Mahler, Vasks and Brahms
“Et Arsis is memorable because of its sparkling spontaneity and joy, its commendable performance technique, its faultless sense of style, and its absolute synchronicity,” a music critic once wrote about the piano quartet, whose members live in Germany. The ensemble is comparatively new in that it is only marking its 10th anniversary this year, but during the decade since its establishment it has taken part in international competitions, gaining victories in Germany and Spain and receiving other praise and prizes from various funds. The musicians are happy to present the elegant aspects of chamber music at festivals and master classes, performing classical music, music from the age of Romanticism, and opuses by modern composers. During the Autumn Chamber Music Festival, the quartet will perform the Piano Quartet by Pēteris Vasks, who is patron of the festival. This is a modern opus that contains a pulse of romanticism and song. The creative friendship with the composer and work on recording the quartet are what has brought the ensemble to Rīga. “Song” is also the keyword for the only instrumental chamber music opus ever to have been produced by the important Austrian symphony composer, Gustav Mahler. It is seldom heard here. The same is true of the classical masterpiece produced as Opus 25 in Hamburg by Johannes Brahms.
Programme
Gustav Mahler, Piano Quartet in A Minor; Pēteris Vasks, Piano Quartet; Johannes Brahms, Piano Quartet in G Minor, op. 25
Participants
Et Arsis
Hristina Taneva, piano
Velislava Tanva, violin
Ainis Kasperavičius, viola
Diego Hernández Suárez, violoncello