Magdalena Geka, violin
Elise De-Bendelac, violin
Avishai Chameides, viola
Lucie Mercat, cello
Alain Meunier, one of France’s leading cellists and founder of the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition with Bernard Lummeaux, needs no introduction. This year, he will accompany the musicians of the Quatuor Akilone, 1st Grand Prix of the Concours International de Quatuors à Cordes de Bordeaux in 2016, in Schumann’s Concertstück for cello, arranged for quintet. This work, often referred to as the Cello Concerto, was written at a painful time in Schumann’s life, three years before he attempted suicide. Yet it took only two weeks to compose, as if the work relieved his suffering. In the midst of preparing their latest Dvořák recording, the Akilone give us a rare opportunity to hear Dvořák’s last Quartet No. 14, less played than the “American” Quartet but nonetheless magnificent, written in 1895 in an inspired and joyful form.
Program :
Anton Dvořák, String Quartet No. 14 in A flat major, Op. 105
Robert Schumann, Concerto in quintet version with Alain Meunier
