The Discovery Series: Dutilleux – Ainsi la nuit

A piece that seems to emerge from darkness, flicker into view, disappear, and return transformed.

Henri Dutilleux’s Ainsi la nuit is one of the great string quartets of the 20th century—a mysterious, luminous work built from fleeting musical ideas that continually return in new forms.

Rather than unfolding like a traditional narrative, the music feels almost like memory. Sounds echo across movements, fragments reappear, colors shift, and connections gradually reveal themselves. It’s exactly the kind of piece that can feel completely different once you know what to listen for.

We’ll explore the sounds, structures, and recurring ideas that hold Ainsi la nuit together, hear the quartet performed live, talk about what we heard, and then experience the entire work again with fresh ears.

Listen once for the mystery. Listen again for the connections.