FREE Courtroom Concert: Artaria String Quartet

Program: CROSSING PATHS WITH THE SCHUMANNS
This program invites listeners to hear these works not as isolated masterpieces, but as conversations across time—between composers bound by admiration, grief, mentorship, and shared artistic purpose. Together, these quartets illuminate the emotional and intellectual landscape of Romanticism at its most intimate.

Hosted by composer Abbie Betinis, our popular Courtroom Concerts take place at noon most Thursdays in the Landmark Center in downtown Saint Paul. This series features accomplished musicians and composers from the Twin Cities and surrounding area, as well as occasional musical newcomers to the area. These one-hour concerts are free and open to the public.

Program Notes:

CROSSING PATHS WITH THE SCHUMANN’S: The nineteenth century was an era of intertwined artistic lives. Composers did not work in isolation but in close dialogue—with one another’s music, ideas, and personal circumstances. The Schumann’s stood at the center of this vibrant network, connected to composers who shaped and were shaped by their artistic ideals. This concert series traces those intersections: emotional, stylistic, and historical crossings that illuminate the evolution of the string quartet during the Romantic era.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
String Quartet in F minor, Op.80 (1847)

Mendelssohn’s Op.80 is among the most emotionally charged works he ever wrote. Composed in the aftermath of his sister Fanny’s sudden death, the quartet is raw, turbulent, and deeply personal—far removed from the elegance often associated with his name.

The opening movement is restless and urgent, its nervous energy sustained throughout the work. The Adagio serves as the emotional heart, a lament of extraordinary intensity. Mendelssohn’s grief finds voice not in consolation but in stark honesty.

Robert Schumann admired Mendelssohn’s intellectual clarity and expressive restraint, yet Op.80 reveals a shared Romantic impulse: music as a direct expression of inner turmoil and human vulnerability.

Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
String Quartet in A major, Op.41 No.3 (1842)

Schumann’s “Year of Chamber Music” (1842) marked a turning point in his creative life. Immersing himself in the study of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, Schumann produced three string quartets that fused Classical structure with his unmistakably poetic voice.

The A-major quartet is the most expansive and symphonically conceived of the set. Its opening movement balances lyrical introspection with rhythmic vitality, while the Adagio molto offers profound tenderness and introspection. The finale bursts forth with exuberance, crowned by a playful trio section that recalls Schumann’s lifelong love of character and contrast.

This quartet encapsulates Schumann’s artistic ideal: music as both rigorous craft and personal confession. It stands as a culmination of the paths crossed throughout this series—where friendship, influence, and shared aesthetic values converge.

About the Artists:

“Minnesota’s foremost teaching and performing string quartet”, the Artaria String Quartet is an “exceptional ensemble with impressive confidence in its interpretations”. Winners of the prestigious 2004 McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians, Artaria was featured on Twin Cities Public Television as part of the Minnesota Originals series and was named 2013-14 Minnesota Public Radio Artists-in-Residence.

Artaria was formed in Boston and mentored by members of the venerable Kolisch and Juilliard Quartets. Their “refined and thoughtful playing” brought them to the attention of Alexander Schneider, violinist of the legendary Budapest Quartet, who invited them to make their New York debut on his own New School Concert Series. Since then, they have performed at major venues throughout the United States and Europe, on national television and public radio, and at top international music festivals.

In 1992, Artaria competed at the 4th Banff International String Quartet Competition in Banff, Canada. Earning numerous awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, and the Minnesota State Arts Board for excellence in performance and educational outreach, Artaria are founders of the highly regarded Artaria Chamber Music School in Saint Paul, MN, Stringwood Summer Chamber Music Festival, in Lanesboro, MN, and the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition, an international showcase for top-tier collegiate and pre-college string quartets hosted each April in Sundin Music Hall.

This season, they are celebrating their 40th year of chamber music performing and educating.