Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 3 p.m. – Weston Library Community Room – String Quintet
Americana From the 1890’s: A Harmonic Comparison: Dvořák and Joplin
Violinist and violist Amos Lawrence has brought brilliant string ensembles to the Library’s Community Room over the years, and this season will be no exception. Amos and his colleagues invite you to hear a fascinating comparison between the music of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, written after he arrived in the United States in 1892, and that of Scott Joplin, who composed his uniquely American ragtime pieces during the same time period. Violinists Naama Ben-Zaken and Michael Wheeler, violists Amos Lawrence and Peyton Crony, and cellist David Fisher will play Dvořák’s dazzling Viola Quintet, the “American,” in E flat major, Op. 97, comparing it with Joplin’s Paragon Rag and Pineapple Rag. Be sure to attend this concert to learn what Dvořák’s and Joplin’s music have in common.
The performance is free and open to the public, and the Community Room is handicapped accessible.