ConcertPulse
Philharmonic Chamber Music Recital
Elbphilharmonie, Kleiner Saal (Hamburg)
Richard Strauss’ »Capriccio« seems remote from the world, in the face of the cruelty witnessed in the Second World War. The musical means of the late 19th century are used here in the 20th century to describe the time of the late 18th century. In the string sextet where the action begins, the »rapture« from earth is captured as though in a tableau. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Third String Quartet was also thought to not be of its time, in a very different way. Described as the »patchwork of a madman«, this »crazy« music was met with incomprehension by the public. Beethoven though was deliberately seeking to challenge expectations when he took chamber music out of the living room and into the major concert halls of the day.