THE PERFORMERS

The Talos Quartet was formed in 2023, having come together through their interest in Ernst Bloch’s rarely played String Quartet No.1.  Their ambition now is to pair some of the great works of the string quartet repertoire with music which has less of a public platform - this evening’s programme being an example.  We are delighted that their visit to Ayr to-day, is one of a tour taking in four Scottish venues,    courtesy of the Tunnell Trust.

All the members of the Quartet have been gaining vast experience across the UK and abroad.  Leo has made regular appearances with the Esbjerg Ensemble, gained 1st Prize in a concerto competition and was awarded one out of only two Academist positions in  Kammerorchester Basel.  Hana is also studying at Basel, having first gained a BA in History at UCL and a Masters in Violin at the Guildhall.  Alinka began playing at an early age and has a varied career as a   soloist and chamber musician.  Currently at the RAM she has

performed in public Masterclasses and at various festivals. Now a member of the Cassado Ensemble, she has recorded for Decca 

Classics  and collaborated with the Brodsky and Doric Quartets, both of whom have performed for us some time ago.  Katarina is a member of various ensembles, also having performed as a soloist and orchestral musician.  She too has studied in Basel and in    Germany where her concert performances have taken her to Bonn, Frankfurt and Dresden. Having had vast experience across Europe, she has premiered a number of new works by modern composers.

 

THE COMPOSERS

Our programme this evening begins with Haydn seen as pivotal in the evolution of chamber music and recognised as “ Father of the String Quartet”, having written over 70.  In so doing, he was moving away from the style of being a Court Musician towards writing with the public in view.  As you see from the previous page, this Quartet has the expected four movements: 1. Vivace assai, in which Haydn employs one of his favourite “tricks” using musical phrases which are irregular and often interrupted unexpectedly. The only “regular” 8-bar phrase comes near the opening - a strong tune accompanied by galloping rhythms, surrounded by witty, unpredictable structures.  2. Adagio where the two violins move in a closely entwined duet.  There are four sections to the movement - a “sandwich” where the minor section comes between two major sections and a coda which is darkly chromatic in style and tone.  3. Menuetto Allegretto - a particularly rhythmic movement, in which Haydn employs hemiola after hemiola a technique where 3 notes are played in the time of 2 or vice versa thus effecting a temporary shift between triple and  duple time and frequently used in the build-up to a cadence.  4.Finale - Allegro con Spirito: a teasing movement of suspense, leading to a triumphant climax.

​

Following Haydn, we are to hear Alban Berg’s Quartet No.3,   composed in 1909-1910 and departing from the usual 4-movement format to only 2.  It was written as a short work for a chamber     ensemble or piano and was his final “apprentice piece” which he approached rather more freely than some of his earlier works, and which is an  important example of his expressive style which owes much to music of the Romantic Era.  The slow first movement in sonata form is built on a slightly modified whole tonic theme which is transfigured in the second movement in a manner reminiscent of Wagner.  Berg was mentored by Schoenberg and this work was premiered in April 2011 at the Vienna Musikverein.