Gmund – Candlelight Evening: A wonderful evening with wonderful musicians

The quartet has already performed at the Salzburg Festival, at the Elbe Philharmonic Orchestra Hamburg and in major concert halls in Europe, Asia, North and South America. In Gmünd, Mozart’s String Quartet in C major KV 465 was presented. The dark and beguiling C minor strings were juxtaposed with the festive and bright sounds of C major, the gorgeous allegorical melodies were replaced by stormy strings, and the first violin completed virtuoso rounds and conducted dialogues with the cello.

This was followed by the String Quartet No. 2, Op., 31 by Joseph Sook, who will be 150 years old in 2024. A pioneering and demanding work of its time, the work was created at the height of his compositional output. After an angry introduction, the quartet interpreted the main theme with contrasts between expressive and joyful tonal sequences, punctuating the piece in various repetitions, with motivic components, accompanied by pizzicato rhythms on the cello.

After the break, Robert Bobiczka joined us on piano. Together they presented Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat major Op. 44, in which heightened dynamics alternated with reserved tonal sequences and fiery passages contrasting with lyrical passages. For a short time the viola also took the lead. The piano accompanied the strings with shimmering rhythms, fiery interjections and melodic sequences.

A wonderful evening with great musicians, received by the audience with long applause.