Join UMSL’s internationally acclaimed Arianna String Quartet for “First Mondays with the ASQ”. This one-of-a kind interdisciplinary concert series offers audience members a rare behind the scenes look into the craft and artistry of the string quartet, and an opportunity for informal, direct discussion and interaction with UMSL’s renowned Arianna String Quartet, as they examine the dynamic process of interpretation, live performance, and connections between classical music and our world.
Keep an eye on this page for more information on upcoming performances.
Monday, March 3, 2025
“The Kreutzer Sonata”
Beethoven’s famous composition the “Kreutzer Sonata” figures prominently in a story by Leo Tolstoy. The Czech composer Leos Janacek later wrote a String Quartet based on Tolstoy’s novella. The interplay between these creative geniuses has
created a fascinating artistic conversation that goes from music to literature and back again, exploring concepts of love, jealousy, murder, and remorse. For this evening’s discussion and performance, the Arianna String Quartet will be joined by Washington University Russian Literature specialist Nicole Svobodny to delve more deeply into Tolstoy’s work, and then to see how Janacek’s vivid retelling actually expresses different aspects of the same drama, painting a more complex picture of the characters’ relationships.
Monday, April 7, 2025
“Drama in Sound”
The members of the Arianna Quartet once again team up with Washington University Professor of Drama and Comparative Literature Robert Henke for a great conversation about acting, character, storytelling and its relationship to string quartet playing. Both actors and musicians bring years of study, technique, experience and imagination to the writings of playwrights and composers in order to bring them to life. Additionally, Rob will bring his own insights as a musician into the conversation!
Monday, May 5, 2025
“The Sixth Annual Art of the Brew”
Join the Arianna String Quartet and Lead Brewer Jared Williamson for the 6th annual “Art of the Brew”, Monday May 5th at 7 PM at the Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust Street. The Arianna String Quartet will play chamber music masterpieces, selected specifically to pair with six favorite Schlafly beers, and talk with Schlafly Lead Brewer Jared Williamson about how the ingredients that create great music and great beer are not as different as you might expect. This evening of distinctive Schlafly brews and inspiring string quartets has become a St. Louis spring tradition and an audience favorite!
News Articles for The Arianna String Quartet
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You know them, love them, and miss them, but you can see the Arianna String Quartet again throughout spring!ASQ, the renowned resident classical quartet… -
The Arianna String Quartet is performing their last concert of the spring in the First Monday series on Monday, May 4 in the St. Louis Public Radio… -
Founded in 1992, the Arianna String Quartet (ASQ) moved from Michigan to St. Louis in 2000 and became the Quartet-in-Residence at the University of…
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The Arianna String Quartet (ASQ) recently returned from a month-long tour performing and teaching in South Africa. That experience is reflected in the… -
When a family has 10 children who all study music, it’s natural that some of them might form an ensemble. In the case of the Dickson family, 4 of them not… -
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 8, 2011 - Tragedies such as the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan often trigger an…
