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Folie à deux at First Church Cambridge

  • First Church Cambridge 11 Garden Street Cambridge, MA, 02138 United States (map)

Curated by Rafael Popper-Keizer

Musical Program:
Akshaya Avril Tucker: Breathing Sunlight for violin & cello
Fabian Otten: L’Assillo for violin & marimba
Paul Wiancko: American Haiku for viola & cello
Caroline Shaw: Limestone and Felt for cello & marimba
Krzysztof Penderecki: Ciaccona for violin & viola
Osvaldo Golijov: Mariel for cello & marimba

French for the “madness of two,” Folie à deux explores the possibilities of musical partnership through six striking duos for violin, viola, cello, and marimba. Moving through every possible pairing of the ensemble’s four instruments, this program reveals how intimacy, tension, vulnerability, and joy can emerge when two voices come together.

These vibrant works by contemporary composers range from the shimmering stillness of Akshaya Avril Tucker’s Breathing Sunlight to the mournful echoes of Osvaldo Golijov’s Mariel; from the playful textures of Caroline Shaw’s Limestone and Felt to the profound gravity of Penderecki’s Ciaccona. Together, they form a kaleidoscopic meditation on connection, memory, identity, and shared experience.

By turns playful, sincere, grief-stricken, and ecstatic, Folie à deux celebrates the power—and necessity—of not going it alone.

Early Bird Subscription pricing through July 21st, 2026. Single tickets go on sale August 12.

Earlier Event: October 24
Folie à deux at St. John's JP
Later Event: October 27
An Evening at Reuning & Son Violins