Kirill Gerstein & Hagen Quartet Presented by Liszt Academy

The Hagen Quartet based in Salzburg are a genuine family enterprise: the chamber music ensemble were established in 1981 by four siblings, Lukas, Angelika, Veronika and Clemens, with Rainer Schmidt filling the role of second violinist from 1987. The quartet became known primarily for their translucent sound and their immersive interpretations of works by the classical masters, so it is particularly interesting to see that this time they are bringing to the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy something they are less used to performing, an out-and-out Romantic programme,. In the first part of the programme they reinterpret a composition by Robert Schumann from 1842, one of the most commonly played piano quintets, with the assistance of Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein, teacher at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. The second half of the concert features an unusually keyed, sombre toned string quartet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky dating from 1876.