Opus 111

Rachel Foster and Kiyon Gaines in Opus 111.
Photo © Angela Sterling

Music: Johannes Brahms (String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111, 1890)
Choreography: Twyla Tharp
Assistant to the Choreographer: Charlie Neshyba-Hodges
Costume Design: Mark Zappone
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli
Duration: 28 minutes
Premiere: September 25, 2008; Pacific Northwest Ballet

The 2008 world premiere of Twyla Tharp's Opus 111 was generously underwritten by Glenn Kawasaki.

Brahms composed this string quintet (unusually scored for two violins, two violas, and cello) while on a nature retreat in the summer of 1890. The music has a vivacious folk flavor, with the cello featured in the first movement and the viola, Brahms' favorite instrument, carrying the theme in the second. Twyla Tharp has choreographed the quintet’s four movements for five couples.

Recommended Listening:

Brahms: String Quintets, The Raphael Ensemble, Hyperion

Notes by Doug Fullington.