Northwest BachFest returns with Balourdet String Quartet playing Beethoven, Schubet, Haydn and Smetana
The prestigious Northwest BachFest returns for another set of shows this weekend, and this round of the ongoing series will feature a relatively young but extremely impressive string quartet.
Artistic director and Grammy Award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey views Northwest BachFest as not only a means to celebrate some of the greatest music ever composed, but also as a way to honor outstanding musicians capable of doing these pieces the justice they deserve . He also believes that in order to celebrate greatness in the present, you must pay attention to it early on.
“One must remember, you have to catch a rising star to see the future,” Bailey said. “I call it a sound investment.”
This is exactly the case with the Balourdet String Quartet, which is winning award after award with their acute technical precision and intense emotional depth – the very same that has impressed Bailey to his core. Not to mention, they are all only in their 20s.
“They’re doing things in a way that are the result of what we do, in that we are now demanding that the new generation of artists understand that culture and the arts are the heartbeat of any community and actually define those communities in the end,” Bailey said.
The Balourdet String Quartet will perform at Barrister Winery twice – once Friday night and another Saturday afternoon. They will be bringing an excellent repertoire with them both evenings; “Life Is But A Dream – Divine Genius of Beethoven and Schubert” on Friday, and “Home Is Where The Heart Lives – Lyrical Masterpieces of Haydn and Smetana” on Saturday.
“We discuss it, but I never tell them what to play,” Bailey said. “I want a true story when they tell it, I want to hear their passion because, you know, there’s so much time behind the prep for any one given performance and I want them to live it as deeply as they wish to live it.”
Both performances look to offer a stunning display of music, but returning to Bailey’s notion of celebrating greatness, Friday’s collection of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert may just exemplify sheer orchestral excellence more than any other.
The two all-time great composers, in their own ways, helped define much of what Western music is today. Both died almost within a year of each other, and they are also buried next to each other in Vienna.
“To put them side by side as the geniuses they are, not only in the grave forever, but in a concert, will showcase the acknowledgment of genius and the gravitas of this music,” Bailey said.
Bailey doesn’t aim to “top” the heights he has reached with performance after performance during Northwest BachFest, but he does actively attempt to simply keep it interesting, time after time. He also looks to give every attendee a welcoming, safe environment where they can experience the arts in a way that remains different and more unique than most.
“The arts help us in so many ways,” Bailey said. “It’s not the concerts in the end, it’s how we make them feel.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Friday, April 18, 2025, to correct the dates of Bachfest performances that were incorrect because of a staffer’s error. The festival continues Friday night and Saturday afternoon.