Flimsfestival: Sonnenaufgang

ensemble le phénix, string quartet
Daniel Kagerer and Ursula Butscher (violins)
Anne-Laure Dottrens (viola)
Christine Meyer (violoncello)

The English music historian Charles Burney wrote to Joseph Haydn in 1799: "I had the great pleasure of hearing your new quartetti (Opera 76) well performed (...); instrumental music has never given me so much pleasure; they are full of invention, fire, good taste and new effects (...)." The "Sunrise Quartet" is one of the string quartets that Haydn composed in 1797 at the age of 65 after his return from London. It was given its nickname because its first movement begins with a melody in the first violin that rises from a sound surface in several attempts, building up to a fortissimo, like a rising sun. Very little is known about the genesis of the Quartets op. 76, but according to the Penguin Guide they have the same dimension and depth as his symphonies.

Our morning concert begins with something lighter: Mozart's first quartet K157, which was not modeled on Haydn's quartets but on the old Italian masters and whose content is reminiscent of an opera in many places. The backdrop for this opera could not be more magnificent: the summery Lake Cauma, on which the musicians of the string quartet, spread across four boats, are rowed to the audience while they play Mozart's quartet. Once on the shore, the sun is allowed to rise musically - sometimes a few hours late, as the astronomical sunrise for this day is calculated at 05:38...


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