Benjamin Britten String Quartet No. 3, Op. 94Giacomo Puccini I CristantemiGiuseppe Verdi String Quartet in E minorThe Ives Quartet has established a reputation for passion, precision, and provocative programming, winning accolades for playing that shows both super-refinement and visceral, rock-and-roll intensity. Inspired by the passionate, artistic commitment and unique temperament of American composer Charles Ives (1874–1954), the quartet has attracted critical enthusiasm for its “practice of reveling in the unfamiliar,†championing an eclectic repertoire that combines established masterworks with underappreciated gems, neglected scores of early-twentieth-century America, and specially commissioned new pieces. Beloved opera composers, Verdi, Puccini and Britten, also wrote a handful of gems for string quartet. Our program honors Brittens centennial and Verdis bicentennial with performances of Brittens last and Verdis single quartet, his only purely instrumental work. Puccinis elegiac movement is one of his rare contributions to quartet literature and the only one still in the repertory.