Watch St. Lawrence String Quartet free ‘Haydn Discovery’ online performance and discussion until Nov. 12

At the invitation of the Center for the Performing Arts, St. Lawrence String Quartet has created the streamed event “Haydn Discovery,” a special free discussion and performance of Joseph Haydn’s seminal composition, String Quartet Op. 20, No. 3

The free event is available to stream until 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. Visit “Haydn Discovery” watch and for more information. 

The program is part of the Center for the Performing Arts “Up Close and Virtual” fall season. Contributions from the members of the center and a grant from the University Park Student Fee Board help make the program free of charge. The Nina C. Brown Endowment provides additional support.

The stream features an exclusive interview between Center Director George Trudeau and quartet co-founder and violinist Geoff Nuttall to discuss Haydn’s composition.

The New York Times called Nuttall “The Jon Stewart of chamber music. He has established a new style of presentation that juxtaposes the ridiculous with the sublime, delves into serious musicology and casually uses technology. In short, he is subtly redefining what a chamber music concert can be.”

The ensemble, founded in Toronto in 1989, also features violinist Owen Dalby, violist Lesley Robertson and cellist Christopher Costanza.

“The St. Lawrence is first and foremost, I think, about risk taking,” wrote a reviewer for Toronto’s The Globe and Mail, “about playing on the emotional edge; about performing, not to ‘get it right,’ but because the music has something to tell us that we cannot live without; something that could make you change your life.”

The ensemble has visited the Center for the Performing Arts for five performances and residencies since 1996. The quartet is scheduled to perform in person at Penn State in 2021.

Geisinger and Northwest provide support for virtual presentations by the Center for the Performing Arts. 

Find more information about forthcoming “Up Close and Virtual” season events.