ELISABETH LEONSKAJA & BERLIN STAATSKAPELLE STRING QUARTET

The Berlin Staatskapelle String Quartet and pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja—who will also be heard in a solo recital in May—have long been regular guests at the Pierre Boulez Saal. Together they take on two major works of the 19th and 20th centuries: Dvořák’s A-major Quintet of 1888, in which folk-music influences blend with rich late-Romantic sound, is juxtaposed with Shostakovich’s 1940 Piano Quintet, a piece inspired by the composer’s admiration of Bach.