Lydian String Quartet presents Beethoven +

The Lydian String Quartet and the Goethe-Institut Boston will continue their Beethoven+ concerts in the 2026/27 season, completing the cycle of Beethoven string quartets alongside contemporary works. 

Beethoven’s string quartets comprise one of the most complete and profound collections of chamber works in all of Western music.  Revolutionary in their own time, these works have gone on to inspire and shape the course of chamber music composition even to this day. In collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, the Lydian String Quartet will complete their traversal of the Beethoven quartets, culminating in Spring 2027 with the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death. Each concert will include two Beethoven quartets alongside a contemporary work, highlighting Beethoven’s lasting impact and creating a dialogue between past and present musical voices. 

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18 no. 1
IRIS TER SCHIPHORST Und doch…
BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59 no. 1

This season launches with Beethoven’s first published string quartet - loaded with wit, charm, counterpoint. The opening of the Opus 18 set showcases all that Beethoven learned from his predecessors, and looks forward to ways he would change the genre forever. German composer Iris ter Schiphorst began composing Und doch… with Op 18 No 1 as a point of reference, resulting in “an attempt to draw a very personal trace of memory with my possibilities and my language.” The concert concludes with the first of Beethoven’s Razumovsky quartets, a revolutionary work that expanded the scope and possibilities of what a classical string quartet can be.

About the Lydian String Quartet

From its beginning in 1980, the Lydian Quartet has embraced the full range of the string quartet repertory with curiosity, virtuosity, and dedication to the highest artistic ideals of music making. In its formative years, the Lydians were awarded top prizes in international string quartet competitions, including Evian, Portsmouth and Banff, culminating in 1984 with the Naumburg Award for Chamber Music.  In the years to follow, the quartet continued to build a reputation for their depth of interpretation, performing with "a precision and involvement marking them as among the world's best quartets" (Chicago Sun-Times). From the acknowledged masterpieces of the classical, romantic, and modern eras to the remarkable compositions written by today's cutting-edge composers, the Lydian Quartet approaches music-making with a sense of exploration and personal expression that is timeless.
 
The Lydians have performed extensively throughout the United States at venues such as Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall in Boston; the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; Lincoln Center, Miller Theater, and Weill Recital Hall in New York City; the Pacific Rim Festival at the University of California at Santa Cruz; and the Slee Beethoven Series at the University at Buffalo.  Abroad, the Quartet has made appearances in Mexico, Taiwan, France, England, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, and Armenia.

The Lydians' 30+ currently available commercial recordings reflect their diverse and far-reaching repertoire, including works by Beethoven, Brahms, Ives, Lazarof, Ornstein, Persichetti, and Schubert as well as American contemporary composers they have long known and collaborated with such as Martin Boykan, Yu-Hui Chang, Eric Chasalow, Peter Child, John Harbison, Lee Hyla, Steven Mackey, David Rakowski, Kurt Rohde, Harold Shapero, and Yehudi Wyner.

The Lydian Quartet consists of violinists Julia Glenn and Clara Lyon, violist Mark Berger, and cellist Hannah Collins.