A familiar program, with Mozart and Beethoven. The Mozart was one of the Haydn quartets, a familiar and beautiful piece. In the comments after, Paul and Larry said that it is harder to play joyful music like this. “Too easy for amateurs, too hard for professionals”.
The second piece was a written for the quartet, a modern piece by a well-known (to them) British composer. Somewhat of a chore, except for the last movement – more melodic.
And the last was Beethoven’s infamous C#- quartet. It was played without a break, and finished with a resound finale. They said afterwards that it was a journey, and exhausting to play. The key is a tough one, that involved a lot of stretching. To a student who asked if they still found it difficult, they said it is always a challenge. But this quartet is why it is worth seeing chamber music, and seeing it live – and what a treat with a world-class ensemble.