The Verona Quartet, featuring alum Jonathan Dormand, celebrates the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with a performance of the composer’s last quartet along with the minimalist-inspired, The Weather of It, by Irish composer, Donnacha Dennehy.
 
The final composition Ludwig van Beethoven wrote before his death in 1827, the String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135, is punctuated by a three-note theme: “Must it be?” Beethoven posed this question while considering the end of his life, and the Verona Quartet will address the iconic composer’s query as part of a three-day residency highlighted by a concert at Newman Hall. The performance will include collaborations with student writers, dancers, and jazz musicians from across USC who were asked to probe the question, Must it be?
 
Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts & Humanities Initiative