In this concert, the ADAM Quartet explores the combination of music and poetry. Through music by Barry Guy and Franz Joseph Haydn and poetry by Samuel Beckett and the scripture that inspired Haydn’s work, the ADAM Quartet attempts to embody verbal and non verbal experiences through music.

Barry Guy’s quartet “What’s the word” is based on the similarly titled poem by Samuel Beckett. It was the last poem he wrote before his death in 1989, and it is a repetitive search for something unnamable, constantly returning back to the notion of folly. Is folly the continued search, the loss of words or is it the beautiful state of pure humanity that is searching for something that cannot be found?

The concert will end with Haydn’s quartet “The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross”, based on the scriptures that describe Jesus’ final moments. A timeless piece, originally composed for orchestra, this Quartet “speaks” the text with music and has moved its audience for centuries.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Barry Guy – What’s the word

Joseph Haydn – The seven last words of Christ Hob.XX:2

1. Introduzione in D minor – Maestoso ed Adagio
2. Sonata I (“Pater, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt, quid faciunt”) in B-flat major – Largo
3. Sonata II (“Hodie mecum eris in paradiso” in C minor, ending in C major – Grave e cantabile
4. Sonata III (“Mulier, ecce filius tuus”) in E major – Grave
5. Sonata IV (“Deus meus, Deus meus, utquid dereliquisti me”) in F minor – Largo
6. Sonata V (“Sitio”) in A major – Adagio
7. Sonata VI (“Consummatum est”) in G minor, ending in G major – Lento
8. Sonata VII (“In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum”) in E-flat major – Largo
9. Il terremoto (Earthquake) in C minor – Presto e con tutta la forza

In “Intimate Letters”, the Quartetto Adorno revisits the most beautiful pieces of the string quartet repertoire, intertwining them with letters penned by their composers. Through enveloping the audience, the quartet cultivates an intimate ambiance, offering a distinctive chance to be fully immersed in the music and within its sonic essence. With this performance, the Quartetto Adorno invites to delve into a broad spectrum of sentiments and emotions, including love, joy, fear, and anxiety. From age 10.

MUSIC PROGRAM

L.Janáček – Quartet No.2 “Intimate Letters”
I. Andante – Con moto – Allegro

W. A. Mozart – Quartet “Dissonance” KV 465
IV. Allegro molto

A. Webern – Bagatellen Op.9
IV. Sehr Langsam

J. Brahms – Quartet No. 3 Op. 67
II. Andante

D. Shostakovich – Quartet No. 8 op. 110
II. Allegro molto

L. v. Beethoven – Quartet op. 130
V. Cavatina

A. Dvorak – Quartet Op. 96 No. 12 “American”
IV. Finale

A multisensory experience through various musical styles and perspectives. This project responds to the increased sense of alienation reality by redefining the classical concert format into a dynamic, four-act journey. Each act is designed to challenge and expand the audience’s sensory experiences and understanding of music, encouraging deeper engagement and connection in a communal setting. Music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki presented in surprising ways brings the audience through different stages of awareness. Come closer, feel deeper, immerse yourself.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki

PRESENCE is an unusual event combining classical music, mindfulness and nature to create a deeper concert experience. In a world more hectic and stressful than ever, we wish to create a space for presence. A concert experience that helps the audience to breathe, sense, feel and listen their way to a calm and attentive state of mind. Through music and mindfulness, we will let the audience reflect on the impermanence of our relations in the world and how to connect fully to the moment.

Music by Haydn, Shostakovich, Kølster and Glass as well as short guided meditations in between the movements will bring the audience through different stages of awareness. Together with the AKELA Quartet, they will go on a journey of deep listening.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Music by Haydn, Shostakovich, Kølster and Glass as well as short guided meditation in between the movements will bring you through different stages of awareness.

Voyage of Vibrant Verses: A European Soundscape aims to capture and celebrate diversity through an immersive concert, mirroring the global resonance found in Europe’s intertwining cultures.

This is not just a celebration of Europe’s musical heritage, but an invitation to explore the continent’s long-standing spirit of openness, dialogue, and creativity. Through music, the Akhtamar Quartet aspire to evoke the essence of a modern Europe – a continent that remains always vibrant with the chords of diversity, integration, and global connectivity.

