At this summer’s first Carte Blanche Concert, the dynamic Escher String Quartet returns to Music@Menlo to perform the rarely heard quartet cycle of one of the early twentieth century’s most intriguing musical voices, Alexander von Zemlinsky. Quartet violist Pierre Lapointe offers some insights into this remarkable program.
What drew you to the Zemlinsky quartets?
In 2006, we received an email from our managers stipulating that we were getting a performance opportunity at the Ravinia Music Festival if we were willing to play three Zemlinsky string quartets in one concert. Of course, none of us knew Zemlinsky, but it did not really matter. At this stage of our career, we were extremely new on the music scene and were definitely not in a position to refuse any offers. We then decided to accept that project and almost immediately started working on String Quartets nos. 2, 3 and 4 of forgotten composer Alexander von Zemlinsky. Retrospectively, I don’t think any of us were expecting to like his music, but it did not take us too long to realize how great the string quartets were and also how technically challenging they can be at the same time. Number 2 is especially demanding because its forty minutes of uninterrupted music requires more stamina and more concentration than what most string quartets usually require. In contrast, number 3 is the shortest of the four and consequently exploits brevity of gesture. As for number 4, Zemlinsky’s last quartet, its form and content strongly allude to Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite.
How long has the quartet been working on and living with these pieces?
We have been working on these quartets since 2007 and have recently released with the Naxos label two CDs showcasing the four string quartets of Alexander von Zemlinsky, plus two unfinished movements composed around 1927.
What can listeners expect from the experience of hearing the complete Zemlinsky quartet cycle as one program?
During this event, listeners will have a rare chance to witness the transformation of a composer, Alexander von Zemlinsky, through the chronological performance of his four quartets in one evening. Simultaneously, on a broader level, listeners will also have the opportunity to feel the rapid evolution of classical music at the turn of the twentieth century through the presentation of this quartet cycle.
Among the four string quartets, the Classicism of Brahms in the first and the gigantic scope of Wagner and Mahler in the second stem from German Romantic music while the neoclassical, quasi-atonal impersonality of the third and the experimental six-movement structure of the fourth showcase typical effects and tendencies of twentieth-century music.