In the rather intimate world of chamber music, the string octet is a grand spectacle. This large-scale formation virtually calls for the fusion of two quartets – something that has been particularly successful in this case. For »one of the most exciting string quartets around at the moment « (Fono Forum on the Schumann Quartet) meets a young ensemble whose recent performance in Hamburg »left nothing to be desired in terms of chamber music« (Hamburger Abendblatt on the Simply Quartet). So nothing stands in the way of a great evening!
Mendelssohn’s string octet remains the gold standard for this ensemble. This comes as no surprise to anyone, given that the composer, aged just 16, produced a work here that is almost impossible to surpass in terms of light-footed perfection and extroverted brilliance – unless, of course, another such youthful stroke of genius as George Enescu’s Octet comes along!
Enescu’s contribution to the genre, composed when he was just 19, turned out to be nothing short of a veiled symphony. The late-Romantic sonority and breathtaking drama that flood from the strings almost burst the boundaries of the Recital Hall – an experience whose gripping power unfolds particularly impressively in the intimate acoustics.
PERFORMERS
Schumann Quartett string quartet
Erik Schumann violin
Ken Schumann violin
Matthew McDowell viola
Mark Schumann violoncello
Simply Quartet string quartet
Sueye Park violin
Antonia Rankersberger violin
Xiang Lyu viola
Ivan Valentin Hollup Roald violoncello
PROGRAM
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
String Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20
- Interval -
George Enescu
Oktett für Streicher C-Dur op. 7
