Dancing to Franz Schubert
Between 2023 and 2029, ‘Faust Quartett’ will perform all of Franz Schubert‘s string quartets at the Goetheanum. A Schubertiade two days prior to each concert will introduce dances by Franz Schubert, to some of which audience members can dance with guidance from Barbara Leitherer.
“Franz Schubert‘s quartets unite light and darkness, unearthly celebrations of beauty and glimpses into profound, dark abysses,” says ‘Faust Quartett’ cellist Birgit Böhme. “They reflect his artistic development from original youthful works to the monumental masterpieces of the years 1824 to 1826.” The ensemble whose series of concerts is scheduled to take place over the next seven years will follow this development by performing all the string quartets. “The Goetheanum‘s Main Auditorium offers an ideal sound space,” the cellist adds. The other musicians are Uta Klöber (first violin), Cordula Kocian (second violin) and Ada Meinich (viola).
With his Schubertiades, Franz Schubert cultivated a kind of artistic ‘biotope’ in 1820s Vienna where works by Ludwig van Beethoven and other contemporaries could be heard. Franz Schubert would perform them alongside his own partly unfinished pieces on a grand piano. After the recital they were discussed and in the case of Schubert‘s own compositions probably immediately corrected. There tended to be much dancing too during these Schubertiades, with Franz Schubert improvising on the piano. The Goetheanum will provide the opportunity to get into the spirit of these gatherings with minuets and ‘German dances’ to some of which audience members can dance along.
‘Faust Quartett’ was founded in Weimar, Germany, in 1996 and has toured in Germany, Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands. They performed, for instance, in the Berlin Konzerthaus, Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, the Prince Regent Theatre in Munich, Oslo Konserthus and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Their tours have taken them all the way to South America and, in collaboration with the Goethe Institute, to several African countries.
English by Margot M. Saar
Introductory concert ‘Franz Schubert moves’, small Schubertiade, 27 October 2023, 7 pm, Goetheanum Web (German)
Schubert cycle ‘Touching Eternity’ string quartet in A minor D 804 (Rosamunde), five minuets and five German dances D 89, 29 October 2023, 5 pm (introduction to the concert from
4.15 pm) Web (German)
Web ‹Faust Quartett›
Image ‘Faust Quartett’: Birgit Böhme (violoncello), Ada Meinich (viola), Uta Klöber (first violin) and Cordula Kocian (second violin) (Photo: François Croissant)