Works by Haydn, von Zemlinsky, Müller-Hermann a.o.
Chamber concert
The term ›Vienna School‹ is used to refer to both the group of classical composers around Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Viennese Modernists such as Arnold Schönberg. No new ›school‹ arises out of nowhere. At the turn of the 20th century, names like Schreker, Korngold and Zemlinsky stood out. Zemlinsky’s first string quartet in A major echoes Johannes Brahms, which is no coincidence since Brahms mentored and encouraged him. Interestingly, Zemlinsky was also Schönberg’s only official teacher. While Schönberg subsequently gained fame and prestige, the work of fellow Zemlinsky student and the first female composition professor in the German-speaking world, Johanna Müller-Hermann, is only now slowly being rediscovered. Her bold chromatic string quartet is a true gem! The programme is rounded out by two pieces from Joseph Haydn: No. 5 from his Op. 20, a groundbreaking work for the string quartet genre, and the final quartet from Op. 64, composed 20 years later during Haydn’s first trip to England, where it was performed in London to high acclaim.
