Amatis Piano Trio / Thomas Quasthoff

• Classical Music

The horrors of the First World War have often been described in literature. Books such as Erich Maria Remarque’s »All Quiet on the Western Front« speak of the brutality of trench warfare and the deadening effect of being surrounded by death. However, there are also more optimistic accounts, such as the Christmas truce when enemies laid down their weapons and sang carols together. With his legendary baritone voice, Thomas Quasthoff reads from First World War letters and diaries. In alternation, the award-winning young Amatis Piano Trio performs excerpts from the Romantic and modern chamber music repertoire, reflecting the mood of the individual texts.
Young soldiers of various nationalities are represented, as are relatives writing to the front from back home. The texts bear witness to the barbarism of war, and to youthful blue-eyed enthusiasm turning into disillusionment and horror in the face of the bloody reality. But they also reveal humanity and mutual respect – even between enemies. The stories speak of individual fates and give a face to the bare figures. They are accompanied by slow movements from piano trios by composers such as Schubert and Shostakovich, who composed his Piano Trio No. 2 while mourning the death of a friend in the Second World War. Works such as Korngold’s »Dogberry and Verges – March of the Watch«, which caricature the initial enthusiasm of young soldiers for war, lighten the mood.

PERFORMERS

Amatis Piano Trio piano trio

Lea Hausmann violin

Samuel Shepherd violoncello

Mengjie Han piano

Thomas Quasthoff reading

PROGRAM

»Die Menschlichkeit im Krieg« (Humanity in War)

with works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Dmitri Shostakovich, Fritz Kreisler, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Anton Webern and Rebecca Clarke, and excerpts from letters and diaries from the time of the First World War

Auszug aus dem Tagebuch des Gefreiten Charles Blackmore vom 16. Januar 1917

Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Dogberry and Verges (March of the Watch)

Auszug aus dem Tagebuch des Gefreiten Charles Blackmore vom 19. Januar 1917

Auszug aus dem Tagebuch des Gefreiten Charles Blackmore vom 24. Januar 1917

Anton Webern
Sehr bewegt

Anton Webern
Äußerst ruhig

Auszug aus dem Tagebuch des Gefreiten Charles Blackmore vom 29. Januar 1917

Franz Schubert
Andante con moto

Hauptmann Reginald John Armes an seine Frau

Robert Schumann
Abendlied

Hauptmann Reginald John Armes setzte seinen Brief am Folgetag fort

Franz Schubert
Piano Trio in E-flat major, D 897 »Notturno«

- Interval -

Leutnant Wolfgang Panzer an seine Eltern und Geschwister am 18. Januar 1918

Dmitri Schostakowitsch
Allegro con brio

Frau S. an den befehlshabenden Offizier ihres Ehemannes

Fritz Kreisler
Liebesleid

Leutnant Wolfgang Panzer an seine Eltern und Geschwister am 22. November 1918

Robert Schumann
Humoreske

Lazare Silbermann an seine vier Kinder am 7. August 1914

Anton Webern
Langsam

Brief von Emil Merkelbach an Sallie Maxwell Bennet

Rebecca Clarke
Andante molto semplice

Ein offener Brief der deutschen und österreichischen Suffragetten