As seasons change, much remains uncertain, but the innovative spirit ignited from recent months of hardship will endure, leaving its mark on future generations, just as the legacies of noteworthy leaders have impacted history.
In its first digital season, “Hindsight Is 20/21,” Houston’s Axiom Quartet contemplates shadows of the musical past and their undeniable influence on perceiving the present and shaping the future. Over the course of three monthlong studies, the first of which launched on Oct. 4, the ensemble — consisting of violinists Dominika Dancewicz and Ingrid Gerling, cellist Patrick Moore and its newest member, violist Katie Carrington — will analyze three string quartets by composers of different eras, breaking each of them down into four weekly installments to deliver in-depth, movement-by-movement examinations.
The virtual performances, previously recorded at Spring Street Studios and released every Sunday on Facebook, will begin with brief commentary by the musicians to provide background and perspective. Having already premiered the first two episodes, the group plans the next two weeks to round out the current segment focusing on Ludwig van Beethoven’s fifth Op. 18 quartet before transitioning to works by Johannes Brahms and Pierre Jalbert.
When: 5 p.m. Sundays
Where: Livestreamed broadcasts on Facebook (facebook.com/axiomquartet/)
“We decided to start with Beethoven because of his stature as a composer in general but also because his personality, his genius, truly made the form of the string quartet robust,” Dancewicz said. “It was really a centerpiece, a heartbeat of his creativity.”
The German composer, whose 250th birthday has sparked a yearlong, global celebration, is recognized as one of the most significant musical figures in history. Although his contributions proved nothing short of influential to those who came after him, he wasn’t exempt from being influenced himself, especially by another iconic household name about 15 years his senior — the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The work that Axiom is showcasing this month was actually modeled after one of the latter’s six string quartets dedicated to Joseph Haydn, nicknamed “The Hunt,” specifically regarding the waltzlike rhythm in the first movement, Dancewicz explained.
Coincidentally, Brahms, a composer of the Romantic period who was born six years after Beethoven’s death, makes use of the same meter, or recurring pattern of accented pulses, to start his “String Quartet No. 3, Op. 67,” which the musicians will analyze in November.
“So, Brahms was influenced by Beethoven, who loved Mozart, who was inspired by Haydn,” Gerling said, introducing Part 1 of the Beethoven series titled “The Shadow’s Shadow” in the online season premiere.
Axiom will continue to delve into these connections of influence throughout the fall, concluding with a four-part exploration of a narrative work based on fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen that exhibits the continued progression in classical music by fast-forwarding to the present day. Originally on the program for the ensemble’s canceled “Grand Tales” concert last May, the quartet — which, according to Dancewicz, displays great contrast in terms of texture, technique and sound — was written by local composer Jalbert, a professor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and artistic board member of Musiqa.
No matter how small, the links between these pieces are illuminated by Axiom’s decision to embrace such an unconventional format in lieu of performing the full quartets in one sitting. In fact, what might seem to slightly interrupt the construction of the works was not an uncommon method of presentation, historically speaking, Moore explained.
“Our notion of having a complete quartet is really a modern one,” he said. “There are some modern quartets that are meant to be played one movement immediately preceding the next as one organic whole, but these Beethoven quartets, the movements stand alone. My theory is that if you hear just one movement, you’re able to digest and savor that music better than if you were to be bombarded with all four movements at once.”
Like arts organizations everywhere, Axiom has faced challenges during the pandemic, but the unknown has also incited a new level of thoughtful creativity that is paving the path forward.
“We’ve experienced adversity, and it’s pushed us toward artistic growth,” Moore said. “It’s forced us to grow outside of what we normally would’ve been able to do, so it’s actually an opportunity for us, and I’m very grateful for it.”
Lawrence Elizabeth Knox is a Houston-based writer.