More Info
In the last two years of his life Beethoven composed six final works for string quartet, his last major completed compositions. Extremely complex and largely misunderstood by musicians and audiences of his time, the late quartets are now widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositions ever written, and have been an inspiration to many later composers. One of the few composers of Beethoven’s era that did appreciate these enigmatic masterpieces was Franz Schubert, who after his first hearing of one of them commented, “After this, what is left for us to write?”
In this final presentation of the Institute’s string quartet series, speaker and cellist Thomas Shoebotham and his friends and professional colleagues will present works from both the late quartets of Beethoven and the mature quartets of Schubert. In addition to hearing how Beethoven’s work influenced Schubert, we will also examine how Schubert’s mastery as a song composer spilled over into his quartets, infusing them with his own unique style of drama and poetry. This will be a night to remember!
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.
