“Let any one similarly afflicted be consoled… who, in defiance of all the obstacles of Nature, has done all in his power to be included in the ranks of estimable artists and men (humankind)”. Ludwig Beethoven (Heiligenstadt Testament
“We are not enemies, but friends… (when) the mystic chords of memory are touched, as surely they will be, by the Better Angels of Our Nature”. - Abraham Lincoln (First Inaugural Address)
Revolutionary Angels: Celebrating Late Beethoven (1827) & America at 250 “In Her Words” (1776) | Pacifica Quartet & Narrator (Sigourney Weaver)
At the convergence of two significant anniversaries in the 26-27 season, America’s 250th (2026) and the 200th of Beethoven’s death (2027), Revolutionary Angels is a concert cycle that celebrates the works of pioneering individuals who have successfully overcome adversity to model for our time Lincoln’s vision of becoming “Better Angels of Our Nature”. Anchoring this concert Initiative are the revolutionary late quartets of Beethoven that prove timely in an era needing strong cultural examples of art’s remarkable power to inspire hope and personal triumph over anxiety and hardship. Woven into this concert alongside the late Beethoven quartets are works by significant American composers that each highlight the contributions of important national luminaries. Specifically featured are two new works commissioned for the 250th American Anniversary by the Pacifica Quartet that present the ensemble in collaboration with narrator Sigourney Weaver (limited availability). These works composed by Jennifer Higdon and Gabriela Lena Frank highlight the words of significant American women and are told in the style of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. Other pioneering American composers featured as part of this concert cycle include Ruth Crawford Seeger, Florence Price and Shulamit Ran.
With a career spanning three decades, the multiple Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet has achieved international recognition as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The Quartet is known for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices. Having served as quartet-in-residence at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music for over a decade, the Quartet was also previously the quartet-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2021, the Pacifica Quartet received a second Grammy Award for Contemporary Voices, an exploration of music by three Pulitzer Prize-winning composers: Shulamit Ran, Jennifer Higdon, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.
We invite you to contact us now about finding a date to bring Revolutionary Angels to your series in the 2026/27 season.