Grief can sometimes be joyous

A concert about grief both large and small, the ache of separation and the warmth of togetherness, and everything in between. Two final masterworks anchor the program: Beethoven's enigmatic String Quartet Op. 135, the last piece he ever completed, poses the question that gives this concert its name - Muß es sein? ("Must it be?"). His answer comes swiftly, in simplicity and joy while the other compositions find their own answers. Strauss's Four Last Songs, arranged for string quartet and singer by Otis Harriel, featuring soprano Cara Gabrielson, are a tender love letter - a reflection on two lives fully lived, his and his wife's. Against these towering works stand two contemporary voices: Caroline Shaw's Cant voi l'aube and a world premiere by Bay Area composer Mark Winges - each answering grief's call across centuries, in their own language.

- Curated by Otis Harriel