Classical
Schumann Quartet
Saturday, 02/11/2024 / 08:00 PM / College of Music
Without a safety net - The Schumann Quartet revealed in an interview a few years ago that they "prefer to take risks in order to stay alive and not lose the musicality". No risk, no fun! And as much as the ensemble is celebrated for its technical precision, the joy of the experience is always at the forefront for the four string players. A work only really develops live," they say, "because we never know what will happen beforehand. On stage at the latest, there is no imitation, you automatically become honest with yourself. Then you can establish a connection with the audience in the music, communicate." The Schumann Quartet, which has been playing together since childhood, currently consists of the three brothers Erik, Ken and Mark Schumann, joined by Veit Hertenstein on the viola. For the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" they are "undoubtedly one of the very best formations of the current quartet blossom", equipped with "sparkling virtuosity and a willingness to surprise".
The stimulating selection that the ensemble recently made for its album "100 Years of Radio" is also astonishing - a glimpse into the musical world of 1923. To hear Leó Weiner's award-winning String Quartet No. 2, written in 1921, you have to come to the concert, however. Celebrated as the "Hungarian Mendelssohn" in his child prodigy years, Weiner became a formative figure at the Budapest Academy of Music, where he taught, as Georg Solti and György Kurtág later did. And he was not indifferent to his native folklore either, as the splashes of color in the rousing quartet composition reveal.
In addition to perhaps the most original of all Haydn quartets - a finale in the Adagio? Outrageous! - the four smart gentlemen also perform Schubert's yearning 13th String Quartet, in which the composer incorporated his song melody composed for the play "Rosamunde".
Program:
Haydn, String Quartet in C major Hob III:57
Leó Weiner, String Quartet No. 2 in F sharp minor op. 13
Schubert, String Quartet No. 13 in A minor D 804 "Rosamunde"
Schumann Quartet
With the kind support of the Freunde und Förderer der Albert Konzerte e.V.
EUR 59,- / 47,- / 34,- incl. fees
Schumann Quartett | Photo © Eva-Maria Richter