Review: Death of Classical Presents BEETHOVEN STRING QUARTET OP. 132 at Green-Wood Cemetery

Death of Classical is known for curating classical music and opera performances throughout NYC’s prettiest crypts and cemeteries. This performance of Beethoven’s Final String Quartet, performed by Ulysses Quartet, was a part of DoC’s Angel’s Share concert series, which took place at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery from Thursday through Saturday night. There are two more Angel's Share performances in September: Caroline Shaw's Partitia, performed by Fourth Wall Ensemble (September 5-7) and mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning] performed by its composer Gelsey Bell (September 12-14)

Tickets to this series include a pre-show reception which took place inside one of Green-Wood’s modern chapels. This was a pretty casual affair with the tone (at least at the performance I was at) being more like hanging out in a living room, trying various local spirits, despite being surrounded by urns. Honestly, the chapel itself is a relaxing environment overall so it was a nice way to start the evening. 

The tastings came with the sellers telling attendees about their drinks, where to find them, and generally a lot of chit chat around the table. You should plan to eat dinner before or after, but if you're feeling after they have some light snacks to munch on during the reception.

The reception lasted for about an hour before we were guided to the waiting trolleys to take us to the catacombs. With it being one of the hottest days so far, the crypt was blissfully cool. The catacombs are long and narrow, with chairs for the audience set two by two. It was more like sitting in a hallway making it much more intimate than a traditional orchestra setting. 

The organizers really let the space do the talking, there was some warm orange lighting and electric candles guiding the path but no decoration otherwise. This created a soft delicate atmosphere, even as the doors off the space were left opened to family crypts. 

Before the performance began DoC founder Andrew Ousley said a few words about the piece including that it was the one that made him “fall in love with the art form” of classical music. He gave a bit of background for us about Beethoven’s mind set when he composed it, apparently after a long illness, introducing it as a “hymn of thanks for one who is recovered…celebrating a slow gradual return to life.” 

With that in mind the performers, the wildly talented Ulysses Quartet took their seats and started up. The quartet played beautifully and expressively, they have an excellent chemistry together and beyond technical proficiency give off the impression that they enjoy playing together. 

The piece itself was well-picked for the space, with all of the emotion behind the music and exuded by the musicians, the audience listened in perfect silence for the just over an hour duration. 

There were two performances each night, and since I attended the earlier one, the show ended just as the sun started to set. The setting really did add a lot to the whole evening. The walk back to the main entrance as the sun set over Green-Wood’s beautiful landscaping, with perfect city views in the background, and fireflies everywhere, was a perfect end to a beautiful performance. 

I highly recommend checking out Death of Classical’s full calendar of events as every performance promises to be a unique experience in addition to a wonderfully performed concert. Their performances have limited tickets and tend to sell out quickly, so to make sure you snag tickets in time, I'd recommend signing up for their e-mail list, which you can do on their website.

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Learn more about Death of Classical at www.deathofclassical.com

Learn more about Ulysses Quartet at www.ulyssesquartet.com

(Header photo: Death of Classical - Ulysses Quartet Op 132 in the Catacombs, credit Steven Pisano)

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