Intimate Letters: A String Quartet Performance by the Met Chamber Ensemble

In connection with the exhibition From Monarch to Modernity: Travel & Identity in the Czechoslovak First Republic, 1918–1938, Poster House presents a performance of Leoš Janáček’s String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters.”

Janáček (1854–1928), a major figure of 20th-century music, developed a modern compositional style that fused Moravian and Slovakian folk tonalities with the rhythms of Czech speech. “Intimate Letters,” composed in 1928, was inspired by his infatuation with Kamila Stösslová, a married woman 38 years his junior, and the more than 700 letters he wrote her over the final decade of his life.

Performed nearly a century after its posthumous 1928 premiere, the quartet’s insistent repetitions and raw, expressive textures will offer audiences a vivid portrait of obsession and one of Janáček’s most personal, forward-looking works.

Featuring members of the renowned Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the constantly evolving Met Chamber Ensemble presents works of remarkable ambition in a variety of concert settings, including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. This program will be performed by a string quartet featuring violinists Sarah Vonsattel and Qianwen Shen, violist Tal First, and cellist Julia Bruskin.

Please note: Admission must be purchased upon your arrival to the museum to attend this performance. To view our admission prices, please visit our Hours and Admissions page.

Accessibility Note: Masks are available free of charge at the museum. Assistive listening devices and stools are available. ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or a CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is also available upon request. Please contact access@posterhouse.org or (914) 295-2387 to request interpretation services and to address any other accessibility needs. For other event-related questions, please contact events@posterhouse.org.