String Games III

Performers

Muriel Cantoreggi, Anne-Katharina Schreiber, Julia Schröder, Simone Zgraggen → Violin
Diemut Poppen, Anna Puig Torné → Viola
Jean-Guihen Queyras → Violoncello
Yuuki Katsukawa, Akiko Okabe, Chiara Opalio, Annalisa Orlando, Yukie Takai, Ryo Yamanishi → Piano

Program

Albert Dietrich/Robert Schumann/Johannes Brahms → Violin Sonata in A minor (F.A.E Sonata)
Robert Schumann → from "Pictures from the East" op. 66 for piano four hands
Albert Dietrich → from Sonata in G major op. 19
Johannes Brahms → Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor
Eugène Ysaÿe → Exile! op. 25 for high strings
Johannes Brahms → Trio in A minor op. 114

Music with string instruments from classical to jazz: from 12 to 17 May 2025, teachers and students of string and plucked instruments will be organizing a festival at the College of Music Freiburg. Almost all of the teachers of these subjects will be performing - an opportunity for the audience to hear renowned musicians who rarely play in Freiburg due to their international concert activities. Pieces are offered in small and large ensembles, including some that are rarely performed.

Saitenspiele III: "The pulse of the festival"

"Saitenspiele III: 'Frei, aber einsam'" refers to the "F.A.E. Violin Sonata" in A minor, which was written jointly by the composer friends Albert Dietrich, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Each of the sonata's four movements is played by a different ensemble, so that a total of four violinists and four pianists are involved. This piece shows the pulse of the festival - it best represents what "Saitenspiele" is all about, explains Muriel Cantoreggi: "A piece written by three composers, which is very rare, is performed by eight musicians. This makes the concerto like a picture painted by many people. You can recognize the handwriting of each individual." Afterwards, two accompanists will play different pieces for four hands, for example from Robert Schumann's "Pictures from the East". The work "Exil!" op. 25 for high strings by Eugène Ysaÿe is also one that is rarely performed: The Belgian composer wrote it in the USA in 1917. It will be played by an ensemble of teachers and students, probably consisting of twelve violins and eight violas. "This piece is a pearl. It is highly emotional and ends lonely in the last section, dissolving and falling silent. Uprooted in the truest sense of the word, without cellos, without bass," explains Muriel Cantoreggi.

Further information on the "Saitenspiele" festival can be found in our press release.