A finale with two masterpieces. Who doesn't know and love Schubert's only piano quintet with its famous variation movement on the "capricious trout"? The song's cheerful tone imbues the entire quintet with an aura of carefree musical joy, to which its bright, luminous sound also contributes. In stark contrast, this is preceded by Brahms's long-matured, final piano quartet, which reflects deep biographical conflicts. It is among the most impressive chamber music of the Romantic era. When he sent the final version to his publisher, Brahms once jokingly suggested that the edition of the score should include a picture of the composer "in a Werther costume"—an allusion to Goethe's despairing suicide victim, as well as a reflection on the lingering effects of his more than 20-year-long turmoil in his love triangle with Clara and Robert Schumann.

Trout Quintet

Hessischer Rundfunk

Supra Urbem – Great Frankfurt City Bell

Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts

Take a walk with us through the "factory" - home of Ensemble Modern, the Young German Philharmonic and the International Ensemble Modern Academy - and discover where the programs are planned and rehearsed that then travel all over the world.

Walkabout - Promenade Concert & Rooftop Concert

Deutsche Ensemble Akademie e.V.

Two clarinet works by Bartók, imbued with the richness of Hungarian and Romanian folk music, encounter the exuberant early piano quartet by his Hungarian friend Brahms. Construction, contrast, and surprising hints of jazz meet youthful energy, romantic ambition, and the spirit of the "Hungarian Dances." Bartók's "Contrasts" was the first work with which the Hungarian exile presented himself to the American public in 1940. Commissioned by the legendary Benny Goodman, it was Goodman's jazz background that inspired Bartók to compose the piece. When Brahms once sent his Hungarian friend Joseph Joachim the score of his piano quartet with the "Rondo alla Zingarese," Joachim readily admitted that the Hanseatic composer had surpassed him on his own turf.

Bartók Contrasts

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ_ZQW5C2pw&amp;t=2s

The Artelize Podcast Presenting Will Shutes: 'Bring it down out of the clouds to human being level'

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFe6mW6x9pc

The Artelize Podcast: 'Amplifying What Makes Us Human'. A conversation with Zuly E. Inirio

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36M5Hi6O80

The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

In turbo speed from the 18th to the 20th century: The Sonic.Art Saxophone Quartet moves effortlessly from Bach's B Minor Suite to Bernstein's West Side Story in the space of half an hour, condensing the sound colours of an entire orchestra onto soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. In the lunchtime concert, the four musicians from Belarus, Australia, Japan and Germany show how these worlds can be brought together with virtuosity. Their stylistic confidence, joy of playing and technical as well as musical perfection have already earned these well-rehearsed musicians a number of important international awards. We are looking forward to their debut at the Alte Oper and combine the event with an invitation to a small lunch in our foyers after the concert.

EPSG:4326

sonic.art Saxophonquartett

Alte Oper

As part of the "Armenian Soul" focus, violinist Sergey Khachatryan and his sister Lusine will perform in the chamber music series, presenting vibrant compositions from their homeland with members of the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra). The program includes "Armenian Miniatures," transcribed from centuries-old folk music by Komitas Vardapet, a priest, singer, and founder of modern classical Armenian music; a romantic and expressive piano trio by Yerevan-born Arno Babadjanian, considered a masterpiece since its premiere in the 1950s by the Oistrakh Trio; and an equally important string quartet by the Soviet-Armenian composer Edvard Mirzoyan, full of graceful lyricism and intense drama. Each piece is a musical reflection of the "Armenian soul."

Colors from Armenia

Julia Fischer, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Nils Mönkemeyer and Benjamin Nyffenegger have been working together regularly for 15 years, devoting themselves to the royal genre of chamber music in intensive rehearsal and concert phases. Contrary to what the name might suggest, this is not a 'primaria' quartet, but a true chamber music ensemble in which four musicians work together as equals. Each of them is a gifted soloist. The combination of the highest virtuosity, a well-balanced ensemble spirit and great joy in playing results in quartet artistry of the highest order, which we can look forward to again this season. This time with Franz Schubert, Dmitri Shostakovich and Johannes Brahms.

