Formosa Quartet | Chamber Concert

About this event

Monday, April 19, 2027 7:30 PM *AT THE ATHENAEUM MUSIC & ARTS LIBRARY* BUY TICKETS For centuries, the United States has been seen as a place of hope, opportunity, and refuge—a destination for those fleeing war, persecution, violence, and disaster. Yet this promise exists alongside a complex history that challenges us to examine both America’s ideals and its realities. The Formosa Quartet’s American Mirror Project | Refuge explores these reflections through the stories of two refugee composers, Benjamin Britten and Erwin Schulhoff, who both sought escape from escalating violence in 1939 only to have their fates dramatically diverge. Through their music, Refuge asks what it means to find sanctuary—and what happens when it remains out of reach. This program also journeys across America’s musical landscape with Compass, tracing iconic sounds from the East, Midwest, South, and West, and explores the Athenaeum's early beginnings on Native homelands with a segment titled 1008 Wall Street. It concludes with the West Coast premiere of Dana Wilson’s Mirror for String Quartet and Narration, featuring original texts by members of the San Diego community. About the Formosa Quartet: Winners of the First Prize and Amadeus Prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the FORMOSA QUARTET uses the string quartet as a vehicle for advocacy, storytelling, and innovation. Their critically acclaimed performances at venues including the Library of Congress, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, and the Kammermusiksaal at the Berliner Philharmonie have forged uncharted musical terrain that are “spellbinding” (The Strad), “remarkably fine” (Gramophone), and “go beyond the beautiful and into the territory of unexpectedly thrilling… like shots of pure espresso” (MUSO Magazine). Formed in 2002 when the four Taiwanese-descended founders came together for a concert tour of Taiwan, the Formosa…

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