The Disappearance of Lisa Gherardini

Program Note: "This string quartet is inspired by the real-life theft of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' from the Louvre Museum in 1911. An inconspicuous Italian handyman named Vincenzo Peruggia hid overnight in one of the Louvre closets and chose exactly the right moment to emerge and lift the painting off the wall. As a former museum employee, he was familiar with the rhythm of the guards. The whole thing was, as they say, an inside job. 

The music of this piece is fueled by the knowledge that it was, in fact, a high profile theft (and a subsequent two-year disappearance) that skyrocketed the Mona Lisa from a relatively unknown artwork into legend.

In the first section, Lisa’s theme is introduced on the cello as the violins evoke gentle brushstrokes. The second section is announced by a restless and slightly ‘wonky’ cello pizzicato groove – the heist is underway. As the perpetrators reach their mark, Lisa’s theme makes a rushed and unsettled reappearance as her portrait is whisked away. The music reaches a chaotic climax and then collapses. 

The third section jump-cuts to present-day Paris. Lisa is back in her rightful place at the museum, elevated in stature, status, and celebrity." - Dinuk Wijeratne

Tempo/Mixed Meter/Form: (See Notable Passages below to hear these sections in isolation)
Section 1, Lisa's Theme:
Adagio: 0:00-3:25

Section 2, The Heist:
Vivace, Mixed Meter: 3:25-5:38
Pause / Vivace: 5:38-6:16
Vivace, Mixed Meter: 6:16-7:22
Rubato: 7:22-7:39
Vivace: 7:39-8:40

Section 3, Present-Day Paris:
Adagio: 8:40-10:00
Vivace: 10:00-10:52