Alma Quartet - Haydn, Beethoven, Shostakovich - String Quartets

Alma Quartet - Haydn, Beethoven, Shostakovich - String Quartets

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 Completely deaf Beethoven had withdrawn more and more into his own musical world, where he munificently scraped off his Twelfth String Quartet. 127.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
Friday 14 February 2020, 20:00

The Dutch Alma Quartet makes its debut in the Edesche Concert Hall with a cheerful Haydn, an impressive Shostakovich and a heavenly Beethoven. The first notes of Haydn's String Quartet in G sound as if the Alma Quartet is making a deep bow and asks 'how are you doing? Shostakovich, with his Third String Quartet (1946) just after the Second World War, had something else on his mind than social obligations. In this masterpiece, the composer tells his poignant war story. And Beethoven? Beethoven's delicious Twelfth String Quartet sounds like a plaster on Shostakovich's wound.

When and where

Begin time:
Friday 14 February 2020, 20:00

The Edesche Concert Hall. Unheard of acoustics, intimate beauty, one of the most beautiful concert grand pianos in the Netherlands with the very best musicians. From one hour before the start of the concert you are welcome in the Edesche Concert Hall, for example for a cup of coffee in advance. Please note: during the performance we do not grant access to the concert hall The Edesche Concertzaal is unsubsidized and is made possible by Eskes Media / DagjeWeg.NL.

  • Many payment options online;
  • Stage Gift Card OK, also online;
  • Free coffee/drinks/breakfasts;
  • Free wardrobe;
  • Free luxury program magazine;
  • Free and paid parking in the vicinity;
  • ECLive! Listen to the concert again in high quality afterwards (at selected concerts);
  • Enjoy the Edesche Concert Hall Diner at the adjacent atmospheric restaurant Buitenzorg;
  • Subsidy free and independent. Sponsor: DagjeWeg.NL Tickets;
  • NPO Radio 4 broadcasts regularly from the Edesche Concertzaal. Listen again to e.g.

Edesche Concertzaal

Amsterdamseweg 9, Ede

Directions: Car Public transportation