Arcanto Quartett & Jörg Widmann

Talk about a dream line-up! Let's start with the Arcanto Quartett. Four of the most celebrated soloists in the world have, for over ten years, been playing together as the ultimate 'super quartet'. Then add Jörg Widmann to the mix. This clarinet wizard has already won our hearts and minds in numerous ways. And now let's get them to play what many people believe to be the most beautiful chamber music that Mozart ever wrote. The Clarinet Quintet, with its gloriously long, spun out, lyrical melodies. Can anything better this? As an appetiser, Arcanto will get things started with Schumann's First String Quartet. Surprisingly enough, this is less frequently performed than his Third. However brilliant the Third may be, the First Quartet really grabs the listener. In it, the composer eagerly contrasts warm themes with thorny rhythms. There are impulsive twists galore, which always feel natural. The music itself is like a living organism, swelling and contracting with the breaths of the performers. One minute it's a whirling tornado; the next it's a peaceful sea of calm. Halfway through the climax there's a ghostly appearance. Schumann makes all this incongruity seem quite natural. Allow yourself to be carried away by this unbridled genius!