Run Time: Approx. 13 Minutes

In 2013, Caroline Shaw made history as the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, awarded for her groundbreaking vocal composition Partita for 8 Voices. A multifaceted artist—composer, vocalist, violinist, and producer—Shaw is also a member of the Grammy Award–winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, known for their adventurous and genre-defying performances.

Entr’acte started out as a string quartet, written specifically for the Brentano String Quartet, and was later reworked for full string orchestra. Upon hearing Brentano perform Haydn’s Op. 77 No. 2, Shaw was inspired in particular by the group’s performance of the Minuet and Trio movement. Traditionally a lively dance in triple meter, the minuet and trio often provides an opportunity for levity within otherwise emotionally weighty works. These movements are usually lighthearted and playful, and can often shift agilely from one musical extreme to another.

Captivated by this quality, Shaw sought to capture and expand upon it in Entr’acte. The piece begins in a very recognizable classical style but quickly begins to veer off course. As Shaw describes, “I love the way some music (like the Minuets of Op. 77) suddenly takes you to the other side of Alice’s looking glass, in a kind of absurd, subtle, technicolor transition.” True to this vision, Entr’acte moves through an expanse of musical states and textures, from whimsy to tender melancholy, and even embracing moments of awkward silence. Shaw exaggerates these sudden shifts in color and character, sometimes to the point of the grotesque, inviting the listener on a journey that is at once disorienting, humorous, and inviting.