Program:
Beethoven - String Quartet in F, on. 18, no. 3
Priaulx Rainier - String quartet no. 1
Schubert - String quartet no. 14 'Der Tod und das Mädchen'
Schubert's 'Der Tod und das Mädchen'
The German Signum Quartett has a special connection with the music of Schubert. "Schubert only needs a few chords to bring you, as a listener, directly into a certain atmosphere. It is timeless, fragile and human music", viola player Xandi van Dijk says. This certainly applies to Schubert's best-known string quartet Der Tod und das Mädchen. The piece is called that because in the slow movement Schubert harks back to the song of the same name that he composed earlier. This song is a dialogue between a girl and death, in which a girl fiercely resists the coming of death, while trying to comfort her.
Xandi van Dijk about the music of Schubert:
"For me, it has to do with the directness of his sound language. Schubert only needs a few chords to bring you as a player and listener directly into a certain atmosphere. It is timeless, fragile and human music. I find it incredibly beautiful how Schubert floats in his music between intensely human emotions and heavenly atmospheres"
(Read the interview with Xandi van Dijk.)
Beethoven and Priaulx
In addition to playing golden classics, the Signum Quartet is also happy to provide a pleasant surprise. For example, have you ever heard of the South African composer Ivy Priaulx Rainier? As a sort of Bartók of the southern hemisphere she immersed herself in the folk music of her country and that resulted in extremely original music. The Signum Quartet connects Priaulx Rainier's First String Quartet with Schubert's Fourteenth String Quartet 'Der Tod und das Mädchen' and Beethoven's Third String Quartet. 18, no. 3.
Signum Quartett
For 25 years the Signum Quartet has played in the highest regions of the string quartet. The press is clear about what makes their game so special. "The quartet plays transparently and animated," Gramophone writes. OpusKlassiek calls the Signum Quartet "a top ensemble that provides heartwarming performances" The group owes a lot to the masterclasses the four musicians took with legendary string quartets such as the Melos Quartet and the Alban Berg Quartett. Whether that musical legacy is audible in the playing of the Signum Quartet? "In the beginning yes, but now we have our own sound as a quartet," says Xandi van Dijk.
Youtube tip
Listen to the Signum Quartet in Schubert's string quartet 'Der Tod und das Mädchen'Seizoen '19-'20 Schubert cello De dood en het meisje Der Tod und das Mädchen Beethoven Priaulx Rainier altviool strijkkwartet viool Kamermuziek