Last Friday, I attended an amazing quartet rehearsal by the Momenta Quartet. From elementary school through high school, I was very involved with orchestra and I loved to play the violin. I haven’t played at all through college, so it was very refreshing to listen to a live string performance. The group started their rehearsal by telling us about the piece they were playing, Janacek’s String Quartet No. 1, which was based on a novel. The novel told the story of a man who suspected his wife was cheating on him with a piano player she was working with, and aspects of the stories climactic moments were present in the different movements of the piece. The Momenta Quartet had two violinists, a violist, and a cellist; however during their performance it sounded like there many more musicians playing.

After the performance, I got a chance to talk to the musicians about how they got started with music and how they became a group. All of them had been playing since a very young age and knew that they wanted to pursue a career involving music. They formed their quartet gradually over time, and Adda, the second violist, was the last to join in 2009. They have grown closer over time through rehearsing and preforming together, as they all share a strong passion for music. I really enjoyed my time playing violin, so it was a great experience to listen and talk to this quartet who love what they do.