Doric String Quartet

Beethoven’s late string quartets are among the most fascinating that 19th century music history created: passionate, stirring and yet full of disruptions, they have asked questions of their listeners ever since and are not for nothing regarded as forerunners of the modern age. How fortunate we are that the Doric String Quartet is, in a sense, concluding its Beethoven cycle at the Elbphilharmonie.

Six months before his death, Beethoven completed his final string quartet – a sophisticated composition with catchy melodies, unexpected twists and turns as well as an eerily beautiful slow movement consisting of variations. Its finale entitled »Der schwer gefasste Beschluss« (The Difficult Decision), in particular, made the work famous and provides conjectures to this day as to why the composer probably inwardly slaved away. The String Quartet in A minor, which he composed after a long illness, also offers an insight into Beethoven’s soul. At the centre of this five movement work is an intimate »Dankgesang eines Genesenen« (Thanksgiving of a Convalescent) – touching music which makes you forget time and space.

The award-winning Doric String Quartet contrasts Beethoven’s emotional depth with a contemporary work of tonal painting by Andrea Tarrodi. In her string quartet »Light Scattering« completed in 2014, the Swedish composer tonally captures the fascinating interplay of light refractions in glass. For this, she teased out some never before heard sounds from the stringed instruments – »bright sounds of extraordinary beauty«, hailed the Wiener Zeitung about Tarrodi’s music.