One of America’s finest chamber groups, the Jupiter String Quartet, performs two major works from the first half of the 19th century, Felix Mendelssohn’s stormy last String Quartet in F minor op. 80, and Beethoven’s final work, the Quartet in F major op. 135.

The Jupiter Quartet have received many major chamber music awards since it was formed in 2001, including First prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition, Grand prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award. Most recently they were honoured with an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Although Felix Mendelssohn lived a relatively happy life, in his String Quartet No. 6 in F minor op. 80 we discover the flip-side of his normally sunny personality. It was written in 1847 soon after the death of his beloved sister Fanny, and is essentially his last major composition (he died only two months after its completion). The music is powerful, turbulent, and highly charged with emotion.

Beethoven’s last String Quartet in F major opus 135 was written on a smaller scale than his other late quartets. Although his psychological struggles are widely documented, his final work is full of delightful capriciousness and joy.