By Owen Cox
Staff Writer

Members of the Cleveland Orchestra performed string quartet pieces by Joseph Haydn and Antonín Dvořák on Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. in the J.C. Williams Center Gallery.

The quartet featured violin players Zhan Shu and Stephen Tavani, cello player Dane Johansen and viola player Stanley Konopka.

In light of recent events in Israel, Konopka dedicated the quartet’s performance to the Jewish people. After making this dedication, he commented on the peculiar difficulty of Dvořák’s “No. 14” with a humorous anecdote about Johansen.

After performing the work, Johansen called it “the most difficult piece he had ever played.”

The quartet first played Joseph Haydn’s “String Quartet in C Major, Op. 74 No. 1.” Johansen described the work as similar to Haydn’s other works in “its simultaneous great wit and great beauty.”

Johansen also noted the work’s importance within the context of Haydn’s earlier work for a wealthy patron and his later shift to pieces aimed at society at large.

Before moving on to Dvořák’s “No. 14 in A flat major, Op. 105,” Johansen described the quartet’s experience with the work.

“No. 14” was a highly difficult piece for the quartet, said Johansen, who also described it as “a favorite piece.”

In addition, Johansen commented that it is a work of high historical value, as it was Dvořák’s last work “of music for music’s sake.” After composing “No. 14,” Dvořák only composed music as complements to other works.

The Monday Arts and Culture series will continue with “The Life of St. Francis through Art” on Nov. 6 and “Autumn and Advent” by the FUS Schola on Nov. 27. Both events are to take place in the Gentile Gallery.