MASTERS OF CLASSICISM: HAYDN AND BEETHOVEN

  Košice Music Spring 27.05.2025 Courtyard of the East Slovak Gallery 7:00 PM

In case of inclement weather, the concert will take place in the Historical Hall of the East Slovak Gallery.

Leonkoro Quartet
Jonathan SCHWARZ , 1st violin
Amelie WALLNER , 2nd violin
Mayu KONOE , viola
Lukas SCHWARZ , cello

Programme:

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D major, Op. 20 No. 4 26`
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131 40`

The concept of the string quartet was almost non-existent at the beginning of Joseph Haydn's career. The idea of the equality of four voices without any keyboard accompaniment was new, and Haydn became its pioneer in the 1750s. Within a few decades, quartet work grew into an artistically ambitious genre in which composers began to push the boundaries with a growing number of works by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Haydn's six Quartets, Op. 20, were published in Paris in 1774, which shows how popular Haydn already was at that time. These include the Quartet in D major, Op. 20 No. 4 , which has a rich coloration, impressive contrasts and, despite being in a major key, often uses minor coloration.

Beethoven's late string quartets have been regarded with a sense of sacred reverence since their creation, and so is his Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131. Beethoven considered it one of his most beloved works. Few works could rival its depth, scope, originality, and perfection. He completed it in May 1826, making it chronologically the penultimate of his completed quartets. The work culminates Beethoven's long-standing experiments with directing the flow of the entire work, structured into seven sections that follow one another without interruption. However, these sections de facto consist of five conventional movements with a fugue introduction and two connecting interludes. This Beethoven work thus radically overturns the traditional form of the string quartet.