What are today’s answers to the great string quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven? For many years, the Kuss Quartet has been opening up new perspectives on the work of some of the most important composers of our time. Through commissions and world premieres, the ensemble continually expands the repertoire of this almost mystical chamber-music formation.
Enno Poppe, Isabel Mundry, Mark Andre, Rebecca Saunders – the list of featured composers reads like a who’s who of contemporary music. Some of them have sent the quartet musical postcards: concise miniatures from distant musical landscapes. Different styles and approaches meet, interact and unfold into a kaleidoscopic panorama of today’s string quartet art.
Alongside these shorter works, the programme features two larger-scale compositions: Francisco Coll’s String Quartet No. 1, »Códices«, and Johannes Maria Staud’s Second String Quartet, a co-commission by the Elbphilharmonie. In his »Cahier des équilibres mouvants«, Staud develops a multifaceted interplay of balance and musical reflection on the fragile ecosystems of our planet.
PERFORMERS
Kuss Quartett string quartet
Jana Kuss violin
Oliver Wille violin
William Coleman viola
Mikayel Hakhnazaryan violoncello
PROGRAM
Enno Poppe
Auftakt
Manfred Trojahn
Ein einsames Cello hallt durch die leere Saalflucht eines ländlichen, sommerlichen Château
Mark Andre
Seven Pieces for String Quartet
Isabel Mundry
Postkarte
Francisco Coll
String Quartet No. 1 »Códices«
- Interval -
György Kurtág
Officium breve in memoriam Andreae Szervánszky for String Quartet, Op. 28
Rebecca Saunders
Postkarte
Johannes Maria Staud
Cahier des équilibres mouvants
