Early Haydn (& Schram)
with Attacca Quartet,
09:30 / Wed 2 Febr / Bimhuis / € 20
Core Repertoire Early Haydn First Time in the Netherlands Morning New American Rising Stars
Attacca Quartet
Amy Schroeder (violin)
Domenic Salerni (violin)
Nathan Schram (viola)
Andrew Yee (cello)
Haydn
String Quartet no. 31, op. 33/1
Schram
From 'Oak and the Ghost': Woljeongsa / Oh My Heart / Soft
Haydn’s thirty-first string quartet is the first of his quartets in which he really manages to present his vision of the form. In the entire string quartet history it is one of the few quartets in b minor. It seems Haydn didn’t really write in that key with true conviction: the quartet opens in a major key and never really feels like a minor key piece. In addition to Haydn, the Attacca Quartet also plays pieces from the album Oak and the Ghost – a project by their viola player Nathan Schram with a hint of folk.
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.