Spektral Quartet performing Enigma at the Adler Planetarium, April 7, 2022. Photo: courtesy the artists.
“Enigma sits on the border between concert music and installation art; it marshals sounds in ways that have little to do with the conventional pathways of Western classical music.”
—Washington Post
An enveloping sonic and visual journey created by acclaimed Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottír and video artist Sigurdur Gudjónsson, Enigma takes place in the immersive night-sky environment of the Bell Museum’s planetarium. The mesmerizing ambient score conjures ancient imaginary landscapes, while mysterious images evoke otherworldly associations. Performed by Chicago’s Spektral Quartet, the piece teleports audiences to places sublime and unknown through a 360-degree constellation of sensory experiences. The program also includes Eliza Brown’s String Quartet #1; Tomás Luis de Victoria’s O Magnum Mysterium; and Claude Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10, No. III, Andantino, doucement expressif.
Spektral Quartet: Enigma: A 360° Experience
November 4 & 5, 7 pm & 9 pm
$33.50 ($27.50 Walker members)
Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium at the Bell Museum
2088 Larpenteur Ave W, St. Paul, MN 55108
Copresented by Schubert Club Mix and the Bell Museum.
There will be an in-person, night-of waitlist starting one hour before the performance at the box office located at the Bell Museum.
About the Spektral Quartet
Multi-Grammy nominees, the Spektral Quartet actively pursues a vivid conversation between exhilarating works of the traditional repertoire and those written this decade, this year, or this week. Since its inception in 2010, Spektral is known for creating seamless connections across centuries, drawing in the listener with charismatic deliveries, interactive concert formats, an up-close atmosphere, and bold, inquisitive programming.
With a tour schedule including some of the country’s most notable concert venues such as the Kennedy Center, Miller Theater, Library of Congress, and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, the quartet also takes great pride in its home city of Chicago: championing the work of local composers, bridging social and aesthetic partitions, and cultivating its ongoing collaborations and residencies in the Chicago region. The 21/22 Season will see the launch ENIGMA: a hypnotic collision of music and film for full-dome planetarium theaters featuring an original score by Anna Thorvaldsdottir and new video art by Sigurdur Gudjonsson – all performed live by Spektral.
Named “Chicagoans of the Year” by the Chicago Tribune in 2017, Spektral Quartet is most highly regarded for its creative and stylistic versatility: presenting seasons in which, for instance, a thematic program circling Beethoven seamlessly coexists with an improvised sonic meditation at sunrise, a talent show featuring Spektral fans, and the co-release of a jazz album traversing the folk traditions of Puerto Rico.
Tickets
Visit walkerart.org/tickets, call 612.375.7600, or visit us at the box office. Ticket prices listed includes all box office and service fee charges.
Members Get More
Become a member and enjoy a 20% discount on most performance tickets, receive unlimited free gallery admission, and more. (Some restrictions apply.) Join at walkerart.org/membership or call 612.375.7655.
Accessibility
Sensory note: This performance is an immersive experience in a planetarium.
Visit the Bell Museum’s Accessibility page for more information.
For additional information or to request an accommodation, please contact the accessibility office at 612-625-4511 or bellaccess@umn.edu.
Students Come Early
Students own the rush line! Get in line an hour before showtime for $10 rush tickets. One ticket per person with valid student ID.
Get Together
Experience these performances in a group of 10 or more people and save 15% on tickets. Purchase group tickets online, over the phone, or in person. Discount automatically applied at checkout on orders of 10 or more tickets to the same performance.
Attendance Requirements
Visit the Bell Museum’s COVID-19 protocols page for more information.
If you have questions or require additional assistance, please email bellinfo@umn.edu or call 612-626-9660.
Walker Performing Arts
For more on Performing Arts, visit walkerart.org/visit/stage/.
ABOUT THE WALKER ART CENTER
Known for presenting today’s most compelling artists from close to home and around the world, the Walker Art Center features a broad array of contemporary visual arts, music, dance, theater, and moving image works. Ranging from concerts and films to exhibitions and workshops, Walker programs bring us together to examine the questions that shape and inspire us as individuals, cultures, and communities. The adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, one of the first urban sculpture parks of its kind in the United States, holds at its center the beloved Twin Cities landmark Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen as well as some 60 sculptures on the 19-acre Walker campus. Visit walkerart.org for more information on upcoming events and programs.
ABOUT THE BELL MUSEUM
The Bell Museum is Minnesota’s official natural history museum, established by the legislature in 1872 and held in trust by the University of Minnesota. For more than a century, the museum has preserved and interpreted our state’s rich natural history and served learners of all ages. Additionally, its scientific collections contain over one million specimens, representing every county in Minnesota and various locales around the globe. bellmuseum.umn.edu
ABOUT SCHUBERT CLUB
Founded 140 years ago, Schubert Club is one of the nation’s most vibrant music organizations, enriching Minnesota with dynamic concerts, music education programs and museum exhibits. Schubert Club reaches approximately 2,000 youth annually through varied activities such as family concerts, teacher and student workshops, free music lessons in neighborhood locations, and scholarships that allow young students to pursue their music studies more intensively. In addition, the Schubert Club Music Museum, located in downtown Saint Paul’s historic Landmark Center, holds a world-class collection of historic keyboards, original letters and manuscripts of famous composers, and musical instruments from around the world. Schubert Club maintains a commitment to affordable ticket prices for all concert presentations, as well as cost-free education programs and museum entrance, thanks to endowment gifts and annual donations. For more information visit schubert.org