Giacomo Puccini stands for grand opera and grand emotions. It is not widely known that the composer devoted himself to chamber music alongside his rich operatic output, and even tried out the "grand" form in it. Most of his works were written during his time as a student in Milan as a testament to his love of experimentation - including his Tre minuetti. From Italy he traveled to Japan with Toshio Hosokawa: he draws his inspiration from the connection between nature and man. Similar to the art of Japanese calligraphy, he sets note after note like a brushstroke, creating the most beautiful sound paintings. Camille Saint-Saëns was also an artist of timbres: his fantasy for harp and violin represents the gesture of French music par excellence - lightness and elegance meet clarity and haunting charm. Ludwig van Beethoven was by no means light-hearted when he set about writing his String Quartet in E flat major. A few months earlier, the Battle of Aspern, one of the bloodiest massacres of the Napoleonic Wars, had raged outside the gates of Vienna. A faint hope arose because Napoleon was unable to achieve a clear victory. The composer put some of this hope in the face of brooding melancholy into his music.

Markus Tollmann

Events

Upcoming events

Mar 9, 2025

4th Chamber Concert · Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Future and recently performed repertoire

Cello in String Quartet No. 10 by Beethoven

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

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