Ed Gazouleas

Ed Gazouleas is a violist appearing at Tanglewood in two chamber music programs. He performs Schubert's "Trout" Quintet and, in a later concert, joins works by Shostakovich, Golijov, and Schubert alongside violinist Vijay Gupta. Listeners can expect chamber repertoire performed by a musician with orchestral experience at a major American ensemble.

In the "Trout" Quintet, the viola sits inside a five-instrument texture built around Schubert's famous song melody, and listeners can listen for how the viola fills out the inner harmony while the piano and double bass carry the tune's playful character. In the second program, expect a darker turn: Shostakovich's Eighth Quartet uses a four-note musical signature that recurs across its movements, Golijov's "Tenebrae" is slow and hushed, evoking candlelight and quiet mourning, and Schubert's D minor quartet, nicknamed "Death and the Maiden," opens with hammering unison chords. Across both evenings, the viola's role is largely supportive but essential, shading harmonies and connecting melodic lines between the higher and lower voices.