Early Haydn (& Hillborg)
with Calder Quartet
09:30 / Fri 4 Febr / Bimhuis / € 20
Core Repertoire Morning
Calder Quartet
Benjamin Jacobson (viool)
Tereza Stanislav (viool)
Jonathan Moerschel (altviool)
Eric Byers (cello)
Haydn
String Quartet no. 34, op. 33/4
Hillborg
Kongsgaard Variations
In the very first publication, Haydn’s thirty-fourth string quartet was not fourth in the series of six quartets, but last. Is this quartet actually the ending that Haydn intended? In that case, we may have to deem it more important than we would in the first place. Anders Hillborg’s Kongsgaard Variations helps us to do so. A nice counterpoint to Haydn’s humor and playfulness through its narrative contemplation. Swedish landscapes passing by like a reflection in the train window…
The Early Haydn is like the first cup of coffee of the day. Haydn's playful music transports you to 18th-century Vienna: wigs, ball gowns, golden halls… But Haydn also stimulates the intellect. The ease with which he allowed the four voices of the string quartet to converse with each other was innovative. Around 1781 he surprised his audience time and time again, now we mostly hear the brilliant foundation he laid single-handedly for the string quartet that followed for almost 250 years.