Katarina Quartet & Carter Johnson, piano

MUSICIANS ON THE RISE
SCHUBERT  –  Quartettsatz, D 703
BEETHOVEN  –  Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2, “Quasi una Fantasia” (“Moonlight”)
KONSTANTIA GOURZI  –  Anájikon - The Angel in the Blue Garden, String Quartet No. 3 Op. 6
FAURÉ  –  Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 89

Blue Moon: Mythical Admirations of the Natural World
Grand Prize winner of the 2025 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and winners of the CAG Louis and Susan Meisel Prize, the Katarina String Quartet joins prize-winning pianist Carter Johnson for an evocative and gripping program that invites listeners to reimagine their connection to the natural world. The Industrial Revolution produced, ironically, an abundance of music inspired by nature. How have these 19th-century works contributed to our current relationship with the natural world, and might we consider a new perspective? Schubert’s Quartettsatz and Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata exemplify a mythical perception of nature. Both were composed in the height of the Industrial Revolution, when artists admired nature but with central undertones of power, ownership, and separation. Gourzi’s Anájikon — The Angel in the Blue Garden, a haunting modern-day ode to nature, follows. As the moon in Gourzi’s final movement turns, we begin to consider new perspectives and ways to love the natural world. Fauré’s hopeful and heartbreaking Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor is an outpouring of interconnectedness, empathy and care. Today, this expressive impulse calls us to reflect on what is at stake if we fail to reconsider what we prioritize. By the program’s conclusion, we no longer admire nature through objectification. The quintet’s final, flourishing moments remind us that joy and unity are always possible - so long as we water our flowers.



2026-27 Tickets go on sale in July.

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