Stanford University Live presents the St. Lawrence String Quartet with Tyler Duncan and Erika Switzer
Bing Concert Hall
Stanford University, 327 Lasuen St, Stanford, CA 94305-5005 USA
2:30 PM, Sunday, May 7, 2017

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• Adams: Second Quartet
• Fauré: La bonne chanson, op. 61
• Haydn: String Quartet in A Major, op. 20, no. 6
• Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, op. 135

[2:35 PM lights down, band out]

Gabriel Fauré: La bonne chanson (The Good Song), op. 61 (1892–1894)

1. [2:36 PM] Une sainte en son auréole
2. [2:39 PM] Puisque l’aube grandit
3. [2:41 PM] La lune blanche
4. [2:43 PM] J’allais par des chemins perfides
5. [2:46 PM] J’ai presque peur, en vérité
6. [2:48 PM] Avant que tu ne t’en ailles
7. [2:51 PM] Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d’été
8. [2:54 PM] N’est-ce pas?
9. [2:56 PM] L’hiver a cessé
   [piece ends 2:59 PM; bows and applause, then all off in a minute]

[3:01 PM, Jeff Nuttall back onstage to explain that the Golijov piece will be scratched from today's program on account of Tyler Duncan's illness; in the meantime, the stage crew removes the piano and other extraneous equipment from onstage]

[3:05 PM, SLSQ returns]

John Adams: Second Quartet (2014)

1. [3:06 PM] Allegro molto
2. [3:14 PM] Andantino – Energico
   [piece ends 3:27 PM]

John Adam's page about this work

[3:48 PM lights down, band out]

### Golijov: Drag Down the Sky

Osvaldo Golijov: Drag Down the Sky (2016); text by Connor McPherson, with excerpts from the Book of Job

01. [3:m PM] opus

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No.16 in F, op. 135 (1826)

1. [3:49 PM] Allegretto
2. [3:55 PM] Vivace
3. [3:59 PM] Lento assai, cantanto e tranquillo
4. [4:06 PM] Grave, ma non troppo tratto – Allegro
   [show ends 4:12 PM; multiple ovations, no encore]

St. Lawrence String Quartet

• Christopher Costanza: cello;
• Owen Dalby: violin;
• Geoff Nuttall: violin;
• Lesley Robertson: viola.

• Tyler Duncan: baritone vox;
• Erika Switzer: piano.

Interesting show this afternoon.

While it's not my usual thing, the opening work by Fauré was interesting enough that I was annoyed to find that the program notes omitted both the lyrics and translations from French. Dunderheads! Am I supposed to look things up on the fly myself? Good thing the hall offers free wi-fi to guests….And I was shocked to hear Jeff Nuttall say that Tyler Duncan was too ill to perform the Golijov work scheduled for the second half (in it's West Coast premiere, double-drat!) – I'd noticed him sipping water in between several movements of the Fauré, but hadn't noticed any sort of issue with his voice. Guess that just shows my inexperience as a listener, eh? If Tyler needs to scratch himself from the lineup, far be it from me to insist that the show must go on… It looks to me as if the World Premiere performance (from Spoleto, last summer) will be broadcast via PRX sometime this summer – hopefully I'll catch it on KALW when it comes 'round!

Anyways, I think the distraction of the announcement must have really discombobulated me, because I have hardly any recollection of the Adams piece (the main reason I picked this show!), only a vague thought that I like Shaker Loops and Road Movies better.

The closing Beethoven was very nice, but as I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm not a huge fan of this particular piece. Must I listen? Yes, I must, but I might prefer hearing one of the three earlier Razumovsky's instead.

I was more than a little surprised when the quartet ended the show without an encore. I'd assumed that dropping 20 minutes (the Golijov work) from the day's programming would guarantee us a little something extra, but apparently I was wrong. Dang me again.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2017 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2017 event list! ☸ On to the next event!