‘It is not only the Leonkoro Quartet’s insight into the longings and distortions of human desire, but also their outstanding ability to shape these insights into sound that leaves us stunned.’
– Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The Berlin-based Leonkoro Quartet has been making waves on the international chamber music scene since triumphing at the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. Now partnering exclusively with the Alpha Classics recording label, the Quartet has a string of critically-acclaimed albums and performs regularly at venues such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and NYC’s Carnegie Hall. On their first Australian tour, their recital programs reflect their interpretative range and their ‘profound sensitivity’.
Their first recital introduces the work of Dutch composer and pianist Henriëtte Bosmans. A century prior, a young Felix Mendelssohn responded to the dual stimuli of Beethoven’s late quartets and the experience of falling in love with a string quartet of his own. Like Beethoven’s late compositions as the end of life approached, Mendelssohn here offers a rare insight into a composer’s sensibility at a moment of heightened meaningfulness in life. The program ends with Schubert’s monumental Death and the Maiden quartet, which sees a young composer grappling with what it means to create, even in the shadow of enduring illness.
Leonkoro Quartet are also performing at UKARIA on Sunday 3 May at 2.30pm. Further details can be found here.
Jonathan Schwarz | Violin
Amelie Wallner | Violin
Mayu Konoe | Viola
Lukas Schwarz | Cello
PROGRAM
Henriëtte Bosmans (1895–1952)
String Quartet [12′]
I. Allegro molto moderato
II. Lento
III. Allegro molto
Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13 [30′]
I. Adagio – Allegro vivace
II. Adagio non lento
III. Intermezzo. Allegretto con moto – Allegro di molto
IV. Presto – Adagio non lento
INTERVAL
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D 810 Death and the Maiden [40′]
I. Allegro
II. Andante con moto
III. Scherzo. Allegro molto – Trio
IV. Presto – Prestissimo