15
T U E S D A Y
In 1792, having taken the young Beethoven under his wing, Franz Josef Haydn accepted a commission for a set of string quartets from noted Vienna patron Prince Lobkowitz. Beethoven apparently accepted as well, resulting in the masterful Op.18 works of 1799, as well as a great rift between the two composers, who would never be reconciled. Haydn’s two Op. 77 quartets were his last completed ensemble works, published in 1802, and the Quartet in G Major, No.1 marks the zenith of his achievement in this genre. The Shanghai Quartet, now in residence at the University of Richmond after stints at Tanglewood, Juilliard, and the Ravinia Festival, performs the work in addition to Schubert’s dramatic Death and the Maiden and Frank Bridge’s lushly introspective Quartet No. 1. At 7 p.m. at the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium, 12th & Jefferson Dr. SW. FREE. (202) 357-4880. (Amy Domingues)