The Telegraph of London called the Pacifica Quartet’s playing “nothing short of phenomenal, with new dimensions of interpretative depth and a subtle fusion of intensity and clarity.” After delighting Durham audiences with clarinet quintets five seasons ago, the GRAMMY-winning ensemble return with another unusual chamber combination: the cello quintet. They are joined by cellist Johannes Moser, whom Gramophone declared “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists.”
The Pacifica’s concert pairs contrasting cello quintets, one classical and one contemporary. The newer piece is a world premiere from Julia Wolfe, winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her oratorio Anthracite Fields. The classical offering is Franz Schubert’s magisterial String Quintet in C Major. Unheard during Schubert’s lifetime, it is now acclaimed as one of the greatest of all chamber works.
Julia Wolfe: Splendid Hopes — World Premiere
Schubert: String Quintet in C Major, D. 956
Julia Wolfe’s cello quintet, Splendid Hopes, was commissioned for Johannes Moser & the Pacifica Quartet by Duke Performances at Duke University, the Schubert Club, Portland Friends of Chamber Music & by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting for the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.