest artist now.’ And she was ready and is having a major international career.”
Pianist Hsin-I Huang — also an Aspen Music Festival alumnus — will join Porter to close out the March 3 performance with Cesar Franck’s Violin Sonata in A major.
Full vaccination — including boosters for those eligible — and masks are required for the Calder Quartet performance on Thursday.
