Bartókcyclus 1 Belcea Quartet and Doric String Quartet

Modern

In 1918, Bartók dedicated his Second String Quartet to the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet, the young ensemble that had premiered his First String Quartet eight years earlier. World War I made Bartók’s musicological fieldwork impossible, but it also influenced his style. While the First String Quartet still resonated with post-Romantic influences of Reger and Wagner, the Second is fully modernist – Bartók’s entire oeuvre can already be recognized here.

A look in the kitchen

The String Quartet Biennale goes big with Bartók. All 6 of his string quartets are performed in one afternoon by 3 world-renowned quartets: the Belcea Quartet, the Doric String Quartet and the Jerusalem Quartet. Speaker Bas van Putten and Rebecca Wise, cellist of the Ragazze Quartet, delve into the life of the composer and, together with the musicians, give a glimpse behind the scenes of this extraordinary oeuvre.