Mozart’s final three string quartets – the cycle that opens with K. 575 – are known as the ‘Prussian’ Quartets because they were intended (though not dedicated) for King Frederick William II of Prussia. This had musical consequences: the monarch was an accomplished cellist, and the cello part is accordingly given prominence. Published shortly after Mozart’s death, the quartets were received with great enthusiasm. As the Wiener Zeitung wrote: ‘Penned by a great musical genius shortly before his death, they display everything that constitutes art, beauty and taste in music’.
Edvard Grieg’s String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 27, is one of the most original chamber works of its time. After hearing it, Ferenc Liszt remarked: ‘It has been a long time since I encountered a new composition that intrigued me as much as this remarkable and admirable work’. Each of its movements draws on the melody of Grieg’s song Spillemænd, to a text by Henrik Ibsen, lending the quartet a strong sense of musical unity. The work is striking for its dense, almost orchestral texture, bold harmonies and dramatic intensity.
Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp minor, Op. 108 – the shortest of his fifteen quartets – was conceived as an intimate in memoriam following the death of his wife Nina. Commentators have noted the work’s extreme economy of means and the concentrated expression of its three movements, played attaca. The frequent use of mutes and the prominence given to individual melodic lines lend the music a cool, haunting tone. The central Lento offers an introspective portrait of solitude and grief, yet without any excess of pathos. Today, the work is regarded as one of the most deeply personal contributions to Shostakovich’s quartet output.
‘Young, cool and brilliant: the string quartet of the future’, wrote the Sydney Morning Herald of the ensemble in 2023. Since its foundation in 2012, Vision String Quartet has rapidly established itself as one of the leading ensembles on the international music scene, redefining the possibilities of the modern string quartet. Combining exceptional musicianship with electrifying originality, the four visionary musicians move effortlessly between the classical quartet repertoire and their own compositions, drawing inspiration from folk, pop, rock and minimalism.
Piotr Maculewicz