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BOUCHKOV / SZÜCS / BLENDULF / QUENTIN
Schumann, Raykhelson
Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet, one of the most touching portrayals of his love for his wife, Clara Schumann, is contrasted here with Igor Raykhelson’s Quartet, which is directly inspired by Schumann. The performance features some of the finest soloists in the Verbier family.
Programme
ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Piano Quartet in E-flat major Op. 47
IGOR RAYKHELSON (1961-)
Piano Quartet in G-Sharp minor “Homage to Robert Schumann”
Distribution
- Marc Bouchkov violin
- Máté Szücs alto
- Daniel Blendulf cello
- Julien Quentin piano
The twin brother of the Piano Quintet, a piece also performed at this year’s Verbier Festival, Schumann’s Piano Quartet shines not only in the famous cello theme of the slow movement, which is often counted among the most successful melodies of the German Romantic movement, but also in its dramaturgy, from the opening chords in the form of a solemn opera overture (it’s impossible not to think of The Magic Flute! ) to the fugato of the Finale, featuring a cascading descending scale motif before a simple, triumphant melody, in the style of a religious choir, concludes a work marked by a great variety of styles.
Raykhelson’s Quartet is conceived as a tribute to its predecessor. In a modernised version that owes as much to Fauré as to Shostakovich, we find the sense of nostalgia that makes Schumann’s work so beautiful. The second movement begins with a flight of scales, like Schumann’s Quintet, replacing the German composer’s heroism with a typically Slavic sense of irony. The slow movement opens with the same notes that concluded the slow movement of Schumann’s Quartet. It also features a cello theme, this time colouring the Schumannian imagination with more passionate influences that might evoke Franck or even Piazzolla. The Finale recaptures the lyricism and heroic emphasis of its illustrious model.