The founding members of the Artemis Quartet developed their skills for a full ten years before offering their first concert. This dedication to excellence has not wavered, and their playing is known for its “apparently effortless grace and effervescent athleticism” (BBC). The Artemis return to Duke Performances for the third time.

The Artemis’ program opens with Dvořák’s tribute to the American Midwest, evoking the composer’s experience of 19th-century pioneer life with a decidedly Czech accent. Shostakovich’s fifth quartet follows; played in three movements without pause, this spacious and elegiac quartet reflects the loss of one of the composer’s great loves. The first of Tchaikovsky’s string quartets, with a folk-song-based second movement that has become famous on its own, concludes the evening.

Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, op. 96 (“American”)
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 5 in B-flat Major, op. 92
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, op. 11 (“Accordion”)