“This is music with subtle folkloristic echoes, memorable, concisely composed and stylistically completely in tune with the times, masterfully performed by the musicians of the Klenke Quartet with all emotional depth.” – Fonoforum
On this new recording, the Klenke Quartett enter a unique and fascinating musical field of contrasts between compositional avant-gardism and a return to folk melodies and native roots with string quartets by Maurice Ravel, Erwin Schulhoff and Ulvi Cemal Erkin. All three composers were very aware of their musical origins and incorporated them into their works in their own unique way. All three combine sounds and dances from very different countries and cultures in a marvelous way and draw listeners and players alike into a whirlwind of musical rhythms and melodies.
In Erwin Schulhoff’s “5 Pieces for String Quartet”, you can hear echoes of waltzes, as well as tangos, and tarantellas. In his string quartet, Ulvi Cemal Erkin creates a cosmos of Turkish tradition paired with cosmopolitanism and combines the rhythmic-melodic elements of Turkish folk music with classical Western European compositional art, as he had studied it in Paris. With his string quartet, Maurice Ravel creates an innovative work within traditional forms that is unparalleled in its richness of detail, luminosity, and variety.
A program of the heart for the musicians of the Klenke Quartet, for whom the music of the early 20th century has always exerted a great attraction and which they regularly present in their concerts. “It is the personal, sensitive, intimate level of the compositions that inspires us and infuses our very own approach to this music,” says Annegret Klenke. A passion that shines through in every note of this recording.
Maurice Ravel
String Quartet in F major, op. 35
Erwin Schulhoff
5 Pieces for String Quartet
Ulvi Cemal Erkin
String Quartet
Klenke Quartett
Annegret Klenke, violin
Beate Hartmann, violin
Yvonne Uhlemann, viola
Ruth Kaltenhäuser, cello
Cover image by Dieter Ladewig
