Valley Music Lovers will present their opening concert of the season on Nov. 16 with the internationally recognized Audubon Quartet. The evening includes works by Peter Schickele, Hugo Wolf, and Johannes Brahms, offering a pleasant and suspenseful concert for all. The group boasts a 30-year history and holds the distinction of being the first American group ever to win first prize in an international string quartet competition. Take advantage of this NRV performance by an ensemble that, according to The Washington Post displays “glowing musicality.”

With performances in major concert halls throughout North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, the group is no stranger to the stage. Their current members: founder C. Tom Shaw, violist Doris Lederer, and violinists Ellen Jewett and Akemi Takayama, occupy their time as active educators and performers. Continuing the tradition, Audubon held a residency at Virginia Tech and currently teaches at the Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Va.

String Quartet No. 1 (American Dreams) by Peter Schickele (b. 1935) opens the program this November, displaying the group’s “strikingly beautiful, luminescent” sound, as described by The New York Times. An incredibly versatile composer, musician, author, and satirist, Schickele (a.k.a. P.D.Q. Bach), boasts more than 100 works for a large array of ensembles. Yo-Yo Ma, Emmanuel Ax, the New York Philharmonic, as well as the Audubon Quartet (for whom he wrote his first string quartet) have performed his music. (Audubon has premiered more than 20 works by an eclectic group of living composers). While humor is not uncommon in Schickele’s work, “American Dreams” opens in a very pastoral, spacious manner, alluding to the “Americana sound” well established by the likes of Aaron Copland.

The quartet moves back in time to a work by Austrian composer Hugo Wolf (1860-1887). Wolf, who spent much of his life in Vienna, is noted for his unique, dramatic passion, offering a perhaps exemplary work for Audubon. The late romantic composer, noted for his art songs, often worked with highly chromatic material—delving outside of the “key”—reminiscent of Richard Wagner. His “Italian Serenade” is no exception, but it also offers light, skipping moments that complement the previous Schickele work.

Closing the evening will be fellow Vienna resident Johannes Brahms with his “Quartet No. 1 in c minor.” After the legacy of the great Ludwig Van Beethoven, composers were quite wary to attempt writing symphonies and string quartets. Even a giant like Brahms (1833-1897) waited about 20 years to attempt the string quartet medium. It is rumored that the composer attempted—and threw away—many works prior to releasing this quartet to the world. The four-movement piece proves worth the wait, offering a magnificent close to the Audubon Quartet concert.

Those looking to experience a string quartet for the first time (as well as the avid classical fan) should not miss this concert, as it offers high quality and class. The Audubon Quartet will perform at Grace Covenant Church (2101 Shadowlake Road) in Blacksburg, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 students and seniors, and $5 for children 12 and under, and are available at Squires Ticket Office (540.231.5615) and at the door. Visit valleymusiclovers.org or audubon4tet.com for additional details.

C.R. Kasprzyk, a recent transplant to the New River Valley, now enjoys the photographic opportunities of mountain life. As a classically trained composer and saxophonist, Kasprzyk boasts performances around the country (from bookstores to Carnegie Hall) as well as university teaching experience.