Kuss Quartett

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. His final string quartet is 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 Kuss Quartet contrasts Beethoven’s emotional depth with a piece dedicated to them that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the luminary: The composer Bruno Mantovani quotes the thematic material of all Beethoven quartets – within eleven minutes. »My relationship with Beethoven is very intimate, so it seemed impossible for me to compose a homage to him. For this Sixth Quartet, intimidated by the prospect of a confrontation with a corpus that for me, represents the Nirvana of musical history, I decided to turn toward a humorous project.«