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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born more than 20 years after Haydn, was able from an early age to profit from the example of his older colleague in a variety of forms, including the string quartet. He began composing his own quartets at the age of 14, and by the time he was 17 he had completed over a dozen works in the genre. In 1785 he published his first mature set of string quartets, dedicating them to Haydn, who had become one of his greatest friends and admirers. Mozart took everything he had learned from his deep study of Haydn’s quartets and added his own sense of operatic lyricism and amazing counterpoint, creating masterpieces that remain cornerstones of the literature to this day.
This second lecture in the Institute’s series of four on the early string quartet will again feature Thomas Shoebotham, speaking about Mozart’s string quartets and other string chamber music, and exciting performances by a LIVE string quartet, which will bring Mozart’s works to life for the audience in a way that no recorded performance can. Be prepared for an evening of brilliant music for string quartet by one of the seminal geniuses of Western music!
Thomas Shoebotham has taught and performed on the cello in the Bay Area for over 20 years. Maestro Shoebotham plays a 2004 Anthony Lane cello, which won a silver medal for tone at the Violin Society of America competition in Portland. Also a noted conductor, he has directed performances for a number of groups, including Opera San Jose, Berkeley Opera, Peninsula Symphony, West Bay Opera, Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, Albuquerque Philharmonic, and Palo Alto Philharmonic.
