c Sharp Completer

"The Sacconi Quartet celebrates its 21st birthday with a recording of two of the finest works in the repertoire: Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ Quartet, and one of Beethoven’s magnificent late quartets, the String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131. Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ Quartet represents a young man grappling with mortality, resulting in some of his most hauntingly beautiful music. At around the time Schubert worked on this piece, Beethoven was composing his late quartets, including the seven-movement String Quartet Op. 131 – the quartet Beethoven is said to have considered his greatest. The Sacconi Quartet writes of its relationship with these works in the album booklet: ‘For two decades and more, we have strived to bring this music to life. Music that we hold so dear to our hearts; music that we believe in, that we are passionate about; music that we are committed to sharing. We are still learning, still exploring, still discovering.’"

Leonard Bernstein's otherwise harmonious relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic hit a few bumps when he proposed that they perform this string quartet transcription of Beethoven's Quartet in C-sharp Minor, op. 131. But only a few minutes into the first rehearsal, all static evaporated. One hears why: this great, idiosyncratic piece–along with the Quartet in F, op. 135–is played with startling freshness and affection.

Classical Music Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, opening with its ominous trumpet solo, is today one of his best-known orchestral works – and, since Luchino Visconti’s use of the Adagietto in the classic film ‘Death in Venice’, is one of the most played. It was not always so: “The Fifth is a cursed work. No-one understands it”, commented the composer after the premiere. The genesis of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto – composed in C minor, his key for “Sturm und Drang” – was a similarly involved story. The young pianist Alice Sara Ott performs this deeply emotional, mature masterpiece in her first Tonkunstler subscription programme.