Artis Quartett Wien

Mozart's opera 'Don Giovanni' arranged for string quartet? Today it seems hard to believe, but around 1800 it was the most natural thing in the world. With the establishment of the imperial band at the Viennese court in 1782, the demand for instrumental adaptations of operas for performances at court or in the open air increased. Oboist Johann Nepomuk Went, for example, was one of the most important suppliers of this sort of adaptations. He penned a woodwind version of Mozart's 'Don Giovanni'. In 1804 an illustrious unknown in turn created a version for string quartet, as a result of the growing popularity of the string quartet as a genre and the growing demand for quartet adaptations. The Artis Quartett proves that this transcription is more than just a curiosity. The quartet version also does justice to the opera's finely developed orchestration and multiple psychological layers. Furthermore, Artis also draws parallels with Mozart's other string quartets. Following a theoretical explanation accompanied by live excerpts, the concert section will feature highlights from the score. Love, murder, breathtakingly beautiful women, a seductive villain, a statue that comes to dinner… You'll experience it all without the help of singers, costumes or scenery. With nothing more than four string players.