Arnold Schönberg's Verklärte Nacht

From Gringolts to the Hagens

Six musicians have decided on a special project: to celebrate Schönberg's 150th birthday, they will perform the original programme that was performed on 13 March 1902 in the Vienna Musikverein. There, Schönberg's string sextet Verklärte Nacht had its world premiere, preceded by music by Brahms and Grädener. Two violinists, two violists and two cellists, all internationally renowned musicians, join forces. Among them is violinist Ilya Gringolts and father and daughter Hagen, both cellists. They will take you back to Vienna at the beginning of the last century, to the exciting premiere of one of the most famous pieces for string sextet.

Schoenberg's Transfigured Night

Schoenberg’s early string sextet Verklärte Nacht is stunning music. The piece is based on a poem in which a woman confesses to her lover that she is expecting a child by another. The poet, Richard Dehmel, believed that compassion could change the world, and Schoenberg wanted the audience to share that insight. Musical references to the text run throughout the piece, but Schoenberg’s music also tells the story independently. In this way, the work sings independently of the poem.