Evenings like this ask you to slow down, to feel the swell of strings as they move through space. Symphonies no. 7 and 8 turns the concert hall into a living room of sound, where every note from Beethoven’s pen seems to breathe anew. Graeme Norris and Tasana Nagavajara on violins, Omporn Kowintha and Miti Wisuthumporn on violas, and Leslie Tan on cello weave together textures both bold and intimate. The seventh symphony pulses with restless energy, while the eighth carries a playful, almost conspiratorial wit, each phrase a quiet conversation between musicians and audience. It isn’t just listening – it’s inhabiting the music, tracing the arcs of tension and release, discovering in familiar works a freshness that only a live string quintet can offer.
October 5. B500-1,200 via here. Neilson Hays Library, 6pm