On Saturday, members of Brandeis' Lydian String Quartet began their new season with a program titled Music for 2, 3 and 4 Honoring Irving Fine. It was the first in a series of commemorative events at Brandeishonoring the 50th anniversary of the composer's death. Irving Fine (1914-1962) helped to develop the School of Creative Arts at Brandeis, acted as head of the Council for the Creative Arts and was an innovative and well-respected composer. His inventive musical style is an excellent model for the Lydians in addition to Brandeis' approach to art: new artistic takes on standard musical ideas, as well as making art and finding beauty in unconventional ways. His influence still pervades every part of the music department at Brandeis, and this program proved a perfect tribute to his memory.

The evening opened with Fine's "Fantasia for String Trio," a three-movement work performed by Lydian members and Brandeis Music Profs. Daniel Stepner, violin; Mary Ruth Ray, viola; and Joshua Gordon, cello. The piece began with a simple but evocative viola melody that drew in the audience with its somber beauty. Ray played with a distinct care and elegance, tending to each note individually with an inquisitive and yearning quality. The melody developed very naturally, as if Ray was evolving it right then and there. Stepner joined in soon thereafter, followed by Gordon, and the three began their exploration of different musical dimensions: harmony, texture and rhythm, among others. Fine used all of these musical components to create drama, tending to each element individually. Segments were separated by stark, though brief, moments of silence, as if Fine was resetting the music and exploring a different area. Around each corner of the piece was a new idea that the players approached with vigor and curiosity. If two instruments agreed in any one dimension, the third would often enter and create tension in another dimension, which forced the audience to consider each element individually.

The relationship between the three instruments was particularly notable. The viola played an important role, acting as a sort of anchor for the piece, often beginning or ending a section with a solo melody. The viola plays in a middle register and typically functions in a string trio as just that—the instrument in between the violin and cello. Fine leads with the viola, and in so doing, deconstructs some of the hierarchy that defines the architecture of so many classical works. As per usual, the Lydians took a piece full of innovative, musical exploration and made it their own beautiful creation, while still accessible to the audience. All interesting elements aside, it was beautiful music, accentuated with rich, earthy sonorities in the cello's part, provocative and abrupt rhythmic changes and a stimulating quality that prepared the audience for the piece that followed.

Stepner and Gordon finished the first half with Maurice Ravel's "Sonata for Violin and Cello." This was also an exploration of musical relationships but in a very different way than Fine's piece. The cello and the violin acted as equal partners in creating Ravel's more luxurious, indulgent impressionistic music. Ravel is known for his innovation in instrumentation, and his almost compulsively equal distribution of thematic material between the cello and violin give the work a very playful quality—as if the two are playing as partners to make music together. Rather than accompanying the violin, which normally acts as the primary solo voice, the cello would introduce musical ideas that the violin would immediately mimic, and the parts would swap. The music itself was full of exciting syncopation, mysterious melody and rich texture. Before the expressive and beautifully slow movement, "Lent," Stepner and Gordon actually took a moment to close their eyes and refocus, signaling to the audience the upcoming change in the music, and out of that peaceful moment emerged a single melodic line that grew into the third movement. This moment allowed the audience to refocus after two movements that were so fluid and dramatic that it was easy to get lost. It bore the same furious, dramatic quality that emerged from Fine's "Fantasia."

It was clear that Stepner and Gordon were joking with each other, not just playing their parts, and thus the performance was much more engaging for the audience. Stepner stood for this piece and was so engaged in the music that at times his whole body moved along with the dramatic rhythms of the piece. It was clear, when the two bowed, that they had, perhaps, more fun than the audience in working together to create music, and their interactions during the piece were a critical part of the performance.

For the second half, the Lydians were joined by Ya-Fei Chuang, an internationally acclaimed and prize-winning pianist whose impressive credentials took up an entire page and a half of the program. Elegantly dressed, she walked deliberately and confidently out onto the stage. Chuang addressed the audience personally before she began to play to indicate a change in the program, and her confident manner and ease engaged the audience immediately and throughout her playing as well. She played three short pieces for piano, also by Fine: "Hommage a Mozart," "Koko's Lullaby" and "Flamingo Polka." In the first, her own effortless performance captured the lyrical, playful quality of Mozart's music to which Fine was paying homage. "Koko's Lullaby" was elegant and Chuang took liberties with the timing that made it sweet and beautiful, and the "Flamingo Polka" was a surreal, almost quirky and fun, end to this segment of the concert.

At this point, the three Lydian members joined Chuang for Gabriel Faure's "Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 45." Not only was it an opportunity for all of the musical forces to join for a more showy ending work, but it was also, in many ways, an appropriate culmination of many musical ideas explored throughout the evening. It began with a dramatic surge of melody, and only gained momentum from there, traveling through many different dramatic musical ideas.

The first movement, "Allegro molto moderator," is characterized by slowly developing melodies, on top of rich, textured accompaniments, like fierce 16th notes and expressive arpeggios. The second movement, "Scherzo: Allegro vivo," had a distinct folk-like quality, with a more artistic, sophisticated expression of this more familiar sound, similar to Fine's own "Hommage a Mozart." The third movement, "Adagio," featured some striking, mournful viola solos, reminiscent of Fine's own use of the viola in the first work they performed. Ray created brilliant, sparkling phrases that captivated the audience with the sweet, mellow sound of the viola. The movement was very expressive and picturesque, a sort of respite, and it came to a peaceful end. In the final movement, "Allegro molto," the players held nothing back and ended the evening with passion and grace. As opposed to the elements of earlier pieces, in which mounting tension was interrupted by silence or resolved unconventionally, these phrases grew and developed into lush musical moments that filled the hall with beauty. The piece ended with a resolute, major cadence, whose force lingered and endured through the standing ovation that the players received.

As always, the Lydians' energy and chemistry with one another and with the phenomenal guest pianist made the performance. They made complex music relatable and involving for the audience. With their complete and varied program, they introduced members of the Brandeis community to Fine's musical and creative legacy that endures to this day.