Manhattan Chamber Players

media release: The timeless beauty of music by Beethoven, Mozart, Robert Schumann, and Andrea Casarrubios will usher in the Wisconsin Union Theater’s renowned annual Concert Series in Shannon Hall at Memorial Union with performances by the Emerson String Quartet on Sept. 24 and the Manhattan Chamber Players on Sept. 29.

The official start of the 2022-2023 season is bittersweet as the event will be the only Wisconsin stop on a farewell tour wrapping up the Emerson String Quartet’s 47-year career. The musicians have been honored with nine GRAMMYs, three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize, and Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year Award over nearly five decades.

The ensemble includes cellist Paul Watkins, violinist Eugene Drucker, violinist Philip Setzer, and violist Lawrence Dutton.

The Emerson String Quartet will perform the following compositions by Ludvig Van Beethoven:

• String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2
• String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130
• Grosse Fuge in B-flat Major, Op. 133

Patrons only have to wait five days after the Quartet’s performance to enjoy a performance by the Manhattan Chamber Players at Shannon Hall on Sept. 29. The dynamic program spans centuries and will include:

• Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• “La Libertad Se Levantó Llorando” (“Liberty Rose Weeping”) by Andrea Casarrubios
• Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44 by Robert Schumann

With its exuberant performance and instrumental prowess in the viola, violin, cello, piano, clarinet, flute, oboe, and harp, the Manhattan Chamber Players promises audience members not just a performance, but an experience.

The Wisconsin Union Theater’s chamber music series, the Concert Series, will continue through April 2023. Single tickets are now available. Union Members save 10% on full-price tickets!

• $65 / $50 / $30
• UW-Madison Students: $10
• Youth (17 and under): $20
• Virtual: $25

Click here for the most up-to-date information about COVID-19-related health and safety protocols.