Programme
Haydn - String quartet in G, on. 33, no. 5
Shotstakovich - String quartet no. 3, on. 73
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 12, on. 127
Alma Quartet
The string quartet is an orchestra in miniature. The members of the Alma Quartet know all about it. As musicians in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, they know all the tricks of ensemble playing and this is reflected in the close-knit unity of the Alma Quartet. In the Edesche Concert Hall the quartet combines two classics by Haydn and Beethoven with Shostakovich's poignant Third String Quartet from 1946. A piece which, according to Shostakovich', can be listened to as a war story.
Shostakovich' war story
Shostakovich wrote his poignant Third String Quartet (1946) immediately after the Second World War. The play sounds like Shostakovich's personal review of the war years. The quartet starts in an almost cheerful mood, as if you don't know yet about the approaching disaster. The quartet ends with a heartbreaking slow part that evokes the image of a scorched landscape, where war has been
Light-footed Haydn
Sometimes Haydn could be a real joker in his music. Some passages are full of double bottoms, put you on the wrong track or make you chuckle because it sounds so funny. Haydn's six string quartets on. 33 therefore have the appropriate nickname 'The jokes'. And indeed Haydn struck a lighter tone in these pieces than in his earlier string quartets. This can be heard especially in the witty 'Scherzo'. We'll keep that a secret for a while, because you never have to explain a good joke.
Genius Beethoven
Was Beethoven crazy or genius? That's what his contemporaries wondered when they listened to the first of Beethoven's last five string quartets. Completely deaf Beethoven had withdrawn more and more into his own musical world, where he munificently scraped off his Twelfth String Quartet. 127. The first chords grab you as a listener and as a player directly. The rest of the piece Beethoven won't let you go and he will take you on a journey through picturesque landscapes and along breathtaking panoramas. Quirky and desolate, but also extraterrestrially beautiful and beneficent; you experience it all.
The Alma Quartet consists of:
- Marc Daniel van Biemen, first violin
- Benjamin Peled, second violin
- Jeroen Woudstra, viola
- Clément Peigné, cello
Youtube tip
Listen to the Alma Quartet in music by Joseph Haydn.Seizoen '19-'20 Sjostakovitsj Haydn op. 127 Shostakovich Beethoven Kamermuziek strijkers cello altviool viool strijkkwartet