The concert, designed by the stage director and composer Jelena Dabic, is envisaged as a voyage through Europe’s sonic landscape, time and space, portraying the co-existence of diverse cultural expressions.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) – Quartet n. 13 in G major, op. 106, B. 192
I. Allegro moderato II. Adagio ma non troppo III. Molto vivace IV. Finale. Andante sostenuto – Allegro con fuoco

Jelena Dabic – Anzhamanak
Premiere of the first extract composed in 2024

Komitas (1869 – 1935) – Serguey Aslamazyan (1897 – 1978) – Miniatures

Traditionally string quartets plan their concert programs according to their artistic ambitions and desires, often not taking into account the space that they will be performing at. The quartet sits almost exclusively in a half-circle in front of the audience creating an invisible wall between the performers and their public. THE UNEXPLORED inverse this paradigm by adapting the performance to each space where the musicians are playing, and thus make each one of our concerts a unique experience, transforming the string quartet concert into a memorable spiritual experience.

MUSIC PROGRAM

The concert program is inspired from the architecture and design of the venue, therefore it is continuously changed and adapted.
Two core pieces in the MERITA project are:

Vasks – String Quartet No. 2 “Summer Tunes”

Jérôme Désigaud / Quatuor Akilone – “Parastiches”

The Alinde Quartet performs Schubert’s masterpiece “Death and the Maiden” to bring the concert experience closer to theater and multimedia by playing with lights and colors. The Alinde Quartet opens with a presentation about colors associated with certain emotions or atmospheric backgrounds. Concert attendees become light designers by using handheld lamps/battery torches and light filters/gels and responding in real-time to music changes.

MUSIC PROGRAM

F. Schubert – Streichquartett „Der Tod und das Mädchen“, D 810, d-moll 1824
I.Allegro
II.Andante con moto
III.Scherzo. Allegro molto
IV.Presto

The Amai Quartet follows the journey of a budding musician as the guiding theme of the performance. From the initial encounter with her instrument, the cello, to the exploration of its various playing techniques, including group harmonization, the musical repertoire subtly illustrates the underlying theme of the show. Throughout the performance, the Quartet unveils excerpts from a contemporary piece, inviting the audience to piece them together and enjoy the complete work at the end of the concert. From age 6.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Luigi Boccherini – String Quartet op. 2 n.6
I. Allegro con spirito

Aleksey Igudesman – Si Señor

Johannes Brahms – String Quartet no. 3 in B flat major, op. 67
III. Agitato (Allegretto ma non troppo) – Trio – Coda

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – String Quartet No.14 in G Major K387 “Spring”
IV. Molto allegro

Dmitri Shostakovich – String Quartet op. 83 n. 4
III. Andante cantabile

Caroline Shaw – Entr´Actexq

The quartet aims to explore the performer-audience relationship in a dynamic, adaptable space, offering an immersive, intimate experience of Beethoven quartets. The “Beethoven in Perspective” project aspires to transcend traditional concert settings, allowing close proximity and interaction, inspired by art galleries, to create a transformative and versatile concert experience.

MUSIC PROGRAM

All musics by L. van Beethoven

Op. 18 no. 1 I. Allegro con brio
Op. 18 no. 5 II. Menuetto
Op. 18 no. 1 II. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
Op. 18 no. 4 I. Allegro, ma non tanto
Op. 18 no. 3 II. Andante con moto
Op. 18 no. 2 IV. Allegro molto, quasi presto

Music and art bringing people together. A unique classical concert in which people in the audience will collaborate with the musicians by painting. Through this project we want to reach a specific audience, who often find it difficult to access classical music concerts or the concerts are not adapted to their needs and sensitivities. The concert will be divided into four parts. Three sections will convey different kinds of emotions: Joy and Fun, Anger and Calmness. Participants will be asked to create images reflecting the feelings that will be evoked by each part of the concert. The last part will be an improvisation inspired by the drawings of the audience.