Julia Fischer Quartett

German Brass owes its success to its sound. As a pioneer among brass ensembles, German Brass has not only made music history since its founding in 1974, but continues to build on its success story. The ten solo wind players are particularly distinguished by their uncompromising commitment to creating the genuine sound of their ensemble, finding and reinventing it in every concert and every recording. German Brass celebrates sound – and thus creates an experience for the audience.

German Brass

The Isidore String Quartet takes its name from Isidore Cohen, longtime member of the Beaux Arts Trio and the Juilliard Quartet. Cohen remains an icon of the American chamber music world and a pillar of New York's Juilliard School, where the members of the Isidore Quartet studied and came together as an ensemble inspired by the example of the Juilliard Quartet. Founded in 2019, the quartet used the time without a performance due to the coronavirus to work intensively on its ensemble sound and was rewarded with the first prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022, the most important chamber music competition on the American continent. Since then, the quartet's career has gone from strength to strength, and it is now the leading young ensemble in the USA, as well as touring Europe every year. For their Frankfurt concert, the 'Isidores' are bringing a brand new quartet by jazz pianist Billy Childs, which will receive its German premiere here, and Antonín Dvořák's great Symphonic G Major Quartet.

Isidore String Quartet

French chamber music for flute, oboe, and English horn. A concert full of distinctive works from the circle of the extraordinary composer Lili Boulanger, who at the age of 19 became the first woman ever to win the prestigious Prix de Rome and died far too young just a few years later. Lili Boulanger was a child prodigy without equal. At the age of five, she began her studies at the Paris Conservatoire, learning piano, violin, cello, harp, and organ. Her life was shaped by two themes: her exceptional talent and an early lung condition. When she won the Prix de Rome, she also received a scholarship for a three-year residency at the Villa Medici in Rome. Her doctors tried to dissuade her from the trip. But for her, there was no doubt: she had to have this experience. In the end, she left behind over 50 works, including chamber music, hymns, and choral works such as a cantata.

Chant du soir

A brass quintet of exceptional caliber. When trumpet, trombone, horn, and tuba come together in the hr concert hall, you can expect a rich, magnificent sound and a varied and captivating program. Frankfurt Radio Brass was founded in 2023 by five members of the hr Symphony Orchestra with the desire to present the audience not only with orchestral repertoire but also with the broad and brilliant spectrum of brass music at the highest level. From Baroque and Romantic to contemporary, there's something for everyone, because the musicians of Frankfurt Radio Brass have made it their mission to present every genre of music with the same passion, musicality, and technical perfection that listeners have come to expect from the hr Symphony Orchestra. The joy of making music together is always paramount and is visible and palpable to everyone.

Brass Connection

Artists in Residence Lucas & Arthur Jussen will be performing chamber music, presenting captivating works for two pianos or pianists. The program ranges from the vibrant and moving Schubert movements to the rhythmic fire of Béla Bartók and the Romanticism of Robert Schumann. Bartók impressively showcased the secret affinity between the sound of two pianos and percussion in his famous sonata. For piano four-hands, however, the early Romantic Schubert left behind more than any other great composer: among other things, the most monumental sonata movement for piano four-hands we know: a stormily beginning, almost grim Allegro, which later inspired the publisher to title it "Life's Storms." Yet here, too, the heavens open – with one of those harmonic turns with which the late Schubert repeatedly transports his listeners to another world. The same is true of his single Adagio Trio movement, in which time seems to stand still.

Life's storms

Great hopes rest on their shoulders, and they already prove their talent daily in orchestral performances. Once a season, the scholarship recipients of the hr-Sinfonieorchester's Orchestra Academy have the opportunity to showcase their chamber music finesse. Their abilities take center stage in a multifaceted program. These highly talented young orchestral musicians, both solo and together with members of the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, create a consistently captivating and impressive experience. The program and cast will be announced soon. It promises to be a musically rewarding concert for both performers and audience!

