The String Quartets of Beethoven

Course description

Between May 22 and June 7, 2020, to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, the Emily Carr String Quartet, one of Victoria’s premier classical ensembles, will perform a complete cycle of the composer's sixteen quartets. This course, which will conclude shortly before the first of the six concerts, offers a comprehensive introduction to Beethoven's quartets—one of the greatest and most influential bodies of chamber music ever written. The quartets will be examined in detail within the context of Beethoven’s life and times, and will be further illuminated by musical examples drawn from additional works, by Beethoven and others. No musical training or significant experience in classical music is required to benefit from this course.