A NEW GENERATION: The Emerson String Quartet’s farewell tour includes a return to Princeton and features their proteges, the Calidore String Quartet. The Emerson ensemble is shown above; the Calidore below.

On Thursday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m., The Emerson String Quartet will return to Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium one last time, performing a program of Shostakovich, Princeton native Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Mendelssohn. Their protégés, the Calidore String Quartet, will join them for an encore performance of Mendelssohn’s string octet.

The appearance is part of the ensemble’s final tour of their 47-year career. Snider’s new work was commissioned as a celebration of this quartet’s years of playing together. She was born and raised in Princeton, where she lives now with her husband, composer and Princeton University Music Department faculty member Steve Mackey, and their two children. Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat Minor, Op. 144 is the composer’s final string quartet, a reflection on the Emerson Quartet’s final performances. Mendelssohn’s String Octet, a famously life-affirming and celebratory work, will be performed together with the Calidore String Quartet, in a send-off and a bow to the next generation.

“We cannot wait for this momentous, though bittersweet, celebration. The Emerson String Quartet has left an indelible mark on our community through their many years of performing in Princeton, and on the classical music community more generally,” said PUC Director Marna Seltzer. “On Thursday, April 27, we will see them pass the baton to the next generation as we close our 129th Concert Classics series, both marking a historic moment and looking to the future.”

Full-priced tickets are sold out. Turned-back and obstructed view seats may be available. Call (609) 258-2800 for more information.