Leonkoro Quartett

Beethoven had a lifelong devotion to the string quartet. In his early quartets, he followed in the musical footsteps of Haydn and Mozart, but soon began to push the boundaries. As in this work, his first composed in a minor key, where we encounter both restless intensity and melodic intimacy.

When Brahms, ninety years later, wrote his Second String Quintet, he was on the verge of giving up composing. He considered himself finished. Yet he succeeded in creating a masterful quintet brimming with life. With two violas, the ensemble gains an even fuller and warmer sound, and at times the first movement takes on the character of a cello concerto.

The Dutch composer and pianist Henriëtte Bosmans was deeply rooted in Amsterdam’s musical life. Her String Quartet from 1927 combines engaging melodies, rhythmic precision and touches of French Impressionism.

The Berlin-based Leonkoro Quartet combines technical brilliance with a strong stage presence and musical sensitivity, and has in recent years attracted increasing international attention. In Brahms’s quintet, they are joined by violist Cristina Cordero, otherwise heard with the renowned Cuarteto Casals.