The Tetzlaff Quartet performs Dvořák and Schubert

At Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Christian Tetzlaff leads his internationally renowned Tetzlaff Quartet in the final string quartets by two masters of the genre, Antonín Dvořák and Franz Schubert. First up is Dvořák’s expressive String Quartet No. 14, written upon the composer’s return to Bohemia after three years in the United States. This last purely musical work Dvořák composed before turning his focus to program music and operas demonstrates a return to his Slavic musical roots. The exuberant first movement's thematic explorations give way to a spirited Czech folk dance-inspired Molto vivace, followed by a richly textured choral third movement full of Dvořákian lyricism, before the piece finishes with a masterfully contrapuntal Allegro non tanto. As a stunning stylistic counterpoint, the Tetzlaff Quartet round out their program with Schubert’s posthumously published String Quartet No. 15, characterized by its relentless melodic development and ambitious orchestration. Often described as “mysterious,” the work exchanges traditional resolutions for more open-ended harmonic exploration after which “you end up with more questions, a sense of something hanging in the air” (New York Times).

Photo © Giorgia Bertazzi