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Quatuor Van Kuijk

Friday, March 5 at 7:30pm
Baldwin Auditorium

Presented by Duke Arts Presents
Chamber Arts Series

A group of four men wearing black and white clothing

“Style, energy and a sense of risk. These four young Frenchmen made the music smile”

The Guardian

“A quartet to watch,” the Quatuor Van Kuijk is a relative newcomer to the American music scene but is turning heads in a crowded field. “Style, energy and a sense of risk. These four young Frenchmen made the music smile” (The Guardian).

Making their version of a musical tasting menu, the Van Kuijks combine an international bouquet of flavors, starting with one of Mozart’s most unusual pieces: the first movement of his Dissonance Quartet, named for its radical departure from harmonic convention. So daring in its conception and piquant in its effect, the Mozart sounds strikingly modern, even in a program featuring 20th-century works by Bartók and Shostakovich. To add body and contrast to this procession, the Van Kuijks include probing Romanticism by Beethoven and Brahms, as well as zesty pizzicato by Debussy. Doleful, folk-inspired melodies by Smetana and Dvořák round out this musical feast with the soulful sounds of rural Bohemia.

Program

Masterworks

Mozart: String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 “Dissonance”
Brahms: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2
III. Quasi minuetto, moderato
Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
II. Assez vif et bien rythmé
Haydn: String Quartet Op. 76 No. 5
II. Molto adagio – Largo cantabile e mesto
Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80
I. Allegro vivace assai
Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 “From My Life”
I. Allegro vivo appassionato
Bartók: String Quartet No. 4
IV. Allegretto pizzicato
Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major “American”, Op. 96
II. Lento
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73
III. Allegro non troppo
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2 “Razumovsky”
II. Molto adagio
Schumann: String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 41 No. 1
IV. Finale

*Program is subject to change

About Quatuor Van Kuijk

The Van Kuijk Quartet’s international accolades boast First, Best Beethoven, and Best Haydn Prizes at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet competition; First Prize, and an Audience Award at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition; as well as becoming laureates of the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy. They were BBC New Generation Artists from 2015-17, as well as ECHO Rising Stars for the 2017-18 season.

Following such high success early in their career, the ensemble is an established presence at major international venues, performing at the Wigmore Hall, London; Philharmonie de Paris, Auditorium du Louvre, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and Salle Gaveau, Paris; Tonhalle, Zurich; Wiener Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Vienna; Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Berliner Philharmonie; Kölner Philharmonie; Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; Gulbenkian, Lisbon; Tivoli Concert Series, Denmark; Konserthuset Stockholm; and at festivals including the BBC Proms, Cheltenham, Heidelberg, Lockenhaus, Davos, Verbier, Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier/Radio France, Evian, Auvers-sur-Oise, Stavanger and Trondheim (Norway), Concentus Moraviae (Czech Republic), Haydn/Esterházy (Hungary), and Eilat (Israel). 

Upcoming tours will see the Quartet make highly anticipated debuts at the Carnegie Hall in New York City, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre and UKARIA in Australia, and Shanghai Symphony Hall.

The Van Kuijk Quartet records exclusively for Alpha Classics. Their debut recording, Mozart, was released to outstanding critical acclaim – CHOC de Classica, DIAPASON D’OR DECOUVERTE. Following celebrated discs of Debussy and Ravel, and Schubert, they return their exploration of Mozart with two further releases this season. The first features the String Quartets K421 and K387, and the second presents the Viola Quintets K515 and K516 with Adrien La Marca. 

The Van Kuijk Quartet was resident at Proquartet, Paris, where they studied with members of the Alban Berg, Artemis, and Hagen quartets. Having taken their first steps as students of the Ysaye Quartet, the quartet have since worked with Günter Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Mùsica Reina Sofia in Madrid, supported generously by the International Institute of Chamber Music, Madrid. 

The Van Kuijk Quartet is supported by Pirastro and SPEDIDAM and is grateful to Anima Music Foundation and Mécénat Musical Société Générale for their sponsorships.

Quator Van Kuik’s Website | Instagram | Facebook

When
  • Fri, Mar 5, 2027 at 7:30pm
Where

Baldwin Auditorium
1336 Campus Drive
Durham, NC 27705

Venue Details
Ticket prices
  • $47Tier 1
  • $35Tier 2
  • $10*Students
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2026-27 Chamber Arts Series