Jupiter Quartet

The Jupiter Quartet’s two-year residency—in which it visited several classes in the arts and humanities—presents the rare opportunity to view and perform the entire Beethoven’s String Quartet Cycle in six concerts.  The Cycle charts the growth of a master artist’s vision over a lifetime, demonstrating the emotive depth and dramatic scale for which the composer is known. The Jupiter Quartet’s virtuosic interpretation of this profound foundational piece adds new layers of insight into the work’s formal, emotional and sonic depths. With their intimate connection to the core string quartet literature, the Jupiter Quartet ignites and deepens the enthusiasm for classical music in MIT student musicians.

The Jupiter Quartet’s visit to the Institute was part of MIT Sounding, an innovative annual performance series that blurs the boundaries between contemporary and world music. Curated by Evan Ziporyn, Faculty Director of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology, the 2014-15 season of MIT Sounding’s diverse offerings range from live performances by new music pioneers Alvin Lucier and Terry Riley to early music denizens Boston Camerata and the Grammy Award-winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth.

The 2014-15 MIT Sounding Performance Series is presented by the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) and MIT Music and Theater Arts.

Past Events

Beethoven Quartet Cycle: Concert VI
April 10, 2015 / 8:00pm
Kresge Auditorium, MIT Building W16
48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Program includes:
Opus 18, No. 3
Opus 95
Opus 130 with the Grosse Fugue
Beethoven Quartet Cycle: Concert V
November 14, 2014 / 8:00 pm
Kresge Auditorium, MIT Building W16
48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Program includes:
Opus 18, No. 1
Opus 18, No. 5
Opus 132

Beethoven Quartet Cycle: Concert IV
October 17, 2014 / 8:00pm
Kresge Auditorium, MIT Building W16
48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Program includes:
Opus 18, No. 4
Opus 135
Opus 131
Beethoven Quartet Cycle: Concert III
April 4, 2014 / 8:00pm
Kresge Auditorium, MIT Building W16
48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Program includes:
Opus 59, No. 1
Opus 130
Beethoven Quartet Cycle: Concert II
March 7, 2014 / 8:00pm
Kresge Auditorium, MIT Building W16
48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Program includes:
Opus 18, No. 2
Opus 74
Opus 59, No. 2

Beethoven Quartet Cycle: Concert I
November 22, 2013 / 8:00pm
Kresge Auditorium, MIT Building W16
48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Program includes:
Opus 18, No. 6
Opus 59, No. 3
Opus 127

Class Visits
Writing in Tonal Forms, 21M.303
Introduction to Western Music, 21M.011

Marcus Thompson, Robert R. Taylor Professor of Music in Music and Theater Arts, MIT

The Jupiter String Quartet, formed in 2001, consists of violinists Nelson Lee and Megan Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel and cellist Daniel McDonough. Trained at the New England Conservatory of Music, the quartet has received numerous awards and prizes. The Quartet is currently in residence at the University of Illinois School of Music at Urbana-Champaign, where it’s members teach private studios and chamber music courses as Visiting Clinical Assistant Professors of Music.

More at the artist’s website: Jupiter Quartet.

“The Jupiter gave [Bartok’s Quartet No.4] a characterful, illuminating and utterly committed account.”

— The Washington Post: Jupiter Quartet Delivers on Its Name with an out-of-this-world Performance

“The Jupiter Quartet…played it with lush tone, a fine sense of color and both energy and polish.”

— The New York Times: Young Composers With a Healthy Respect for Traditions

Boston Musical Intelligencer: When Jupiter Aligns with Beethoven

The MIT Tech: Jupiter String Quartet masterfully performs Beethoven

Boston Musical Intelligencer: Jupiter Cycled Through Fourth Installment

The Boston Globe: Thomas Hampson, Jupiter Quartet Make ‘Aristotle’ Sing

The New York Times: Youthful Sound From Young Interpreters