2024 DATES, VENUES AND TIMES:
PC #2: 14 June - 17 June 2024
MENDELSSOHN - GINASTERA - PINK FLOYD
Continuing their exploration of both classical and popular genres, PCQ teams the music of Mendelssohn and Ginastera with prog rock classics from Pink Floyd. Themes of sorrow and isolation permeate the String Quartet no 6, written by a grief-stricken Mendelssohn after the death of his sister. Pink Floyd’s psychedelic take on similar emotional themes provides a powerful parallel, while the driving, dance-inspired rhythms of Ginastera’s String Quartet no 1 represent an earthy affirmation of the simple life.
PC #3: 20 September - 23 September 2024
SCHUBERT - SHOSTAKOVICH - SIGUR RÓS
PCQ uses the music of Schubert, Shostakovich and Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós to represent contrasting social commentary from various historical perspectives. Schubert, aiming to revolutionise string quartet writing, left his atmospheric Quartettsatz tantalisingly unfinished, while Shostakovich covertly revealed details of his emotional world in Communist Russia through his compositions. Three entirely different worlds are depicted through the ghostly Quartettsatz, Shostakovich’s haunting motifs and the dreamlike sequences of Sigur Rós.
PC #4: 15 November - 18 November 2024
BEETHOVEN - VASKS - DAFT PUNK
As iconoclastic in his own time as any rock star today, Beethoven is recognised as a titan in the history of the string quartet. Although not always appreciated by his contemporaries, Beethoven’s string quartets now represent the pinnacle of composition in the genre. PCQ pair his turbulent ‘Serioso’ quartet with the serene, meditative work of Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. Dance music by the legendary French electro-pop duo Daft Punk adds a modern twist to this diverse program.