Cascade Quartet: Progressions

Because chamber music is not conducted, it is sometimes referred to as “conversations among friends” because musicians must listen and respond to one another to guide and perfect each performance. 

It’s a great description, says Thad Suits, principal cellist with the Great Falls Symphony and long-time member of the Cascade Quartet.  “A conversation among friends is the ideal, which the Cascade Quartet is good at. But it can sometimes be a challenge to hammer out a convincing approach to the music with four strong-willed musicians, all of whom have their own ideas and preferences.” Suits, who has been with the Symphony for 36 seasons, says he is reminded of the old saying that “playing in a string quartet is like a marriage of four, with all the disadvantages of marriage and none of the advantages.” 

For more than four decades, the Great Falls Symphony’s Cascade Quartet has inspired audiences with their depth of sound and insightful interpretations. Their Chamber Music Series continues on Nov. 22 and Nov. 24, with Progressions, a kaleidoscope of string combinations ranging from a Bach suite on solo viola, to a duo and then a trio, culminating in the full quartet, showcasing the versatility and talent of each musician. 

GFSA principal violist Christine Sherlock begins the concert with Bach’s Suite No. 1 in G major for cello solo, transcribed for viola. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), one of the greatest composers of all time, wrote hundreds of pieces for organ and choir, as well as for many other instruments. His music, noted for its intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, has provided inspiration to nearly every musician in the European tradition from Mozart to Schoenberg. 

Sherlock will be joined by violinist and GFSA co-concertmaster Mary Papoulis in performing a piece by Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), a Czech composer of modern classical music. Sherlock, Suits, and GFSA violinist and co-concertmaster Victor Tsai will perform two short trios of compositions by Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) and by Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960). The program ends with the Brahms’ C-minor quartet. 

Johannes Brahms is said to have composed and discarded as many as 20 string quartets before finally, in 1873 at age 40, consenting to publish his first two works in this form. Analysts have demonstrated that a single kernel is the source for the themes of the opening and the closing movements of the C-minor quartet. The sudden upward rush that opens the work sets the mood for a movement that has been called “robust and sentimental,” while the intensity subsides for some lyrical interludes, and then the turbulent mood returns.

Performances of GFSA’s chamber music concert Progressions, featuring the Cascade Quartet, are Friday, Nov. 22, 7:00pm, Elks Lodge, 500 1st Ave. S., downtown Great Falls; and Sunday, Nov.24, 2:00pm, First Congregational Church UCC, 2900 9th Ave. S, Great Falls.

Tickets are $29/adults, $20/seniors, $10/students. For tickets and more information visit gfsymphony.org. 

This concert is sponsored by Charles & Gerry Jennings. The 2024-25 Chamber Music Series is sponsored by Dr. Brice Addison.