Karol Szymanowski Quartet / Michail Lifits
Hamburg International Music Festival / NDR das neue werk
Enthralling juxtaposition
What do Alfred Schnittke and Gustav Mahler have in common? They both lived intermittently in the same cities – Vienna and Hamburg – albeit at different times, of course. Musically however, the German-Russian modernist composer Schnittke and the great late-Romantic symphonist Mahler seem to be absolutely worlds apart. Had it not been for Mahler, however, musical modernism would have been almost unthinkable. After all, it was he who flung the gates wide open into the 20th century, paving the way for composers just like Schnittke. The Karol Szymanowski Quartet and the pianist Michail Lifits explore the (musical) relationships between the two composers with a diverse programme of chamber music.
A point in case: In his piano quartet, Schnittke referred directly to Mahler’s A Minor movement for the same instrumentation. It was, incidentally, to remain Mahler’s only work of chamber music, and is performed in the concert. Schnittke’s penchant for paying homage to the old masters too in his work is evidenced in the »Suite im alten Stil« (»Suite in the Old Style«) – a series of stylised baroque dances that quote themes by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, among others. Schnittke’s Third String Quartet and Piano Quintet set the scene for this enthralling juxtaposition of composers.
Performers
Karol Szymanowski Quartet
Agata Szymczewska violin
Robert Kowalski violin
Volodia Mykytka viola
Karol Marianowski violoncello
Michail Lifits piano
Programme
Alfred Schnittke
Suite im alten Stil / Bearbeitung für Streichquartett von Leo Mykytka
Streichquartett Nr. 3
– Interval –
Gustav Mahler
Klavierquartettsatz a-Moll
Alfred Schnittke
Klavierquartett nach einem Fragment Gustav Mahlers
Klavierquintett
Series
NDR das neue werk
Festival
Hamburg International Music Festival
Spotlight
Alfred Schnittke