Abstract
The String Quintet in C Major (D 956) – for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos – by Franz Schubert (1797–1828) is considered to be one of the absolute highlights of the western classical chamber music literature. Probably written during September 1829, only a couple of months before the composer?s death at the age of 31, it includes a rich variety of formal strategies, harmonic subtleties, rhythmical details etc. demonstrating the incredible level of compositional and artistic mastery that Schubert achieved during his all too short life.
In a workshop with one of Norway?s leading chamber music ensembles, the Oslo String Quartet, postdoc. research fellow Emil Bernhardt, has tried out how these extraordinary musical and compositional elements might be shaped and articulated by real musicians. And in this Food & Paper session he will, with the help of the ensemble, present some of the findings. The demonstration will provide not only the opportunity to have a closer look at some crucial elements in the music of Schubert, it will also give an insight into how minor details, adjusted through interpretation and live performance, may affect the impression of what is at stake in one of the greatest pieces of the classical chamber music repertoire.
Bios
Emil Bernhardt is a postdoc. research fellow at RITMO. He got is PhD from the Norwegian Academy of music, on the performance practice of the Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He has studied violin, composition and philosophy and is also working as a music critic in the Norwegian weekly newspaper Morgenbladet.
The Oslo String Quartet (OSQ) was founded in 1991 and is one of Scandinavia’s most acclaimed and sought after chamber ensembles. In 1994 they made their international mark after making the finals of London International String Competition, and by 1999 their complete recordings of string quartets by Grieg and Carl Nielsen attracted attention, the latter being selected as Editor’s Choice in the prestigious Gramophone magazine. As well as being regular guests at all the major chamber music festivals and series in Norway and Scandinavia, OSQ tours Europe and America, including the Schleswig Holstein festival, Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall in New?York.
Geir Inge Lotsberg, Giuseppe Guarneri, Filius Andr. 1703
Liv Hilde Klokk-Bryhn, Thomas Balestrieri 1759
Magnus Boye Hansen, Matteo Gofriller 1710
?ystein Sonstad, Giovanni Battista Rogeri 1695
For this project, the cellist Jan Clemens Carlsen joins the ensemble.