Modulor Quartet Concert at Music Centre Kolarac Endowment, March 30th

News | March 31, 2025

Author: Isidora Bovan, Radio Belgrade 2

Although we are used to hearing international guests mostly on the Grand Stage of Kolarac Endowment, this month the Music Gallery of the Endowment and the hall in front of the Grand Hall will also become stages for interesting string quartet concerts from across Europe during the next two weekends. We spoke with cellist Nemanja Stanković, project coordinator for the MERITA platform activities in Serbia, about this Creative Europe project.

MERITA is a European platform that brings together young string quartets, cultural institutions, and historical sites, offering opportunities for international collaboration and artist mobility. Through innovative concepts and artistic residencies, this platform promotes European cultural heritage and enables young musicians to explore new approaches to classical music. As for Serbia and Belgrade, I am very pleased—as the project leader—to announce the beginning of this concert cycle, because this platform was founded back in 2022 and includes 17 partners from 12 different countries. That is a major achievement for the Kolarac Endowment, as it gives us the opportunity to connect with other cultural institutions across Europe, including organizations from Italy, Portugal, Greece, Norway, and others. What is unique about the MERITA platform is that, within it, young string quartets—38 of them selected two years ago—have had the opportunity over the past year and a half, with the help of mentors provided by MERITA, to design their own unique projects on specific themes. These included topics such as “How to turn a concert hall into a theater,” “Music and other arts”, and “Chamber music for young audiences,” among others. The themes were very diverse, and the quartets had the chance to dive into a world that performing musicians are not usually familiar with – thanks to professionals who guided and trained them in areas that are typically outside a musician’s core expertise. For example, the Modulor Quartet performed a program primarily intended for younger audiences, but which was also tailored to regular attendees of the Kolarac Endowment. I believe the concert was a great success and that the audience responded wonderfully. In Belgrade, we will welcome two more string quartets on April 6th—Atenea from Spain and Desguin from Belgium—as well as on April 27th, when we will hear two quartets from Italy: Eos and Indaco. I must say it is a great pleasure to host these ensembles, as they are some of the leading quartets of today. Even though they are composed of young musicians, they are highly successful, with impressive careers and awards from competitions around the world. So, I invite all listeners to be part of our MERITA adventure in Belgrade, and to join us in discovering chamber music and the new projects through which chamber music continues to thrive.“

In addition to performing classical repertoire, the Modulor Quartet—which performed yesterday for the Belgrade audience—is also dedicated to contemporary music and interdisciplinary projects that connect this art form with dance and architecture. Even their name pays tribute to the golden ratio theory by Swiss architect Le Corbusier. The Modulor Quartet consists of talented young artists: Gregor Hänssler (first violin), Beatrice Harmon (second violin), Lucia Muller Martinez (viola), and Nigel Thean (cello). After winning several competitions, they recently became members of the European Chamber Music Academy and the MERITA platform. For their concert in Belgrade, they prepared a project titled Un:rest intime.

The everyday elements of our lives—the speed of the times we live in, the rapid change of content in today’s films and social media—cause a restlessness that inspired these musicians to design a concept that aims to bring listeners back to a more stable rhythm. The Modulor Quartet moves through a sonic universe that plays with the concepts of space and time, elegantly and effectively combining classical and contemporary music programs. Their concert became a visual-auditory performance, enhanced by choreography, with musicians walking and playing throughout the hall of the Kolarac Endowment. In this form, the concert represented one of the most authentic types of contemporary classical music performances, specifically intended for children.

Works by five different composers – Henry Purcell, Pascal Dusapin, Johannes Brahms, Maurice Ravel, and Hans Zimmer – were not performed in full, but rather in excerpts, forming a 30-minute arrangement offering a rich and dynamic sound experience. This was ideal for young listeners, yet equally engaging for all ages. We learned more about their idea from violinist Beatrice Harmon:
„The idea for this program came to us a year ago. We had played all of these pieces that you heard today and selected our favorite rhythms from them. The concept behind it involves space and time—where we want to perform and how we want to play with that space. So you could see us walking everywhere and playing off-stage as well. We wanted to use more space than usual. We also wanted to play with time, so some passages were performed slower, others faster, and certain pieces were performed simultaneously (e.g., Hans Zimmer’s and Maurice Ravel’s works). The reason we dedicated this to children is so they could learn that classical music is much more than performers sitting on stage playing some old music in the same way for years. We can be free and do what we want, and in that way reach children, especially teenagers, who can connect with different moods and atmospheres in the music—because as a teenager, you go through a lot of emotional states. So, we hope they can relate to and identify with the different moods we tried to create in this space and time.“

The arrangement by the Modulor Quartet included excerpts from Fantasy in Four Movements by Henry Purcell, String Quartet No. 4 by Pascal Dusapin, Romance from String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 by Johannes Brahms, the second and fourth movements from String Quartet in F major by Maurice Ravel, and the piece Cornfield Chase from the film Interstellar by Hans Zimmer, arranged by Wayne Nélinson.

The excerpts were mostly recognizable by familiar themes or stylistic elements, making the performance interactive. It allowed the audience to listen to music in a new way—removed from its original context. Their performance as a whole was excellent—for example, the striking tones from the work of contemporary French composer Dusapin and the irresistibly buoyant pizzicato from the composition by his older colleague Ravel, though stylistically and characteristically different, offered a rich variety to the sonic presentation. Moreover, playing from different corners of the Kolarac hall provided a special acoustic game. Despite the presumed discomfort of playing while weaving through the audience or walking up and down stairs, the execution appeared effortless. Given how often we hear discussions about the eternal question—”how to bring classical music closer to wider audiences”—the Modulor Quartet offered an excellent way to capture the listener’s attention effectively in just 30 minutes. In order to perform such a concept, beyond an interesting arrangement and idea, one needs enthusiasm, freedom, and a convincing, authentic, and well-rehearsed interpretation—all of which the Modulor Quartet delivered last night.