Antonín Dvořák’s ‘American’ chamber music works are the fruits of a happy, carefree time. And this is reflected in the music: colourful, vibrant, imbued with the musical and scenic impressions he gathered in the bustling metropolis of New York and during his summer holidays in rural Iowa.

Some of his most famous and beloved works were created in the United States, including the ‘American’ String Quartet, which uniquely combines landscape painting and emotional expression in chamber music. Unjustly overshadowed by this piece is the String Quintet in E flat major, also known as the ‘American’ Quintet: a colourful, masterfully crafted work in which Dvořák sought to capture the spirit of Native American music.

Both works have been among the Mandelring Quartett’s favourites for many years. However, the Humoresques, Op. 101 were a new discovery for the ensemble. Presented here in a first recording of an arrangement for string quartet, they include the immortal melody that the Comedian Harmonists made into a hit, titled “Eine kleine Frühlingsweise”.

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The program for the 28th Hambach Music Festival.
The flyer with the entire program for download as PDF.
Tickets are available here:
https://hambachermusikfest.de/tickets-kammermusik-festival/

On the occasion of the concert at the Berlin Philharmonie, which featured György Ligeti’s first quartet, “Métamorphoses nocturnes,” Nanette Schmidt recalls the quartet’s work with the composer:

A sunny morning in February 1995. We ring the doorbell of György Ligeti’s house on Möwenstraße in Hamburg. At first, nothing happens. Then the master opens the door – in his pajamas, his hair tousled, and his eyes deeply shaded. Apparently, he has forgotten our appointment. But he doesn’t let on and greets us warmly.

We unpack our instruments among stacks of sheet music and books that rise to the ceiling everywhere in the small apartment. Ligeti asks if we mind him having breakfast while he listens. He sits down at the table in front of us, the score of his second string quartet in front of him, and begins to eat his muesli. Which doesn’t stop him from listening very closely: After we’ve finished playing, he begins to work intensively with us.

Two hours pass in the blink of an eye, during which we delve deeply into the details of the work. Two hours in which it’s all about pushing the limits: glassy sounds, lightning-fast tempos, almost inaudible pianissimo, intense fortissimo… At the end, a warm farewell.

Unforgettable, this morning in Ligeti’s apartment!

© Wilfried Dechau

The concerts with the enormously committed State Philharmonic Orchestra of Rhineland-Palatinate on November 21, 22 and 23, 2024 in Neustadt, Kaiserslautern and Mannheim included Edward Elgar’s “Introduction and Allegro” and Stefan Heucke’s “Metamorphoses of a Movement by Franz Schubert”. It was not only a pleasure for us, but also an extraordinary experience to play as soloists with a large orchestra. Stefan Heucke’s fascinating work, which refers to the wonderful slow movement from Schubert’s last string quartet, was particularly moving.

C Klaus Landry

Concert in the crypt of the Speyer Cathedral. Part of the program was the string quintet by Anton Bruckner. The program and the scenic venue matched perfectly…

On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, a “couch conversation” with Nanette and Bernhard Schmidt takes place in the SWR Rhineland-Palatinate TV programme ‚Landesschau‘ (6:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.). The subject is the 40th birthday of the Mandelring Quartet. The report on this topic is scheduled for around 7:20 p.m.
The show can be found on television and as a live stream here:
https://www.ardmediathek.de/live/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS8xMzQ4MTIzMA
If you would like to view it later, you can do so here:
https://www.swrfernsehen.de/landesschau-rp/couchgespraeche/index.html

The Mandelring Quartet was awarded the 2023 Art Prize of the Ike and Berthold Roland Foundation. The presentation took place on April 24, 2023, during a concert of the Classical Music Series in Neustadt. The laudatory speech was held by former Ministerial Director Walter Schumacher.

On March, 15 and 16, 2023 the Mandelring Quartet will play again – for the fourth time – two concerts on the Stradivarius instruments of the Royal Collection in the “Salón de Columnas” of the Royal Palace in Madrid.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA, Håkan Svensson

A cycle with Johannes Brahms’ complete chamber music for strings will take place in the vaulted cellar of the quartets homebase, a former vineyard estate in Neustadt on the German wine street:
Friday, January 27, 2023, 19:00
The three string quartets
Saturday, 28. January, 2023, 16:00
The two string quintets
with Roland Glassl, viola
Saturday, January, 28, 2023, 20:00
The two string sextets
with Roland Glassl, viola and Isang Enders, violoncello

The Mandelring Quartet is happy to inform that the tour to Spain that was cancelled last autumn will now take place March, 13-18, 2022. In addition to concerts in Malaga and Barcelona two concerts will take place at the Royal Palace in Madrid. On this occasion the Mandelring Quartet’s members will again play on the Stradivarius instruments of the Royal Collection.