Intimate Letters: A String Quartet Performance by the Met Chamber Ensemble

In connection with the exhibition From Monarch to Modernity: Travel & Identity in the Czechoslovak First Republic, 1918–1938, Poster House presents a performance of Leoš Janáček’s String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters.” Janáček (1854–1928), a major figure of 20th-century music, developed a modern compositional style that fused Moravian and Slovakian folk tonalities with the rhythms of Czech speech. “Intimate Letters,” composed in 1928, was inspired by his infatuation with Kamila Stösslová, a married woman 38 years his junior, and the more than 700 letters he wrote her over the final decade of his life. Performed nearly a century after its posthumous 1928 premiere, the quartet’s insistent repetitions and raw, expressive textures will offer audiences a vivid portrait of obsession and one of Janáček’s most personal, forward-looking works. Featuring members of the renowned Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the constantly evolving Met Chamber Ensemble seeks to present works of remarkable ambition in a variety of concert settings. They have captivated audiences at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall and the Prager Center for the Arts in Maryland. This program will be performed by a string quartet featuring violinists Sarah Vonsattel and Qianwen Shen, violist Tal First, and cellist Julia Bruskin. Please note: Admission must be purchased upon your arrival to the museum to attend this performance. To view our admission prices, please visit our Hours and Admissions page. Accessibility Note: Masks are available free of charge at the museum. Assistive listening devices and stools are available. ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or a CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is also available upon request. Please contact [email protected] or (914) 295-2387 to request interpretation services and to address any other accessibility needs. For other event-related questions, please contact [email protected].