Tetzlaff Quartett

Tetzlaff Quartett

»Energetic, dramatic and of crystal clear intensity,« praised the New York Times about the Tetzlaff Quartett, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary in 2024. For its birthday, the ensemble, led by star violinist Christian Tetzlaff, has selected an emotional and demanding programme from Brahms right up to the present. There are two reasons to celebrate when the Tetzlaff Quartett returns to the Elbe river: besides their own anniversary, the musicians are also celebrating Arnold Schönberg, who celebrates his 150th birthday in 2024 and to whom the Elbphilharmonie is naturally devoting a special focus for this occasion. With his first string quartet, one of the composer’s earlier works is on the programme – radically innovative, yet still tonal, it pushes the artistic forms of the late Romantic period to their limit. In his own creative process, Schönberg studied the string quartets of Johannes Brahms in particular. Captivated and touched by his motif writing, Schönberg wanted to see himself in the Romantic tradition. How apt then that the Tetzlaff Quartett presents his work after the second string quartet by Brahms. Emotionally unsettling, incomprehensibly dense and profoundly melancholic, the composition is still one of the key works of the quartet repertoire. The musicians, however, open the evening with a fascinating insight into the musical present: for this, they provide the Second String Quartet by the successful composer Jörg Widmann, who has been closely connected with the Elbphilharmonie ever since it opened. His string quartet entitled »Choralquartett« is a unique slow and also emotionally profound movement which holds many novel sound effects.

Tetzlaff Quartett plays Beethoven, Widmann and Brahms

In addition to his career as a celebrated soloist, violinist Christian Tetzlaff performs all over the world with his own string quartet. This guest performance in the Chamber Music Hall opens with Beethoven's late, expressive String Quartet op. 131, the beginning of which Richard Wagner called “probably the most melancholy thing that has ever been expressed in sound”. In his “Choral Quartet”, Jörg Widmann expresses “sounds and phases of futility that come from nowhere and lead nowhere,” he says. The programme concludes with Johannes Brahms' Second Quartet, which steers a lush course between melancholy and joie de vivre.

Alinde Quartett

The Alinde Quartet, a captivating young chamber music ensemble, is embarking on a project centered around Franz Schubert, who inspired their name from a poem he set to music. Their #Schubert200 project, commemorating the composer's 200th death anniversary, includes recording all his quartets and other chamber works, alongside commissioning new pieces inspired by "Alinde." This project is supported by the Althafen Foundation.

Gewandhaus-Quartett

Gewandhaus-Quartett

Reinhold Quartett

Gewandhaus-Quartett

HAGEN QUARTETT

While writing his first two string quartets, Johannes Brahms struggled under the shadow of Beethoven, whose overwhelming influence he felt for decades. His Third Quartet of 1876 is audibly indebted to another composer: the light touch and musical wit of Joseph Haydn are present throughout the score. The Hagen Quartett’s program creates an intergenerational dialogue between the two composers.

Schumann Quartett

Musical works of Frank Martin, Viktor Ullmann, Gabriel Fauré

Vogler Quartett

Individuality finding harmonious expression in an ensemble – this is the quintessence of the Vogler Quartet, which has been pursuing a unique global career with an unchanged line-up since its formation in 1985. With an intelligent approach to chamber music, outstanding playing technique and interpretive sensitivity, Tim Vogler, Frank Reinecke, Stefan Fehlandt and Stephan Forck have created an unmistakable string quartet sound which consistently offers new insights into the genre. The group has had a concert series at the Konzerthaus Berlin since 1993.