Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet

Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet is a one-act ballet by

Arnold Schoenberg's orchestration of Johannes Brahms's Piano Quartet No. 1 premiered in 1937.^[1] According to the George Balanchine Trust, Balanchine had said the chamber music were "too long, with too many repeats, and meant for small rooms", therefore went with the Schoenberg version.^[2] The ballet is plotless and has four movements, titled Allegro, Intermezzo, Andante and Rondo Alla Zingarese.^[3] In the original production, Barbara Karinska, Peter Harvey and Ronald Bates designed the costumes, sets and lighting respectively.^[1][4] In 1985, two years after Balanchine died, NYCB switched to a new set designed by David Mitchell,^[1][3] Mark Stanley later redesigned the lighting.^[5]

Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet premiered on April 21, 1966, performed by the New York City Ballet.^[5] On the premiere, The New York Times critic Clive Barnes called the ballet "careful but tedious".^[4] Another reviewer, Anna Kisselgoff, wrote in 1985 that the ballet is not one of Balanchine's best, and in 1994 noted that the ballet is "too inconsistent" to be a masterpiece and "demands a strong performance."^[6]

In 2016, the Paris Opera Ballet performed Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet with new sets and costumes by Karl Lagerfeld.^[7] The San Francisco Ballet had also performed the ballet.^[8]

Casts

• World premiere: World premiere: Melissa Hayden, Gloria Govrin, Patricia McBride, Allegra Kent, Suzanne Farrell, André Prokovsky, Conrad Ludlow, Edward Villella, Jacques d'Amboise^[9]
• Paris Opera Ballet premiere (2016):
  Karl Paquette^[10]

External links

• Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet on the website of the Balanchine Trust