MUSIC PROGRAM

A selection of musical fragments expressing different moods:

I PART (joy and fun)
Joseph Haydn – String Quartet Op. 77 No.1 in G Major
I. Allegro moderato
Bolesław Woytowicz – String Quartet No. 2:
II. second movement

II PART (anger)
Dmitri Shostakovich – String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110
II. Allegro molto
Krzysztof Penderecki – String Quartet No. 3 (fragments)

III PART (calmness)

Alexander Borodin – String Quartet No. 2 in D Major
I. Allegro Moderato
III. Notturno – Andante (fragments)

The “Unseen Harmony” project explores music’s transformative power in connecting people beyond visual interactions, focusing on the experiences of the visually impaired community. It aims to heighten awareness about non-visual communication and the profound relationship between the blind community and music, pushing boundaries beyond traditional concert formats.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Envisioned in the repertoire are Bartok’s Third Quartet, Benjamin Britten’s Three Divertimento, and a special piece composed by Mauro Hertig, written in 2022 for the quartet.

Redefining the concert experience, the Belinfante Quartet’s project utilizes minimalistic setups with iPads and table lamps to create a dynamic performance environment. Initially dispersed throughout the venue, the musicians allow the audience to experience surround sound live. In the second part, they mimic Venice’s gondoliers in their seating arrangement and manipulate lighting to match musical transitions. The concert culminates with a chaotic display of news videos on their iPads, leaving the audience immersed in a cacophony of sounds, each performance uniquely different.

MUSICAL PROGRAM

Benjamin Britten – String Quartet No.3 Op.94 (1975)
I. ‘Duets’
II. Ostinato
III. Solo
IV. Burlesque
V. La Serenissima (Recitative and Passacaglia)

Arr. Traditional music of Venice (Belinfante Quartet)

Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite stands as a cornerstone of 20th-century string quartet repertoire, noted for its richness and complexity. To enhance audience engagement and accessibility to this masterpiece, our project employs various artistic tools. Central to our vision is interpretive dance featuring modern choreography, which narrates the piece’s story. Additionally, we integrate visual and auditory elements such as light installations reflecting the piece’s mood and historical context, projections of Viennese art and interiors from the 1920s, audio tracks of relevant poems and letters, and a comfortable café-style audience setup with Viennese delicacies for tasting. Post-concert, we engage in discussions with the audience to reflect on the multi-sensory experience and open dialogue on related topics that emerge during this immersive journey together.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Alban Berg (1885 – 1935) Lyric Suite
I. Allegretto gioviale II. Andante amoroso III. Allegro misterioso. Trio estatico IV. Adagio appassionato V. Presto delirando. Tenebroso VI. Largo desolato

The project offers a rethinking of the dogma “Theater should happen here and now,” where musicians, based on the material of the Dvorak Quartet, improvise and insert individual pieces from other musical works. Also, during the concert, they experiment with acoustics, change places, and woven into all this are improvised lighting and additional sounds that are played through the speaker, which truly makes each performance completely different and one of a kind.

MUSIC PROGRAM

A. Dvorak – String Quartet Nr 12 in F Major, Op. 96 ’American’

Infused into each movement: improvisational elements and musical quotations; snippets by e.g. Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonin Dvorak, Igor Stravinsky, Caroline Shaw, Mathias Coppens,…)

The project includes a concert format that traverses the six main emotions associated with six different movements from the string quartets of Beethoven, the composer who symbolizes the exaltation of man and his
feelings.

The pieces are associated with the various facets of the emotion in question and actively dialogue with a multimedia show of lights, projections and sound effects akin to the character of the music created especially during the 5-day workshop in Athens by Dutch artist Cor Langerak.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) – Quartet n. 15 in A minor, op. 132 (Selection)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) – Quartetto n. 7 in F major, op. 59 n. 1
I. Allegro

Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828) – Quartet n. 14 in D minor, “Death and the Maiden”
I. Allegro II. Andante con moto III. Scherzo. Allegro molto. Trio IV. Presto

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) – Quartet n. 15 in A minor, op. 132 (Integral)

This is a concert with a focus on storytelling. The project will explore how composers of four different cultures and eras tell a story in their own unique voices. The audience is also invited to connect with the music—some of which they will likely have never heard before —by relating it to their own personal narratives and experiences. Through a combination of artistic performance, background presentation, and audience engagement, the listeners will leave with a broad view of how stories are communicated through music across cultures.

