Arcanto Quartett & Silke Avenhaus

Every concert given by the Arcanto Quartet is one to be cherished. Due to their busy solo careers, these four exceptional musicians only come together a few times a year. Yet they still manage to form a very tight ensemble of the highest degree. It is striking how they, like a chameleon, manage to move between different styles and composers. They attain the right sound idiom each and every time. It doesn't matter whether it is Mendelssohn, Dvorák or Kurtág propped on their music stand, you just know it will sound right. The last quartet by Mendelssohn seems an exception in his quartet oeuvre. Rarely are such biographical events so clearly apparent in his music. Sounds of hopelessness and desperation grab you by the throat. Mendelssohn screams out his sadness over the loss of his beloved sister Fanny. Just as intense, but much livelier, is Dvorák's delicious Piano Quintet opus 81. All the elements which make Dvorák so adored are in plentiful abundance: stirring melodies, dancing rhythms and natural sparkly sound textures, which from time to time bear a hint of Slavonic melancholy. The Arcanto Quartet together with their pianist friend Silke Avenhaus guarantee an infectious pleasure.