Academy in Concert

Courtly brass splendor in a South American dance club. With a multifaceted trio program featuring Baroque masters like Handel, Telemann, and others, the hr-Symphony Orchestra brings its "Kammerflimmern" series to Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel (station district). Assistant principal oboist Doğa Saçılık and principal bassoonist Theo Plath, together with Austrian harpsichordist Eva-Maria Pollerus, present captivating music by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz, Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Frideric Handel at the Latin Palace Changó. Baroque soundscapes meet disco atmosphere and palm trees – another unusual and delightful encounter.

Harpsichord goes Changó

Latin Palace Changó

with works by Schubert, programme will appear here when known

Chamber Music Concert

Oper Frankfurt

The full force of the horns opens this chamber music concert. "When I hear a horn, my heart warms," ​​Robert Schumann once wrote. "The horn has something of the sound of nature. It speaks to the heart like the voice of a friend," Mozart remarked. For the great master of orchestration, Richard Strauss, it was "the soul of the orchestra," and Benjamin Britten believed the horn was "a true actor in the orchestra," capable of whispering, shouting, laughing, and weeping. One can only imagine what awaits when, in this chamber concert, not just one or two, but the entire horn section is featured. The program spans styles and eras, from classics like "Egmont" and "Lohengrin" to musical hits such as "Cats" and animated highlights like "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Captain Hook." The horns of the hr Symphony Orchestra at their very best!

Hornissimo

Chamber Music Concert X

This anniversary program invites you to a Hindemith-style celebration of his milestone birthday: with music that is unusual and rich, playful yet provocative, from his mature and youthful, rebellious days – all by Hindemith. This pioneer of modernism from Hanau opposed the cult of genius and the confessional nature of Romanticism throughout his life, in favor of a "new objectivity" that embraced parodic elements, quotations, and a playful engagement with popular genres. From Hindemith's extensive oeuvre, you will experience four sonatas for viola, oboe, and cello – with, without, or even solo piano – as well as an unconventional serenade. Chamber music at its finest!

Chamber Music Festival

Thierry Escaich is a guest in the chamber music series, presenting highlights such as Mozart's "Kegelstatt" Trio and Schumann's "Märchenerzählungen" (Fairy Tales), as well as his own virtuosic "Trio américain," both as a chamber music partner and as a gifted improviser. Mozart's Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano once marked the birth of a new instrumental formation, to which Schumann offered his first musical response 70 years later. After hearing the "Kegelstatt" Trio with his wife Clara at the piano, he made his decision and composed his four wonderfully poetic pieces in a very short time, during a final creative frenzy before his ultimate collapse. Schumann is also the subject of a piano improvisation by Thierry Escaich in this program, who in turn evokes reminiscences from much earlier eras in his own Trio – "one thing works and lives within the other," thus creating a truly exceptional concert.

Trio summit with Escaich

Chamber music by a Hungarian composer who remains underappreciated to this day. Unlike Bartók and Kodály, Dohnányi remained committed to Romanticism throughout his life. His sonorous Piano Quintet and Sextet captivate with their inventiveness. They are a discovery, as is the uniquely scored Trio by the German Romantic composer Reinecke. Dohnányi was a pianist, conductor, and composer, and in his youth, as a celebrated soloist, he was compared to Franz Liszt. He therefore had a particularly fortunate touch when it came to piano chamber music, as can be experienced in this concert. As a composer, Dohnányi saw himself firmly in the tradition of Brahms. His late Sextet, however, transcends the world of Brahms and simultaneously revels in the broad stylistic panorama of the 1930s.

Chamber music events in Frankfurt am Main

Trout Quintet

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Supra Urbem – Great Frank...

Ensemble Modern

Walkabout - Promenade Con...

Ensemble Modern

Bartók Contrasts

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Artelize Podcast Pres...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: 'Am...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

sonic.art Saxophonquartet...

Alte Oper Frankfurt

Colors from Armenia

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Julia Fischer Quartett

Alte Oper Frankfurt

German Brass

Alte Oper Frankfurt

Isidore String Quartet

Alte Oper Frankfurt

Chant du soir

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Brass Connection

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Life's storms

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Academy in Concert

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Harpsichord goes Changó

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Chamber Music Concert

Oper Frankfurt

Hornissimo

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Chamber Music Concert X

Oper Frankfurt

Chamber Music Festival

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Trio summit with Escaich

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Piano Romanticism

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra