Alban Berg Quartet

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The Alban Berg Quartet (abbreviated: ABQ; named after the composer Alban Berg ) was one of the world's leading string quartets .

founding

The Alban Berg Quartet was founded in 1970. After attending a private concert by the quartet, Helene Berg, the widow of the composer Alban Berg, gave her consent to the use of her husband's name.

Artistic work

The repertoire of the quartet was far from excited conviction from early classical to the romantic, the Viennese School (Berg, Schoenberg and Webern ) and Bartók to contemporary composers such as Witold Lutoslawski and Luciano Berio . The former commented on the quartet as follows: “I owe the Alban Berg Quartet recognition for an unforgettable event. In Vienna last year they played my quartet in a way that probably cannot be surpassed. "

After a few months of intensive studies in the USA at the invitation of Walter Levin ( LaSalle String Quartet ), a meteoric career began. A focus for the quartet was the annual cycle that had been played for decades in the Wiener Konzerthaus , to which the quartet was invited immediately after their return. This was later followed by his own cycles in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Paris), the Cologne Philharmonie , the Auditorio Nacional de Música (Madrid) and the Zurich Opera House . In addition, the ABQ played in almost all the major venues in the music world (including La Scala , Concertgebouw Amsterdam , Berliner Philharmonie , Carnegie Hall , Teatro Colón , Suntory Hall ) and at all the major music festivals , such as the Berliner Festwochen , the Edinburgh Festival , IRCAM in the Center Georges Pompidou , the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino , the Wiener Festwochen and the Salzburg Festival .

Repertoire and world premieres

The quartet's repertoire included almost all works of the classical and romantic string quartet literature, numerous works from the 20th century. Including works written for the quartet or premiered by the ABQ (in chronological order) by Fritz Leitermeyer , Erich Urbanner (quartets No. 1 and 4), Gottfried von Eine (1st string quartet), Roman Haubenstock-Ramati (1st and 2nd . String Quartet), Wolfgang Rihm (Quartet No. 4 and Requiem for Thomas ), Alfred Schnittke (Quartet No. 4), Luciano Berio (Notturno) and Kurt Schwertsik (Adieu Satie) .

Recordings

Sound recordings were an important aspect of the Alban Berg Quartet's work. The ABQ already received the Grand Prix du Disque for its first recordings ; Over time, the awards accumulated on more than 30 renowned record awards, including the German Record Critics' Prize, the Japanese Grand Prix, the Edison Award and the Gramophone Award. The Beethoven cycle of the Alban Berg Quartet ( EMI ) alone was sold over a million times, and Béla Bartók even achieved the highest sales figures (over 500,000). Recordings of the quartets by Brahms (Teldec and EMI), the late quartets by Haydn, Mozart (Teldec and EMI) and Schubert (EMI) were made, but the group's repertoire also extended far beyond the Viennese classical music, from Mendelssohn and Schumann to Janáček , Stravinsky , the Second Viennese School , Bartók, to contemporaries such as von Eine , Lutosławski , Rihm , Berio , Haubenstock-Ramati and Schnittke . Many of the latter works were written for and dedicated to the ABQ. In the last 20 years or so of its existence, the quartet has almost exclusively published live recordings of concerts; among others from Carnegie Hall , later mostly from the Wiener Konzerthaus, for example a Beethoven string quartet cycle on CD, video and DVD. The ABQ also maintained chamber music partnerships with artists such as Alfred Brendel , Rudolf Buchbinder , Philippe Entremont , Elisabeth Leonskaja , Boris Pergamenschikow , Maurizio Pollini , András Schiff , Heinrich Schiff , Christian Zacharias and Tabea Zimmermann . The ABQ is an honorary member of the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft and an associate artist of the Royal Festival Hall London.

Teaching

The quartets that studied with the Alban Berg Quartet include the Cuarteto Casals , the Fauré Quartet , the Asasello Quartet , the Schumann Quartet , the aron quartet , the Amaryllis Quartet and in particular the Belcea Quartet and the Artemis Quartet .

End of career

In July 2005 the violist of the Alban Berg Quartet, Thomas Kakuska, died. Following his request, the ABQ continued its concert activities with Isabel Charisius, a former student of Thomas Kakuska. The loss was too great, as cellist Valentin Erben said (“There was a big rupture in our hearts”). In 2007 the quartet announced that they would split up at the end of the 2007/2008 concert season.

In October 2006 the Wiener Konzerthaus held a memorial concert for Thomas Kakuska in the Great Hall with musician friends such as Angelika Kirchschlager , Elisabeth Leonskaja , Erwin Arditti , Magdalena Kožená , Thomas Quasthoff , Heinrich Schiff , Sir Simon Rattle and many others. An orchestra consisting of friends of the quartet, friends and former students of the Vienna Philharmonic made music under the direction of Claudio Abbado . After a worldwide tour in 2008, the Alban Berg Quartet finally ended its concert activities.

Members

period violin violin viola violoncello
1971-1978 Günter Pichler Klaus Maetzl † 2016 Hatto Beyerle Valentin heirs
1978-1981 Gerhard Schulz
1981-2005 Thomas Kakuska † 2005
2005-2008 Isabel Charisius

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Reviews of the time testify to: "One of the greatest ensembles of our time" (San Francisco Chronicle). “Certainly one of the greatest chamber music ensembles” (France Soir, Paris). "Few if any quartets can match their strength and assurance in the Viennese classics and romantics" (The Times, London), "The Alban Berg Quartet has set legendary standards in chamber music" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). “[The] miracle named Alban Berg Quartet” (Die Presse, Vienna). “Beethoven, is that you? The world's most famous string quartet is saying goodbye to the concert podium after forty years. An encounter with the Alban Berg Quartet. "(Die Zeit)
  2. ^ "Personnellement je dois au Quatuor Alban Berg une reconnaissance particulière pour un événement vecu inoubliable. Ils ont joué l'annee passée à Vienne mon quatuor d'une façon qui ne sera probablement jamais egalisée. "
  3. ↑ "Dear friends, I am forever grateful for your" Notturno ". I hope that these small changes will not be a problem. Thank you. I will be in New York. Warmest greetings, Luciano"
  4. ↑ artemis quartett ( Memento from July 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Anushka Asthana: Arts and Entertainment . In: The Sunday Times (login required) . 
  6. ^ Rory Williams: Calling it Quits. For the Alban Berg Quartet . www.stringsmagazine.com. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  7. ^ Beijing Today. Weekend . June 5, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2008.