Quatuor Modigliani / Schubert III

• Classical Music

In his biography of the composer, Albert Einstein wrote about the Quartet Movement in C minor, D. 703, that »No bridge leads from the earlier quartets to this piece«. And it is true that the dark and eerie mood of this first movement of an unfinished string quartet stands alone in Schubert's quartet oeuvre. Here, Schubert audibly breaks new ground, laying the path that led to his justly acclaimed late string quartets. In their third concert in the Elbphilharmonie's 2022/23 season, the Quatuor Modigliani combine this unusual work with the composer's second and his last quartet.
Aged only 15, Schubert already shows love of experiment and self-confidence in the D major Quartet D. 94. His final essay in the genre, the G major quartet of 1826, already points the way to the late 19th and the 20th centuries with its bold harmonies and highly unusual sound concept. It is ranked today alongside the late Beethoven quartets as one of the pinnacles of the genre.