We’re excited to have Friction Quartet back at Fifth Street. This local quartet with an international reputation regularly commissions and plays new works and is equally adept at presenting masterworks from the standard string quartet repertoire. Violinists Otis Harriel and Kevin Rogers and cellist Doug Machiz return to Fifth Street with their new violist Lucia Kobza. For this concert, they’ll be joined by bass clarinetist Bruce Belton to perform new quintets by composers Marc Mellits, Sebastián Tozzola, and Michael Torke.

Torke’s new work, aptly titled “October,” is a rhythmically driven single-movement work that captures the crisp air of fall and visceral bliss and melancholy that accompanies the changing of the seasons. Mellits’ “Titan” was inspired by Saturn’s largest moon, and describes the environmental aspects that make this moon unique. Within the eight movements, you can catch glimpses of this almost Earth-like celestial body as his music depicts erupting volcanoes, violent seismic activity, and the calm of the thick methane atmosphere. “Folkolours” by Tozzola, blends the sounds of the composer’s native Argentina with broader musical languages of Latin America.

See the RESERVATIONS page to reserve seats