How do you engage with the historical traditions and formal conventions that define a musical genre such as the string quartet? The Michelangelo String Quartet examines the diverse ways in which several Russian composers have grappled with and answered that question. At one end of the spectrum, Stravinsky, in his compositions for four strings, completely dissolves the standard quartet structure, while at the other, Shostakovich takes up that tradition, only to push it in radically new directions.

At the end of the season, the Quartet Week casts a spotlight on what many consider to be the quintessential chamber music format. Between June 7 and 16, eleven extraordinary international ensembles will explore both the historical development and the vast emotional scope of the string quartet genre in the intimate space of the Pierre Boulez Saal.