Sydney Symphony Orchestra: Janáček's String Quartet No. 2

Janáček’s Second String Quartet uses the full emotional range of string instruments to express the complexities of life, with soaring melodies and moods that shift restlessly from calm to ecstatic, intense and expansive.

The work was inspired by Janáček’s love for Kamila Stösslová, a young married woman. The music twists and turns with the changing fortunes of their relationship revealed through their 700 letters.

Grammy Award-winning American composer Joan Tower’s Rising is a work of perpetual upward movement. A dazzling, continuous expansion gathering intensity throughout, the piece is a dynamic prelude to Janáček’s Quartet.

This virtuosic program is an opportunity to see Sydney Symphony musicians up close in the Utzon Room – an intimate setting that’s perfect for music about love and change.