Spokane String Quartet: Russian Extravaganza

You’ve no doubt been introduced to classical Russian music through Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. This weekend is a perfect time to explore beyond the Sugar Plum Fairy as the Spokane String Quartet takes on the greatest three Russian composers of the 20th century: Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff (whose two quartet works were never completed) and Shostakovich. All of the brash beauty that Tchaikovsky brought to his compositions is still in these quartets, but has been expounded upon. Some of the pieces are incredibly weird and prickly to the ear, but rest assured that for their first concert of 2016, the Spokane String Quartet will play some of the finest chamber-music works ever written.

Sun, Jan. 31, at 3 pm • $12-$20 • Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox • 1001 W. Sprague • spokanestringquartet.org