Signum Quartet

Program

Since its founding in 1994, the Signum Quartet has established a reputation for energetic performances and imaginative programs. As enthusiastic advocates of new music and unusual repertoire, they develop in this concert the idea of the fugue in string quartets, from Mozart’s arrangements of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and his own “Hunt” Quartet to the astonishing fugal finale of Beethoven’s Op. 59 No. 3. The concert also includes a much more recent “Hunt” Quartet (2003) by German composer Jörg Widmann, which uses Schumann’s Papillons as its starting point. Also featured on this concert are some of Signum’s signature quartweets, or various composers’ Twitter-submitted quartets of 140 notes or less.

PROGRAM:

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
Adagio and Fugue in E Major, K. 405/3 (1776)
     after J.S. Bach BWV 878 from the Well-Tempered Clavier

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
String Quartet No. 17 in B-flat Major, K. 458 “The Hunt”
     Allegro vivace assai
     Menuetto and Trio. Moderato
     Adagio
     Allegro assai

Quartweets
     a selection of twitter-submitted quartets of 140 notes or less                                                                     

JÖRG WIDMANN (b. 1973)
String Quartet No. 3 “Jagdquartett” (2003)

Intermission

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)                                                                    
String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59/3
     Introduzione. Andante con moto – Allegro vivace
     Andante con moto quasi Allegretto (A minor)
     Menuetto. Grazioso – Trio
     Allegro molto

About the Artist

Thanks to its rousing and lively interpretations and individual programme concepts, the Signum Quartet has made its mark on the international quartet scene and has established itself as one of the most distinguished ensembles of its generation.

Intensive studies with the Alban Berg Quartet, Artemis Quartet and the Melos Quartet as well as collaborations with György Kurtág, Walter Levin, Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleisher and Joerg Widmann have shaped the artistic development of the Signum Quartet, which has won numerous awards (German Music Competition, Premio Paolo Borciani, London International String Quartet Competition) and has been accorded intensive support (i.a. BBC New Generation Artists).

Their recording ‘No.3’, released in May 2013, presents quartets by Bartók, Schnittke and Berg, and in January 2014 was announced as recipient of the International Classical Music Awards 2014 ‘Best Chamber Music Recording’.

Concert appearances have taken the Signum Quartet to international podia from Madrid and Barcelona to Basel and Paris. The quartet has performed at the Hamburg Laeiszhalle, the Berlin Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, the Luxemburg Philharmonie, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Wigmore Hall London, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Boston Harvard Musical Association as well as at the Schleswig-Holstein, Rheingau and Schwetzingen Music Festivals and at the BBC Proms.

Regular collaborations with contemporary composers are an integral aspect of the Signum Quartet’s artistic work. Bruno Mantovani will dedicate his String Quartet No. 3 to the ensemble, which they will perform in London, Vienna, Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam in the 2016/ 17 season.

Chamber music partners of the quartet include Joerg Widmann, Igor Levit, Nils Moenkemeyer, Adrian Brendel and Dominique Horwitz.

Watch & Listen

Watch & Listen