Acclaimed for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty, the Escher Quartet opens its PCMS program with Samuel Barber’s Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11, the middle movement of which Barber later arranged for string orchestra as the Adagio for Strings. Following Florence Price’s second quartet—a monumental work that vividly captures the depth of Price’s unique talents—the ensemble is joined by violist Jordan Bak, “a powerhouse musician, with a strong voice and compelling sound” (The Whole Note), for Dvořák’s American string quintet, composed shortly after the composer’s quartet of the same name.

Barber: Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11
Price: Quartet No. 2 in A Minor
Dvořák: String Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 97, American