Chamber Concert 3 - Nocturne by Shostakovich, Shaw, C., Ligeti, Various, Alkaen (2022/2022), Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany

When it comes to the string quartet – which is hailed to be the most prestigious of all chamber music formations – old and new music often coincide in a remarkably fruitful way: Before setting to work on his legendary cycle of 15 string quartets, Shostakovich created »Two Pieces for String Quartet« which became chamber musical satellites for subsequent opera and ballet productions. Ligeti’s »Métamorphoses Nocturnes«, written shortly before the composer fled from Hungary, were jokingly labeled »Bartók’s Seventh Quartet« by György Kurtág. The musical style of the American singer, violinist and composer Caroline Shaw cannot be pigeonholed. Her »Entr’acte« engages in a dialogue with Joseph Haydn’s last string quartet. And a thirteenth-century Danish tune from the Codex Runicus carries us way back into the great folk music tradition of the Nordic world. Join us for this »Nocturne« of latest and early sounds, a journey connecting times and places across the vastness of Scandinavia, through America, Budapest, Moscow and Vienna.