Announcing the 2026 Angel's Share Programs in the Catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery
Brooklyn, NY — Death of Classical and The Green-Wood Cemetery announce the return of The Angel’s Share, their acclaimed concert series set within the historic Catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery.
June 18-20, pianist Min Kwon returns to the Catacombs with selections from her America/Beautiful project. Conceived during the pandemic, Kwon commissioned 76 composers across the United States to each create a variation for solo piano based on “America the Beautiful.” During that period of national upheaval and division, the project brought together a wide range of stylistic approaches and perspectives to offer a powerful snapshot of America in all of its complicated history. Now, leading up to the country’s 250th anniversary, Kwon releases her recording of all 76 variations, and will perform selections from the project in the Catacombs by composers such as Augusta Read Thomas, Donnacha Dennehy, Jake Heggie, Lei Liang, Nico Muhly, Reena Esmail, Viet Cuong, Vijay Iyer, and more.
July 9-11, the acclaimed Poiesis Quartet will complete Death of Classical’s multi-season cycle of late Beethoven quartets with his final completed work, String Quartet in F major, Op. 135, with its enigmatic inscription on the opening pages of the final movement, where Beethoven wrote: “Must it be? It must be.” In powerful counterpoint, Beethoven's work will be paired with the NYC Premiere of Jeff Scott’sTapestry of the Beloved Beatified, a work honoring the activists Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk, Sylvia Rivera, and Jeanne Manford, celebrating their lives not only as symbols of struggle, but as deeply human presences – defiant, compassionate, and enduring.Said Death of Classical Founder & Artistic Director Andrew Ousley of the programs: "This season in the Catacombs, we mark the 250th Anniversary of America's founding with two programs that interrogate the notion of legacy and collective memory. Min Kwon's powerful America/Beautiful project offers a kaleidoscopic view of the shared American experience in all its beauty and ugliness, while the magnificent Poiesis Quartet juxtapose the haunting resignation of Beethoven's final quartet with Jeff Scott's radiant reflection of what it means to truly be a revolutionary."Each performance includes a pre-concert reception with complimentary tastings of spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, and food, followed by a twilight walk to the Catacombs.
FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS CAN BE FOUND AT: www.deathofclassical.com/events