Benjamin Britten is one of the most widely celebrated composers of the 20th century. He is perhaps most closely associated with vocal music, notably 16 operas, 15 song cycles, the five Canticles for various small combinations of voices and instruments, and the War Requiem, considered by many to be his masterpiece. But Britten composed plenty of purely instrumental music in the form of symphonies, concertos, chamber music and solo works. All this ingenuity and industry has landed Britten on the 2026 WWCMF Poster!

The string quartet is a form that Britten returned to throughout his life, his first appearing in 1931 as a student at the Royal College of Music. Though it is without opus number and remained unpublished for a long time, Britten eventually worked on a revision in 1974 near the end of his life. His first published and numbered string quartet is from 1941, composed in Escondido, CA, USA on a commission from Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. (Britten spent much of the war in the United States as a cultural ambassador of the UK.) The second published quartet is from 1945, composed in England after the war for the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the death of Britten’s undisputed favorite composer, Henry Purcell. (Things get Chacony!) His last, the String Quartet No. 3 in G major, Op. 94, was composed in 1975 between his home in Aldeburgh, UK, and Venice, Italy. It represents his final completed instrumental work, quoting liberally from his final opera, Death in Venice.

Each quartet is a work of astounding beauty, invention, and form, and together, they form a portrait of an extraordinary artist, pacifist and most conscientious of objectors. This evening’s performance consists of several movements from each of Britten’s three published string quartets in the manner of WWCMF’s Portrait of an Artist Series.

Doors open at 5 PM.

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Selectons from:

String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (1941)

String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 36 (1945)

String Quartet No. 3 in G major, Op. 94 (1975)

Artists: Girsky String Quartet: Natasha Bazhanov, violin; Timothy Christie, viola/commentary; Artur Girsky, violin; Rowena Hammill, cello

WWCMF welcomes back OG Winter guest artists, Sybarite5, returning to WWCMF for the first time since 2013. We have some serious catching up to do. Equal parts passion, grit, and musical ecstasy, Sybarite5 is an intoxicating cocktail of genre-breaking artistry expressed through the virtuosity of violinists Sami Merdinian & Suliman Tekalli; violist Caeli Smith; cellist Laura Andrade; and double bassist Louis Levitt. It’s the first ensemble of its kind to win the prestigious Concert Artists Guild competition, and the group is constantly evolving, defying categorization, and keeping audiences on their toes. Sybarite5 takes listeners on a musical journey of staggering breadth and depth with new works by living composers, as well as the group’s favorite selections from Radiohead, Coltrane, Komitas, Piazzolla, and Pete Seeger... but as Strings Magazine says, “that doesn’t even begin to describe the range of their eclecticism or the depth of their repertoire.”

Tickets are limited. Don’t miss out on this Special Event that is sure to heat up this midwinter’s night!

Doors open at 6 PM.

All works will be announced from the stage.

A setlist will be published here and on social media after the performance.

Artists: Sybarite5: Laura Andrade, cello; Louis Levitt, double bass; Sami Merdinian, violin; Suliman Tekalli, violin; Caeli Smith, viola

Are you someone who likes to be in the middle of things? This is the performance for you. Beethoven’s Op. 59 is made up of three quartets. Tonight, we present the middle of the three. Composed in 1808, squarely in the middle of Beethoven’s so called Middle Period, we find ourselves at not only the center of the Beethoven universe, but the actual Universe, capital ‘U.’ Beethoven’s student and friend Carl Czerny revealed that Beethoven conceived the Adagio movement of tonight’s quartet while contemplating the heavens, leading to the familiar nickname for this work, “Starry Night.”

This part of Beethoven’s life, sometimes also referred to as the “Heroic Period,” is loosely framed by two unsent letters, both discovered posthumously. The first (1802), known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, was intended for his brothers. Beethoven laments his poor health, increasing deafness and contemplates suicide before affirming his will to live in order to pursue a higher artistic calling, to transcend earthly discomfort in favor of musical perfection. The second unsent letter (1812) is known by its intended recipient, the Immortal Beloved. Scholars and romantics can only speculate to whom the letter was written.

The period “between the letters” is full of greatest hits. For example, we would never have the disco anthem, A Fifth of Beethoven without the Middle Period; nor the “Emperor” Piano Concerto, and thus Bernstein’s Westside Story. (In fairness, Lenny also borrowed from Beethoven’s Late Period for Westside Story.) The middle period saw 6 Symphonies, 5 string quartets, an opera (Fidelio, Beethoven’s only work in the form and the secret password in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut) and iconic piano works like the Appassionata and Waldstein Sonatas. Busy, busy, busy, with an emphasis on the middle of those three “busies.” Join us at Foundry Vineyards for this heavenly quartet. Breaking with Festival tradition, this work will not feature on the closing Festival Series performance. Therefore, it’s one night only. Don’t miss out!

Doors open at 5 PM.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (1808)

I. Allegro

II. Molto adagio

III. Allegretto

IV. Finale. Presto

Artists: Girsky String Quartet: Natasha Bazhanov, violin; Timothy Christie, viola/commentary; Artur Girsky, violin; Rowena Hammill, cello

Doors open at 6 PM.

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Simple Symphony, Op. 4 for String Quartet (1934)

I. Boisterous Bourrée: Allegro ritmico

II. Playful Pizzicato: Presto Possibile pizzicato sempre – Molto pesante

III. Sentimental Saraband: Poco lento e pesante

IV. Frolicsome Finale: Prestissimo con fuoco

David Schiff (b. 1945)

Chamber Concerto No. 2, Vineyard Rhythms (2022)

For solo violin and string nonet

I. Hawk

II. Gaia

III. Harvest

Maria Sampen, solo violin

Intermission

Sybarite5: Music from their recent albums and concert tours

All works will be announced from the stage.

A setlist will be published here and on social media after the performance.

Artists: Natasha Bazhanov, violin; Timothy Christie, viola; Rowena Hammill, cello; Artur Girsky, violin; Maria Sampen, violin; Sybarite5: Laura Andrade, cello; Louis Levitt, double bass; Sami Merdinian, violin; Suliman Tekalli, violin; Caeli Smith, viola

Enjoy a Double Dose of Music This MLK Weekend

If you’re going to both the Symphony and the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, we’ve got you covered! Use promo code DOUBLEDOSE at checkout for $10 off your Festival Series ticket.