Christian Tetzlaff, Wigmore Hall
Two concerts for the price of one.... a moving Schubert song cycle is followed by the same composer's immense, farewell chamber work
Christian Tetzlaff plays an all-Schubert concert. Photo: Giorgia Bertazzi
Culture Whisper is lucky to hear a lot of classical music, but there are artists whose performances echo for years after the final applause.
The violinist Christian Tetzlaff was the soloist in a thrilling performance of Brahms's Violin Concerto at the BBC Proms in 2011, and I can hear it still. His musicianship and power is second to none. And there is a chance to hear Tetzlaff in more of the Romantic German repertoire, but on a more intimate scale, at Wigmore Hall.
In an all-Schubert programme (11 Feb), joined by his cellist sister Tanja, among others, Tetzlaff plays Schubert's String Quintet. This great piece from 1828 was written only weeks before the composer's death, and it derives its greatness both from the mature skill of the composer and from the gravity that comes with an 'extra' instrument – a second cello is added to the usual string quartet line-up of two violins, viola and cello.
At times sublime, at times joyful and dancelike, the Quintet is a wonderful work. In this unusual programme, which combines both instrumental music and song, it is preceded by the last of Schubert's great song cycles, the Schwanengesang ('Swansong'), with tenor Julian Prégardian as soloist. In these songs, a lover considers his beloved, nature and yearning: the last Schubert song ever written, Die Taubenpost, says that Longing is the name of the carrier pigeon that conveys the lover's thoughts.
There is a second chance to hear the Tetzlaff Quartet at Wigmore Hall as part of the Jörg Widmann season (10 June).
The violinist Christian Tetzlaff was the soloist in a thrilling performance of Brahms's Violin Concerto at the BBC Proms in 2011, and I can hear it still. His musicianship and power is second to none. And there is a chance to hear Tetzlaff in more of the Romantic German repertoire, but on a more intimate scale, at Wigmore Hall.
In an all-Schubert programme (11 Feb), joined by his cellist sister Tanja, among others, Tetzlaff plays Schubert's String Quintet. This great piece from 1828 was written only weeks before the composer's death, and it derives its greatness both from the mature skill of the composer and from the gravity that comes with an 'extra' instrument – a second cello is added to the usual string quartet line-up of two violins, viola and cello.
At times sublime, at times joyful and dancelike, the Quintet is a wonderful work. In this unusual programme, which combines both instrumental music and song, it is preceded by the last of Schubert's great song cycles, the Schwanengesang ('Swansong'), with tenor Julian Prégardian as soloist. In these songs, a lover considers his beloved, nature and yearning: the last Schubert song ever written, Die Taubenpost, says that Longing is the name of the carrier pigeon that conveys the lover's thoughts.
There is a second chance to hear the Tetzlaff Quartet at Wigmore Hall as part of the Jörg Widmann season (10 June).
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| What | Christian Tetzlaff, Wigmore Hall |
| Where | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Bond Street (underground) |
| When |
11 Feb 18 – 10 Jun 18, Two concerts |
| Price | £5 - £50 |
| Website | Click here for more information and booking |