Of Being

Argus Quartet: Of Being

“Of Being” takes as its point of departure Milan Kundera’s 1984 novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and brings together three major musical works connected to the novel and Kundera’s life to create a rich narrative exploring themes of duality, the significance of individual actions, love and betrayal, fate, and chance. Anchoring the program is Jessica Meyer’s Of Being, commissioned by the Argus Quartet in 2021, which is inspired directly by the novel and its themes. Beethoven’s final string quartet – with its famous last movement inscribed by the composer with the words “Muß es sein? Es muß sein!” (“Must it be? It must be!”) – plays a major role in Unbearable Lightness, in which Beethoven’s question and answer represent a way of thinking about fate. Finally, Janáček’s music was an important presence in Kundera’s life: his father was a student and later colleague of Janáček’s, and Kundera requested that Janáček’s music – including the first string quartet – feature prominently in the film adaptation of Unbearable Lightness. These three works, interspersed with readings from Kundera’s novels and essays, provide a kaleidoscopic group portrait of three composers and one writer and the threads of influence that tie their works together.

Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No. 1, “The Kreutzer Sonata”
Jessica Meyer: Of Being
intermission
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135

Readings excerpted from the novels and essays of Milan Kundera.

(Total Time: 80 min)