Hagen Quartett/Schumann: Quartetto op. 49 n .3, Schubert Quintetto per archi D 956

On January 29, the Hagen Quartet, among the most famous and celebrated in the world, returns to the Auditorium Parco della Musica, availing itself of the presence of Julia Hagen, a young cellist and daughter of Clemens Hagen, a historic member of the group as well as of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. The program includes Franz Schubert’s String Quintet D. 956 and Schumann’s Quartet op. 49 n. 3.

The String Quintet in C major is Schubert's only composition for this type of instrumentation, as the others are for string quartet and piano, as well as one of the Viennese composer's last chamber works, completed a few weeks before his death in 1828. The piece is characterised by an unusual instrumentation, as it is composed for a standard string quartet with an added second cello. The piece is traditionally divided into four movements - Allegro ma non troppo; Adagio; Scherzo (Presto, Trio: Andante sostenuto); Finale: Allegretto - all of great range and compositional richness. Although today it is recognized by musicologists as a masterpiece of the history of music and as one of the highest expressions of musical Romanticism, the piece, perhaps because of its excessive length and the harmonic peculiarities present, remained unknown for a long time and did not enjoy any fame among contemporaries. The first public performance and the printed publication did not occur until many years after the composer's death, in 1850 and 1853 respectively.

The Quartet op. 49 no. 3, composed by Schumann in 1842, is divided into four movements: Andante espressivo, Allegro molto moderato (F sharp minor); Assai aditato (F sharp minor); Adagio molto (D major); Finale, Allegro molto vivace (A major), Quasi Trio (F major). Like many others, it is inspired not only by Beethoven's quartets, but also by the compositions of his predecessors; thus, if in the first quartet of op. 41 the influence of the late Beethoven is very evident, both in the style and in the Beethovenian themes, in the others, such as no. 3, alongside the latter the influence of Haydn and Mozart is no less evident.

Photo credis: courtesy of  the Auditorium Parco della Musica official site