According to The Times, violinist James Ehnes plays »in a league of his own«, while violist Antoine Tamestit, praised by The New York Times as an »enchanting soloist«, is a familiar presence on the world’s leading stages. Yet for all their brilliance as soloists, both artists are equally at home as passionate chamber musicians. In the Laeiszhalle Recital Hall, they now lead a distinguished ensemble of five musicians in two of Johannes Brahms’s »undercover symphonies«.
Light music was never Brahms’s métier. His works captivate through their concentration and density: qualities that often allow even his chamber music to assume symphonic dimensions. His two string quintets in particular demonstrate a masterful balance between intimate cohesion and orchestral breadth, and they demand a cast of exceptional calibre to bring them fully to life.
How a wealth of ideas and colours can emerge from even more economical means is demonstrated by George Benjamin’s work for »just« two violas, performed in the middle of the programme. »My wish was to conjure, at times, an almost orchestral richness and diversity of sound,« the composer has said – a thought that resonates beautifully with Brahms’s own dense and multi-layered musical universe.
PERFORMERS
James Ehnes violin
Alexandra Preucil violin
Antoine Tamestit viola
Sào Soulez Larivière viola
Christian Poltéra violoncello
PROGRAM
Johannes Brahms
String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88
George Benjamin
Viola, Viola
- Interval -
Johannes Brahms
String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111
