Thymos Quartet feat. Christoph Eschenbach, Piano

When Paris-based Thymos Quartet visited the United States in 2012, The Washington Post called their Kennedy Center performance 'detailed down to the last atom, and overflowing with human experience.' The Thymos visit Durham with a program of Schubert and French composer Olivier Dejours. They are joined by the elegant pianist and conductor Christoph Eschenbach, hailed by the Los Angeles Times for his 'crystalline tone' and 'hypnotic rhythmic animation' in his interpretations of the music of Schubert. Opening the evening is Schubert's Quartet No. 13, 'Rosamunde,' written during the composer's hiatus from writing art song to focus on larger-scale works. This is followed by the world premiere of Olivier Dejours' String Quartet no. 17, a work that embodies Schubertian melodic values. The concert culminates in Schubert's enduringly popular 'Trout' Quintet, featuring a final movement that spins seemingly infinite variations from the melody of a single Lied.