When friends would inquire about the preparations for our final Chicago show – No Regrets (June 12th, 2022) – the most frequent comparison was to that of planning a wedding. There are the surface-level similarities, like debating over caterers, rolling the dice on a photographer, and the Tetris of deciding on speeches. Maybe the most profound parallel, though, is the feverish desire that the event match the occasion. There are no do-overs on a “final” anything.
Skipping past the myriad ways a string quartet is like a four-way marriage, or the very wedding-like fact that none of us remembered to eat until the drive home that night, our collective reaction to No Regrets is that we couldn’t have imagined a more meaningful send-off and farewell. We will remember the many hues of the individual conversations we had throughout the night just as much as the crackling energy everyone brought to the performances. Those exchanges were bittersweet, and real, and full of hope, and often hilarious.
We decided early on that the priority of the concert segment was to create a meaningful connection, so we decided that an array of mics and cameras would interrupt the intended vibe. Fortunately for the out-of-towners, though, we did rig up an iPhone and a stereo pair to (DIY) capture the music, and so we are happy to share two selections from the program: the Andantino from Claude Debussy’s sole string quartet and the world premiere of Miguel Zenón’s Esquinas.
It’s safe to say that this was the most love we’ve felt on stage as a quartet, ever. And how on-brand for us to have some Spektral first-timers in the audience, sprinkled amongst so many long-time fans and friends?
As you know, we still have some major projects we’ll be releasing across the coming season to look forward to, so No Regrets was really our farewell to the stage. Nevertheless, thank you for helping us cap off a 12-year Spektral run by getting BBQ sauce all over your fingers, strolling through the hall-of-mirrors that is our Archive, cheering on the noble trophy recipients, nodding politely during a screed on The Giving Tree, and shaking your tuchus to Iverson and Paper Mice.
Now, please enjoy a photographic retelling of No Regrets…
