Ying Quartet plays Schubert, Schoenberg in Voice-Inspired Program

By Daniel J. Kushner

 

On March 30, 2025, the Ying Quartet performs its third and final concert of the 2024–25 Eastman-Ranlet Series—which focuses on intimate and insightful chamber music performances featuring string quartets—in a program that showcases works by early Romantic-era composer Franz Schubert and an early piece by 20th-century iconoclast Arnold Schoenberg.

The quartet’s cellist, David Ying, says that although the two composers’ styles seem like polar opposites, their approaches to expressing emotion in their music are related. “Beneath the surface they both aspire to deep human expression and even use similar musical gestures,” he says. “With the shading of each harmonic turn, Schubert carefully depicts the nuance of every human emotion from joy to pathos, while the seeming chaos of Schoenberg’s gradually disintegrating tonal language aptly projects the unhinged emotions that can just as easily be a part of the human condition.”

The concert will begin with another of Schubert’s compositions, Quartettsatz, a one-movement piece written in 1820 that boils over with sumptuous melodies that bely an emotional volatility that courses throughout its nine minutes.

The Eastman School of Music’s quartet-in-residence will not be alone on the stage for the entire performance, however. David Ying, along with violist Phillip Ying, second violinist Janet Ying and first violinist Robin Scott, will be joined by fellow Eastman professor and soprano Kiera Duffy for their first-ever performance together.

“We’ve never played with Kiera before, just admired her work,” David Ying says. “I can’t wait to experience her music-making from the best seat in the house, right next to her.”

Duffy and the quartet will interpret the music of Schoenberg, a revered yet sometimes polarizing composer whose work is synonymous with dissonance in the minds of many music listeners. But String Quartet No. 2, written in 1908, doesn’t exactly fit that stereotype.

While the first two movements of the string quartet are entirely instrumental, as expected, the third and fourth movements contain vocal music set to two Stefan George poems, “Litany” and “Rapture,” titles translated from the original German: “Litanei” and “Entrückung,” respectively.

String Quartet No. 2 contains plenty of angular and cryptic melodies, there is a lyrical quality that runs throughout. This characteristic gives the entire piece, including the wordless first and second movements, the kind of relatability and emotional empathy that typically permeates the best music for singers.

The influence of vocal music is also present in the Schubert compositions on the program, especially his String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor from 1824, commonly known as “Death and the Maiden.”

David Ying believes the voice taking lead in each of the quartets by Schubert and Schoenberg, is fundamental to their interpretation of the music. “The Schoenberg will be particularly inspiring to play because we’ll be performing it with our brilliant colleague Kiera,” he says. “Her artistic insight and amazing voice will guide the performance of this singular work. And the inspiration of Schubert’s art songs, in particular his song ‘Death and the Maiden’ in this concert, drive the playing of his chamber music. String instruments sound best when they emulate the human voice.”

The Ying Quartet has maintained its position as Eastman School of Music’s quartet-in-residence—which includes multiple chamber music concerts annually at Kilbourn Hall—since 1997. Phillip Ying says the key to the group’s longevity is straightforward.

“It’s because the music is so good,” he reveals. “The bottom line is that the string quartet repertoire—to live and breathe it, to explore it, to perform it over and over again and find new meaning and new depth—is a wonderful journey. I can’t imagine a more satisfying journey of work and pleasure and responsibility.”

The quartet’s commitment to playing music that is meaningful extends well beyond the walls of Eastman. Grace Bell has worked with the Ying Quartet for several years as director of admissions and operations at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine. David and Phillip Ying have served as co-artistic directors of the festival since 2014, and the quartet have been members of the festival’s faculty for more than 20 years. Bell says the Ying Quartet’s annual performance at the festival is usually among the first to sell out of tickets.

“Their passion for music is so deep and palpable, and they’re open, and they share,” she says, “and you can tell that they love the music, and they love playing together. I think that combination just makes for really special performances.”

 

For more about the Ying Quartet’s history, its role as quartet-in-residence at Eastman School of Music, and the group’s ongoing legacy, look for a feature in Eastman’s alumni magazine, NOTES, either in print or digitally, coming soon.

 

Eastman-Ranlet Series: Ying Quartet
Featuring Kiera Duffy, Voice

Sunday, March 30, 2025
3:00 p.m. | Kilbourn Hall
Tickets