Schumann Quartett speelt Brahms' Strijkkwartet nr. 2

Schumann Quartet

The Schumann Quartet? 'High emotional intelligence' and 'outstanding technical skills,' according to the press. The three brothers, Mark, Erik, and Ken Schumann, have been playing together since their earliest childhood; violinist Veit Hertenstein completes the quartet. According to the Schumann Quartet, a work only truly develops during a live performance. The musicians themselves never know what is going to happen. You can have studied everything, but the vibrations of a hall and the encounter with the listener mean that you embark on an adventure together. 'We really want to push ourselves to the limit, to see how far the excitement and our spontaneity as a group can take us,' says Ken Schumann. Tonight, they do just that in music by Haydn, Brahms, and Philip Glass.

Brahms

Brahms often said: 'I always hear Beethoven walking behind me'. He probably threw more quartets into the fireplace than he published. His Second String Quartet survived his uncertainty. This is a powerful, intense, and compact work, indebted to Beethoven, yet vintage Brahms. Arnold Schönberg considered it a model of musical economy. The premiere was performed by the quartet of Brahms' friend Joseph Joachim. Joachim's motto was 'Frei Aber Einsam' (Free But Lonely); Brahms turned this into 'Frei Aber Froh' (Free But Cheerful). The motifs fae and faf appear throughout the first movement. Clara Schumann, Brahms' secret love, was very enthusiastic about the Second , and that helped Brahms to shake off his doubts.