For anyone who’s been playing the fan-favorite New York Times game Connections, The Argus has a special challenge: What is the connection between the four different educational experiences below?

A scary Russian teacher. Homeschooling. After-school activities. The Virtuoso Program. 

You might know of the Virtuoso Program, a pre-college conservatory for serious high school string musicians in San Anselmo, Calif., which might lead you to guess classical music. But homeschooling? That seems a little out of place. 

But if you stick to this inclination, then you might blurt out the answer.

“Four different pieces of the puzzle, four unique voices coming together to create a beautiful whole,” you cry. “Isn’t that the ethos of chamber music? Could the answer be the University’s most infamous quartet: Beethoven’s Brothel?”

In fact, you’d be right! Beethoven’s Brothel combines all of these elements, as each of the group’s members, Luci Paczkowski ’24, Sam Rapkiewicz ’24, Reid Schuncke ’25, and Lydia Brutvan ’25, came to classical music through one of these experiences. 

Paczkowski and Rapkiewicz both became interested in music at a very young age. Paczkowski began playing violin when she was six years old.

“I started because my twin sister did and I was jealous,” Paczkowski said. “She fell off the bandwagon around fifth grade, and that’s when I started to take it kind of seriously.”

From there, Paczkowski enrolled in the Virtuoso Program in high school for both violin and singing.

“That whipped my ass into shape,” Paczkowski said. “I had a scary Russian teacher. I owe him everything. I’ve been playing since then with a very hard classical focus because I love it so much, but also other music like folk, bluegrass, pop, rock, whatever.”

The quartet’s cellist, Rapkiewicz, began playing because her mom needed to put her in an after-school program, and chose one focused on teaching children string instruments. 

“I liked big instruments, so I chose the biggest one,” Rapkiewicz said. “Bass was not available.”

In early middle school, Rapkiewicz joined a pre-college conservatory and began taking cello very seriously. She also met Schuncke, the group’s violist, at a chamber music camp. Schuncke, who began playing at the age of eight through her public school’s program, joined the Peabody Conservatory as a teenager and initially intended to audition for conservatory after high school.

“I auditioned for a bunch of music schools, and then I ended up going to Wesleyan, which is so random,” Schuncke said. “We do have a pretty small classical music program, but this chamber music program is awesome, so it was totally worth it.”

The lore among classical musicians is that violists as good as Schuncke are very hard to find, so the Brothel members, and Rapkiewicz in particular, are overjoyed she chose a liberal arts education. 

Brutvan, who was homeschooled until eighth grade, began playing piano when she was four and has been playing flute since she was seven. While everyone else in the group raved about her talent, Brutvan pointed out that she had less classical and chamber experience than the rest of the group. As a varsity swimmer at the University and a competitive triathlete, music often took a back seat. 

“Music never was and probably is still not my first priority,” Brutvan said. “I did a lot of sports in high school. Music was the space where I could just make something that was beautiful, that didn’t have to do with strength and grinding through something.” 

Not only does each member of the Brothel bring a different, vital instrument and a unique classical background to their chamber ensemble, they each do different activities on campus outside of the quartet and hail from different social circles. 

“We actually would never ever have been friends if it weren’t for Beethoven’s Brothel,” Brutvan said. “Just because we all are in such separate spheres. We would never have crossed paths.” 

The first iteration of Beethoven’s Brothel happened through “Chamber Music Ensemble” (MUSC442), a course led by director John Biatowas, offering students the opportunity to form their own ensemble groups.

“I was in this sextet group with some seniors,” Rapkiewicz said. “Then the group I was in graduated. I knew Reid already from chamber, and I knew she was a really good violist—good violists are extremely, extremely hard to find. Luci and I had been talking about doing something and I knew Luci was a good violinist. Lydia just got placed randomly [by John] which was lucky because we needed a fourth.”

A shared love of classical music brought the Brothel’s members together from all corners of campus, helping them build a lasting future together.

“Sam was the person that I could tell was very good and also very passionate [about classical music],” Paczkowski said. “We had like one conversation after orchestra in freshman year where I was like, this girl is really fucking passionate about it in the same way that I am.” 

