Armida Quartett BEETHOVEN - SHOSTAKOVICH

The Armida Quarter, darling of BBC young artists and due to perform at the Wigmore Hall, they will also play at the BBC PROMS on 29 August 2016 at the Cadogan Hall. The new album contains Beethoven Op. 59 No 1 and Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 10, two very difficult pieces. "Opus 59 is extremely challenging", remarks Martin Funda, the leader of the Armida Quartet. "One needs time to grasp these pieces. As performers, we are surprised again and again to note how quickly Beethoven star ts leading us into unfamiliar waters. The F Major Quartet is an 'extrovert' piece; at the same time, it contains a series of incredibly profound moments and a variety of different moods which we have to learn to interpret."

Armida Quartett FUGA MAGNA

Since its success at the ARD International Competition in 2012, at which the Armida Quartet took First Prize, the Audience Prize and six other special awards, the career of the young Berlin string quartet has developed sensationally. 

Founded in Berlin in 2006, the quartet took its name from an opera by Haydn, the “father of the string quartet”. Still receiving the tutelage of Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet) and Reinhard Goebel, the ensemble has also studied with members of the Artemis Quartet for several years.

The Armida Quartet won first prize at the Geneva Competition in 2011 and received several scholarships, including those of the Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation and the Schierse Foundation in Berlin. The Armida Quartet is also taking part in the BBC New Generation Artists’ scheme between 2014 and 2016.

Armida Quartett MOZART String Quartets K. 169 - 464 - 589

The members of the Armida quartet have taken a very close look at the original manuscript of Mozart’s Quartet in A Major, K. 464. It is one of the six Haydn Quartets which he wrote after a ten-year hiatus in the genre. This time he dedicated the six works to Haydn in person: al mio caro amico Haydn – “to my dear friend Haydn”, with whom he was now making music in Vienna on a regular basis. Here, once more, Mozart was “reacting” to works written by his model: Haydn’s op. 33, to be specific. Johanna Staemmler notes: “Mozart seemed to have no interest in trying to please someone with this work”. Funda adds: “The first movement sets in rather sparsely, sounding like an uncertain quest”. “And in the last movement, a chorale emerges out of nowhere! Mozart was clearly composing music that would make him reach beyond his own horizons.” Johanna Staemmler pursues. In these quartets he was not writing for his large Vienna audience. While keeping them thrilled and happy with concertos and sym- phonies, he was embarking on a quasi-elitist exchange with Haydn. Spurred by his friend’s evident genius, he wanted to present him with his own ideas, staking everything in the game. And Haydn react- ed with the highest praise. He avowed to Mozart’s father: “As an honest man I swear to you before God: your son is the greatest composer I have ever met or heard of”. Funda points out that the parts in this quartet are more equally distributed. In fact, the part of the 2nd violin is a masterpiece in itself, as his colleague remarks: “This is an incredible part, in utter contrast with the 2nd violin in Quartet K. 169.” Staemmler particularly loves the D Minor variation in the 2nd movement: “Mozart’s creative process is quite interesting: he originally added this variation at the end of the movement, on the last page, as No. 6, but then chose to insert it as the 4th variation. In the score it’s fascinating to note how his plan evolved. You can tell that he was grappling with his own ideas. I am convinced that one should perform from the manuscript, which is much more inspiring than present-day printed scores with their predictably correct layout. In the autograph we see which emotions took hold of him – whether Mozart was composing tranquilly or in a rage; at ease, or pressed for time.”