MUSIC PROGRAM

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in F major Op. 50 No. 5 “The Dream”

Kaija Saariaho: Terra Memoria

Raven Chacon: Journey of the Horizontal People

Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters”

This project creates an engaging performance combining contemporary music, video, and spoken text, fostering intercultural dialogue within an immersive artistic experience. Featuring pieces by young composers living outside their birth countries, the continuous format alternates string quartets with pre-recorded audio and video interviews, exploring themes of music, migration, and cultural influence. The project aims to expand the string quartet repertoire, address diversity in music, connect contemporary music with modern audiences, and emphasize the need for cultural dialogue in a globalized world. It targets concert institutions and music festivals, aiming to reconnect young people with contemporary music.

MUSIC PROGRAM

R. Bahar: “Memory of a stone skipping the skin of the water on the lake” (2021)

Camilo Bornstein: New piece for string quartet (2023)

I.Xenakis: “Tetras” for string quartet OR B.Bartok: String Quartet no 4

A.Sowa: Piece for Saxophone and Violin player (new arrangement for string quartet 2020)

Georgia Koumara: Unbewusste Spiele für Streichquartett (2015)

The Gerhard Quartet explores the relationship between music and emotions. A diverse musical repertoire will engage in a dialogue with images and films, illustrating extreme states of the human mind. This innovative concept abolishes the conventional boundaries between performers and audience. The quartet smoothly performs one piece after another, sometimes using self-composed transitions, which creates one coherent whole. Renowned for their dedication to beauty and emotional depth, Quartet Gerhard seamlessly blends tradition with contemporary sensibilities. Through their unique approach, they foster an intimate atmosphere where every facet of expression is explored, inviting listeners to embrace the unconventional and embark on a transformative musical odyssey.

MUSIC PROGRAM

The Gerhard Quartet explores the relationship between music and emotions. A diverse musical repertoire will engage in a dialogue with images and films, illustrating extreme states of the human mind. The concert program will feature works by Bach, Bartók, Janáček, Beethoven, Schubert and other composers.

This project combines traditional quartet performance with innovative multimedia elements, using video projections inspired by Italian Renaissance art and atmospheric lighting to extend the visual frame. The musicians, seated in a classic quartet arrangement, integrate shadow play through a centrally mounted projector, enhancing the visual narrative. Audio elements include poems played between movements, controlled by the musicians using pedals and managed via Resolume Arena software. This approach transforms the concert into a visually immersive and acoustically rich experience.

MUSIC PROGRAM

L. Boccherini – string quartet op. 2 n. 6

G. Malipiero – string quartet n. 1 “Rispetti e strambotti” / n. 2 “Stornelli e ballate”

G. Susani – Movimento di quartetto (2023 – dedicated to Quartetto Goldberg)

G. Verdi – string quartet

“QuiXotadas” explores the intricate interplay between idealism and disillusionment, inspired by Don Quixote. This project bridges literature and music, capturing Don Quixote’s quest for noble ideals in a pragmatic world. The musical program mirrors his journey, portraying both his commitment to dreams and the harsh truths he faces. Through original arrangements, singing, dynamic performances, and stage movement, “QuiXotadas” transforms the traditional chamber music experience, blurring the lines between literature and music. During intermission, the audience influences the performance by choosing between Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” and Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3. This project redefines string quartet concerts by exploring the eternal debate of how noble ideals navigate challenging realities.

MUSIC PROGRAM

FIRST PART
Mateu Fletxa “El Viejo” – Ensalada “La Negrina” (Arr. Arnold Rodríguez)
Gabriela L. Frank – Quijotada 1: Alborada
Gabriela L. Frank – Quijotada 2: Seguidilla para la Mancha
Gabriela L. Frank – Quijotada 3: Moto Perpetuo: La locura de Don Quijote
Alberto Ginastera – Cuarteto no2 mov.1: Allegro Rústico
Gabriela L. Frank – Quijotada 4: La danza de los Arrieros
Enrique Granados – Romanza para cuarteto de cuerda

SECOND PART: (one quartet chosen by the audience)
Franz Schubert – “Der Tod und das Mädchen” D.810
Dimitri Shostakovich – String Quartet No. 3