Simply Quartet: Rebecca meets Wynton

Simply Quartet

Internationalität ist Trumpf: Gegründet in China, ausgebildet unter anderem in Madrid, beheimatet in Wien – kein Wunder, dass das Simply Quartet immer große Ziele verfolgt. Als ehemalige »ECHO Rising Stars« kehrt das Ensemble nun nach Köln zurück.Die Mitglieder des Simply Quartet sind stets auf der Suche und möchten das Verständnis für Musik immer wieder neu vertiefen, ob bei klassischen oder bei modernen Werken. Dient »Simply« dabei als Beschreibung ihres gemeinsamen Weges? Mitnichten: »In Schanghai gab es nahe des Konservatoriums ein Restaurant namens ‚Simply Thai‘. Das hat uns allen gefallen.« Das Simply Quartet schöpft aus Einflüssen, die das Miteinander bis heute prägen. Dazu zählt neben China und Österreich auch Norwegen, das Heimatland des Cellisten.

Simply Quartet

Simply Quartet

Kronos Quartet

According to the New York Times, »the Kronos Quartet has broken the boundaries of what string quartets do.« And it’s true: the quartet led by founder David Harrington has given this traditional genre a thorough update. From minimal music by Steve Reich and Jimi Hendrix arrangements to world-music expeditions to Afghanistan and Brazil, the Kronos Quartet’s sound atlas is a broad and expansive one. The fab four now celebrate their 50th birthday in the Elbphilharmonie. In their »Five Decades« world tour, the Kronos Quartet will be appearing in a line-up that has remained virtually unchanged since 1978. Alongside a work by this year’s spotlight composer Sofia Gubaidulina, the programme also includes »Different Trains« by the minimal music legend Steve Reich, which Kronos premiered many years ago. The piece – which was composed more than 40 years after the Second World War – is a musical reflection on the National Socialists’ deadly deportations of Europe’s Jewish population. The quartet also presents other highlights from their enormous library of music, which includes 1,000 commissions alone, and they also perform brand-new works and arrangements. Even after half a century, the kronometer just keeps ticking.

Composer in Residence: Caroline Shaw & Kamus Quartet

For lovers of chamber music the Recital Hall is the venue of choice. You can hear the musicians breathe and you can practically touch them. This hall is also cherished by musicians for its beautiful acoustics and direct contact with the audience. In the Recital Hall you can hear the best musicians of our time. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Recital Hall for yourself!

The Leonkoro Quartet plays Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Rihm

The Leonkoro Quartet has enjoyed a meteoric rise to success. Founded in 2019, the ensemble is already at home on international concert stages, making its celebrated Philharmonie debut in February 2024. “The Leonkoro Quartet’s risk-conscious power of intensity is legendary. Its virtuosity is unbelievably natural,” wrote the Tagesspiegel afterwards. The young musicians return this season – with an energetic string quartet by our composer in residence Wolfgang Rihm, who died in July of this year, a wonderfully melodic opus by Felix Mendelssohn, and a key work from Beethoven’ s late oeuvre.

The Simply Quartet plays Mozart, Grieg, Clarke and Marsalis

Finding coherence in the complex – that is the Simply Quartet's recipe for success. After winning several international competitions, including the Carl Nielsen Competition in Copenhagen and the Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, the young ensemble is one of the rising stars of the quartet scene. For their debut in our quartet series, the four musicians will perform classics of the genre such as Mozart's “Hunting Quartet” and Grieg's Opus 27, as well as Wynton Marsalis’ jazzy Creole Contradanzas and American composer Rebecca Clarke’s thought-provoking Poem.

Barbican Quartet

The Barbican Quartet was founded in 2015, and is taught and supported by string quartet stars like Günter Picheler and the Quatuor Ébène. The four musicians present works by Alban Berg and Beethoven as part of the »Teatime Classics« series. 2022 was a memorable year for the Barbican Quartet: they won first prize and other special prizes at the ARD Music Competition, as well as a third prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition. The ensemble had only just found a new second violinist, and thus a new sound and style of ensemble playing, in February 2022. The Barbican Quartet has appeared at many international festivals, and has been broadcast on the radio several times. In the 2022/23 season, they produced and released their first CD. An extensive tour will take them to different parts of Europe, to Canada and the USA.

Critics’ Quartet

Moderated by Olaf Wilhelmer, four critics will once again discuss a central work this year: in 2024 it will be Aaron Copland’s 3rd Symphony.The “Critics’ Quartet” takes place instead of the usual introduction to the concert with the Kansas City Symphony conducted by Matthias Pintscher.

Belcea Quartet

Takács Quartet

Beethoven's quartets dedicated to the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Count Razumovsky, are some of his most famous. The first of the three is majestic in its scope, filled with both carefree melodies and tension-filled contrasts.When it comes to string quartets, Joseph Haydn was a role model and important source of inspiration for Beethoven, and there's a musical thread from Haydn's C major quartet to Beethoven's Razumovsky quartets.The ensemble tackling this music, the Takács Quartet, was founded in Hungary but is now based in the USA. They are known for their brilliant playing and innovative programs. They often collaborate with writers and artists, and at several concerts, the actress Meryl Streep has participated.The Takács Quartet also commissions music. One such initiative is the beautifully flowing Flow by American composer Nokuthula Ngwenyama, who has looked out towards space and drawn inspiration from the Big Bang and the expansion of the universe.