Schubert's Rosamunde
Alina Ibragimova, violin
Pablo Hernán Benedí, violin
Emilie Hörnlund, viola
Claire Thirion, cello
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
String Quartet No. 13 a-minor D 804 «Rosamunde»
Allegro ma non troppo – Andante – Menuetto – Allegretto – Trio
– Allegro moderato
Recorded at Rougemont Church, 17th July 2018.
Schubert played by Chiaroscuro Quartet
At the centre of Chiaroscuro’s concert is the great Rosamunde quartet by Franz Schubert. In this quartet melancholy is expressed through the melody of the song “Gretchen am Spinnrad” in in the first movement and zest for life can be heard in the third movement through a folk tune. Chiaroscuro Quartet is led by violinist Alina Ibragimova, who is part of the Menuhin’s Heritage Artist programme.
On track for a great symphony
After finishing the cycle “Die schöne Müllerin” Schubert again turns back to chamber music in order to find his way towards a great symphony. He starts by composing a string quartet that later will be known as “Death and the Maiden” and then proceeds with the composition of another quartet allowing him to reuse older themes. One of these already used themes is from his ballet “Rosamunde”. This theme can be heard in the Andante of the String Quartet No. 13. This ballet also provided the name Rosamunde for the quartet. Another theme Schubert uses is the melody of the song Die Götter Griechenlands, after a poem by Friedrich Schiller. This melody can be heard in the minuet. The piece is first performed on March 14th in the Musikverein in Vienna and was a great success. As a result the Rosamunde quartet is immediately published by Sauer and Leidesdorf. It is the only string quartet that was published during Schubert’s lifetime.
Chiaroscuro
The Italian term chiaroscuro denotes the light and dark paintings of the Baroque era. The strong contrasts should provide the paintings with more spatiality and expression. In their artistry, Chiaroscuro strives towards that effect. They play on gut strings and try to get as close as possible to the performance practice of the baroque and classical period. Chiaroscuo Quartet exists since more than ten years and has built a reputation of an exceptional ensemble for the music of the Mozart era.