For those who may not know, chamber music simply refers to playing music with a small group of people. These smaller ensembles often allow musicians to develop a more meaningful, individual relationship with pieces.  

“I love chamber music,” said Rapkiewicz. “It’s like a play date. Everyone gets to have their own solo moments and shine, but you’re not put on the spot all the time. It’s such a community thing. It requires a lot of hanging out, which is awesome. It’s much more personal.”

In comparison to hierarchical orchestras, chamber music fosters a more egalitarian community in a lower-stakes, less competitive environment. The smaller size encourages musicians to participate in interpreting a composer’s intentions while also adding their own flair.

“Every single voice in the ensemble has a very specific role to play,” Paczkowski said. “In an orchestra, you usually don’t have personal say over how a certain phrase is expressed through your bow, for example. When you’re playing in a smaller ensemble, you take that responsibility.” 

As the members of the Brothel discussed the joys of chamber music, they seemed to simmer with excitement. Their overflowing love for classical music animates the traditional art form, which is often misunderstood as old-school and boring, especially by college students.

“It just transcends the sort of orchestral wave of sound,” Paczkowski said. “There’s conversations that are happening back and forth between instruments when you’re playing chamber music. It’s so fucking interesting.”

However, the Brothel also touched on feelings of alienation that sometimes come with performing a type of music that is less appreciated by the larger student body.

“It’s hard to feel undermined by all the music bros on campus, and feel like there is no space for us to really be appreciated,” Paczkowski said. “Even now I still struggle with it sometimes.”

From events like the Battle of the Bands to Open Mic Night at Espwesso, guitars, drums, and keyboards lead the masses into indie-rock paradise. Although these types of bands often dominate musical spaces on campus, over the past three years the Brothel has been making their presence known at the University, steadily asserting their musical skill and mastery. They’ve also started an Instagram page that’s gained hundreds of followers, designed a logo, and even ordered matching Beethoven’s Brothel underwear.

“People that are close to the music scene understand that we are as good musicians as the guitarists that play at WestCo all the time,” Paczkowski said. 

The Brothel has also been trying new ways to combine and showcase their musical talents in spaces that appeal to the mainstream music scene at the University.

“I’m diving into more of the artsy fartsy music scene now,” Paczkowski said. “Having these girls be in Burlesque with me—Reid and Lydia played in Burlesque last year, and they’re gonna play again this year—[has been comforting]. Reed [Schwartz ’24] and Ethan [Geiger ’24] thought it was funny to bring us to their party. Now people are like, ‘Oh, you’re part of Beethoven’s Brothel.’” 

Because they each studied abroad at different times, the group had to wait a year to be reunited in the spring of 2023, before Schuncke went abroad again that fall. In some ways, these breaks were blessings in disguise: They gave the members something to look forward to.

“[Playing Shostakovich’s fourth string quartet] and being all back together after playing with each other in different arrangements was the perfect bonding moment,” Paczkowski said. 

The chamber ensemble has played a significant role in all four members’ lives, providing a support system beyond the music. 

“I thought about transferring,” Brutvan said. “[The Brothel] was something that kept me grounded throughout a very turbulent time in my life.” 

Through thick and thin, the group has stuck it out, finding comfort and joy in playing music together. 

“[Being a part of this quartet] gave me a much bigger purpose,” Paczkowski said. “We have relationships outside of quartet: making birthday cakes for each other, sitting on Sam’s stoop in the summer at night, eating ice cream. Sam even gave us all matching tattoos.”

Despite some of the archaic and old-fashioned connotations of the genre, the members hope that others come to appreciate chamber music for all that it has to offer. After all, this love for classical music paved their way to a tight-knit community, a chance to play their favorite instruments, and a unique band name. 

“I just have so many hopes and desires for [classical music] and how it could progress in a society,” Paczkowski said. “I’m really passionate about finding ways to make it more accessible and palatable to people our age because I do feel like it does have this stigma of being for a certain wealthy white subsect of old people. It’s so beautiful and moving when you do have the tools to understand it.”

Make sure to follow @beethovensbrothel on Instagram to stay updated with their future ventures!

 

Eugenia Shakhnovskaya can be reached at eshakhnovska@wesleyan.edu.

Ella Henn can be reached at ehenn@wesleyan.edu.